A. MAIN FINDINGS
In 2004, 145,207 infants were born in Israel. Of those infants, 69% were born to Jewish women, 25% to Moslem women, 3% to women not classified by religion at the Ministry of the Interior, 2% to Druze women, and 1% to Arab Christian women.[1]
Since the mid-1990s, there has been an increase of about 27% in the number of live births in Israel, from 114,543 live births in 1994, to 145,207 in 2004. The main increase was among Moslem women (about 28%) and Jewish women (about 25%). By contrast, the number of live births among Christian and Druze women declined during that period about 27% and 3% respectively.
Sex Ratio at Birth
Of 145,207 infants born in 2004, about 51.4% (74,694 infants) were males, and about 48.6% (70,513) were females. Since 1994, the average sex ratio at birth has been 105.6, i.e., 105.6 male infants are born for every 100 female infants. This ratio is within the normal biological range (104-107), and is similar to the sex ratio in societies where there is no human intervention in the selection of the newborn’s sex.
Total Fertility Rate, by Religion
In 2004, the total fertility rate in Israel was 2.9 children per woman on the average. The national fertility rate is affected by the different fertility rates of the religious groups in the Israeli population. Since the beginning of the 1990s, it was the Druze population that has changed most in terms of fertility levels, from an average of 4.1 children per woman in 1990 to 2.7 in 2004. Fertility levels have also declined among the Arab Christian population over the past decade – from 2.7 in 1996 to 2.2 in 2004. Among the Moslem population, there is evidence of a downward trend in fertility rates since 2000 (after about 15 years in which the fertility rate had remained relatively stable – since the mid-1980s). Among the Moslem population, the total fertility rate declined – from 4.7 children per woman in 2000 to 4.4 in 2004. Fertility rates among the Jewish population in Israel have remained stable for over a decade, at around 2.6-2.7 children per woman on the average. The lowest fertility rates observed over the past decade were among the population of women not classified by religion at the Ministry of the Interior. In 2004, the total fertility rate among that population was 1.5 children per woman – slightly higher than in Eastern European countries (1.3), which are the countries of origin for most of those women.
Mother’s Age at Time of Giving Birth
From the mid-1990s, the average age of mothers at the time of birth has risen by 0.6 years, reaching 29.3 in 2004. This increase can be attributed to the increasing tendency of Israeli women to delay childbirth until they reach the age of 30. The share of women who gave birth at age 30 and over rose from 39% in 1994 to 44% in 2004. In many developed countries, it is common to delay childbirth after age 30. In Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy, the average age of mothers at the time of birth passed the threshold of age 30 already in the mid-1990s[2]. However, in European countries that once belonged to the Eastern bloc, the average age of mothers at time of birth was younger. For example, in 2004, the average age of mothers at birth was 25.7 in Bulgaria, 26.4 in Romania, and 27.4 in the Slovak Republic.
Mother’s Age at First Birth
In 2004, the average age of mothers giving birth to their first child was 26.5 – 1.4 years older than in 1994. Evidently, postponement of establishing a family can be attributed to postponement of the first marriage. In 2004, the average age of women at first marriage was 24.5 – 1.1 years older than in 1994. It appears that postponement of establishing a family can also be due to the increased share of women in institutions of higher education, as well as to their increased participation in the labour force. Jewish women are older when they give birth to their first child (27.4 years on the average), and Moslem women are younger (23.2 years on the average).
Births to Unmarried Mothers[3] (Jews)
In 2004, about 6% (5,559) of the infants born to Jewish women were born to unmarried mothers (about 60% were born to never-married women, and the rest were born to divorcees or widows). This percentage is lower than the percentage of infants born to unmarried women in other Western countries such as the United States (36%), United Kingdom (42%), France (47%), Sweden (55%), and Iceland (64%).
Since the 1990s, there has been a moderate increase in the rate of births to never-married women. In 2004, the rate was 6.7 births per 1,000 never-married women at fertility age, compared with 4.0 births per 1,000 women in 1994. The highest percentage of births to never-married women was among those below age 20 (16% of all births to never-married women in that age group). 9% of the births among women in their 40s were to those who had never married.
Multiple Births
Of all infants born in Israel in 2004, about 4.4% were born in multiple births. That year, about 4.8% of all infants born to Jewish mothers were born in multiple births, and 3.4% of the infants were born to Moslem mothers. Since the beginning of the 1990s, the rates of multiple births in Israel have been on the rise. As a result, Israel is now among the countries with the highest proportions of multiple births in the world. The high rate of multiple births in Israel is attributed, among other causes, to the prevalence of fertility treatment in the country under the National Health Insurance Law.
In 2004, about 95.5% of all infants born in multiple births were twins. Among the Moslem population, there was an increase in the percentage of triplets born in all multiple births, from 3.5% in 1994 to 4.6% in 2004. By contrast, among the Jewish population the percentage of triplets born in multiple births during the same period declined from 6.7% to 3.8%.
Fertility – International Perspective
The total fertility rate in Israel is higher than in other developed countries. In many countries, the fertility rate in recent years is less than 2.1 children per woman, i.e., lower than the level needed to maintain a stable population size (replacement rate). These countries include Ireland (1.9), Denmark, Norway, and Finland (1.8), Japan, Greece, and Spain (1.3), Poland and South Korea (1.2).[4]
In 2004, the total fertility rate in Israel (2.9) was closer to the rates found in developing countries in South America and Asia, such as India (3.0), El Salvador (2.9), Bahrain (2.8) and Venezuela (2.7).
B. SOURCES AND EXPLANATIONS
The data on live births are based on information in the “Notification of Live Birth” forms as well as on personal information in the Population Register. The Population Registration Ordinance 1965 requires that the Ministry of the Interior be notified of the birth within 10 days by the person in charge of the institution where the birth took place, or by the parents of the child, the doctor or midwife if the birth occurred elsewhere.
If the birth took place at a hospital, the “Notification of Live Birth” form is filled out in four copies. The first copy is sent to the Ministry of the Interior, the second copy is sent to the National Insurance Institute, the third copy is given to the parents as a temporary notification of live birth, and the fourth copy remains at the hospital.
The Central Bureau of Statistics receives a file of live births from the Ministry of the Interior every month, which includes births in Israel (including Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Area), where at least one of the parents had an Israeli identity card. The file does not include live births to Israeli citizens abroad, or live births in Israel to two parents who are not Israeli citizens. The file is created in the process of updating the Population Register at the Population Administration, and includes information from the Population Register on the parents of the newborn, as well as information on the newborn from the Notification of Live Birth. Data calculated at the Central Bureau of Statistics on birth order and number of newborns in birth have also been added to the file (see Definitions).
Until 1962, data on births were recorded according to the year of registration. Since 1963, data are recorded according to the year of occurrence. Data on live births for 2004 include 1,430 cases of live births that occurred in 2002-2003 but were recorded late. Of those cases, 1,193 of the women who gave birth were Moslem, 113 were Jewish, 66 were not classified by religion, 56 were Christian, and 2 were Druze.
Between 1957 and 1959, as well as in 1975, and in the first half of 1976, the data on births were computed from a sample of 50% of all births that occurred during those periods.
The data on live births prior to 1962 do not include Bedouins in the south. Moreover, due to a discrepancy between the data in the Population Register and population estimates for Bedouin tribes, fertility rates were not calculated in subsequent years for the population living outside of localities (which is mostly Bedouin).
As of 1970, births in East Jerusalem are included in the data on live births, and as of 1982, the live births of Druze in the Golan are also included.
C. DEFINITIONS
Live birth: The birth of a foetus, which after separation from the mother (whether or not the umbilical cord has been cut or the placenta is still attached), exhibits at least one of the following signs of life: respiration, heartbeat, umbilical cord pulse, or obvious movements of voluntary muscles.
Multiple birth: A birth that includes more than one newborn. These births are identified on the basis of the “Notification of Live Birth” and “Notification of Stillbirth” forms for the same year. The criteria for identifying a multiple birth are: the mother’s identity number is the same on the “Notification of Live Birth/Stillbirth” forms, and the birth occurred in the same year and month. The data in Table 14 in this publication refer to multiple births where at least one newborn is born alive.
Sex ratio at birth: The number of live births of males for every 100 live births of females.
Birth order: The ordinal number of a live birth in relation to all of the previous live births a mother has had. Until 1990, the source of data on birth order was the Notification of Live Birth form, Paragraph 30c. Since 1991, the source has been the Population Register. According to this source, it was possible for the first time to identify cases of unknown birth order which, until 1990, has been included among first births. From 1991 to 2002, birth order calculations were based on the total number of children a mother has. In 2002, the method of calculating birth order was changed, and it is now based on the total of all previous children born to the mother, with the addition of 1 to mark the event of the present birth (regardless of the number of living newborns born at that birth). In addition, for newborns whose mothers are not Israelis, the birth order was calculated according to the Notification of Live Birth form.
Population group and religion: Until 1991, the population was broken down by: Jews, Moslems, Christians, and Druze. Included with the Druze were members of other religions (such as Buddhists, Samaritans, and Sikhs). From 1992 to 1995, “Others” were added to Christians.
Starting with the 1995 Census, the definitions of religion and population groups were altered due to the arrival of many immigrants not listed as Jewish at the Ministry of the Interior. Christians were divided into two groups – Arab Christians, and non-Arab Christians, according to several criteria: religion of the locality of residence, nationality, country of birth, and allocation to a Statistical Area. An “Arab Christian” is defined as any Christian living in a non-Jewish locality, or anyone who lives in another locality but is listed at the Ministry of the Interior as having Arab nationality. If the person does not meet those criteria, any Christian born in an Arab country, or any Christian born in Israel whose father was born in an Arab country is included in the group of Arab Christians. If those criteria are not met, the Statistical Area that the person belongs to will be considered. If most of the residents in that Statistical Area are Arabs, the person will be considered an Arab Christian. The rest of the Christians are defined as “non-Arab Christians”.
Another group presented separately since 1996 is the group not classified by religion at the Ministry of the Interior. The persons in this group are usually family members of Jewish immigrants, as is the case with most non-Arab Christians. As of 2000, the overall population also includes Lebanese citizens (soldiers from the Southern Lebanese Army and their families) who entered Israel in May 2000 and were given Israeli identity cards. At the end of 2004, that population comprised 3,400 persons, most of whom (about 2,500) are not classified by religion in the Population Register.
In light of those definitions, data in the tables are presented by religion as follows: Jews, Moslems, Christians – thereof Arab Christians, Druze, and Not Classified by Religion. The last group also includes members of religions that were not specified separately (e.g., Buddhists, Hindus, Samaritans, and Sikhs), which comprised about 400 persons in the 1995 Census.