At the end of 2013 the Ethiopian population in Israel stood at some 135.5 thousand people – 85.9 thousand who were born in Ethiopia and 49.6 thousand who were born in Israel to Ethiopian fathers, according to a report released by the Central Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday.
According to the report, the majority of the Ethiopian population lives in two central localities – 38% in the Center and 24% in the South. Among the major cities, Netanya maintains the largest Ethiopian community comprising some 10.9 thousand people, followed by Rishon LeZion with some 7.4 thousand and BeerSheba with 7.1 thousand people. Some 5.9 thousand Ethiopians live in Jerusalem while only 2.3 thousand live in Tel Aviv.
The findings also indicated that the Ethiopian population was a relatively young one, with 29% comprising of children up to the age of 14 while only 6% of the population were over 65, compared to 12% of Jewish and “other” populations in Israel.
A majority of Ethiopians, some 88% married within the Ethiopian community in Israel, the report stated. In 2012 the average age for an Ethiopian man to wed was 29.3 years old, 1.5 years older than the Jewish male average; while the average age for an Ethiopian woman to we stood at 26.4 years old, 0.7 years older than the Jewish female average.
In 2013, 3,126 babies were born to Ethiopian mothers, with the average woman giving birth to 2.8 children, compared to 3.05 children among the Jewish population.
The report also stated that in 2013, 1355 new immigrants arrived from Ethiopia, nearly a 50% reduction in aliya from the previous year.
According to the report the average Ethiopian household, whereby one or both parents were born in Ethiopia, has monthly consumption expenditures of NIS 9,385 compared to the national average consumption expenditures of NIS 14,501 per household – a 35% gap.
Furthermore, the average monthly household income for Ethiopian families stood at NIS 11,453 compared to a national household average of NIS 17,711 – also indicating a 35% gap in income.
In addition, the findings indicated that the average Ethiopian household has 2 wage earners, higher than the national average of 1.5 wage earners per household. However, the average Ethiopian household has 4.4 people compared to the national average of 3.3 people per household.
With regards to education, 45.3% of Ethiopian students in elementary through high schools study in the state education system whereas 51.3% study in the state-religious education system.
In 2013, the percentage of Ethiopian graduates who took the matriculation examinations stood at 88%, compared to 82% of Jewish students. However, the findings indicated that only 50% were eligible for the matriculation certificate, compared to 63% among Jewish students.
With regards to higher education, the 2013/14 academic year, saw 312,528 students studying at higher education institutions in Israel, of which some 2,785 were Ethiopian. Of the students, 88% pursued undergraduate degrees, 11.2% were studying for a Master’s degree and 0.5% were pursuing Ph.Ds.
