Senior citizens make up 11% of population, less than in other Western nations

Ahead of International Senior Citizens Day on October 1, the Central Bureau of Statistics has published its findings on topics relating to Israel’s senior citizens who make up 11% of the population.

Of the country’s total population, 978,400 people or 11.3% are over the age 65 with 545,000 being women and some 434,000 are men.

Compared to countries like Japan and Germany where the elderly populations are 27.9% and 22.1% respectively, this percentage is relatively low, however, the data indicates that this is due to Israel’s increasingly high birthrates.

The CBS notes that the growth of the over 65 population is gradual: In 1948, they only accounted for only 4% of the population.

The report also projects that by 2040 the number will increase to 14.3% of the population or some 1.9 million and by 2065, it’s expected to be 15.3% or three million people.

According to the CBS report, 44% of Jewish seniors are over 75 years old while 35% are Arab.

Additionally, 88% of Israelis over the age of 65 have said they are satisfied with their lives.

But 11% admitted to feeling lonely and only 9% have experienced age discrimination.

Overall, women are still living longer and cohabitating less than their male counterparts with 62% of those over the age of 85 are women.

About 82% of men over the age of 65 were reportedly still married whereas only 49% of women of the same age had a spouse.

Women aged 65 and above are 2.7 times more likely to live alone than men with the figures sitting at 32% and 12%, respectively.

Jews were also 1.4 times higher than Arabs (24% and 17%, respectively) to live alone.

Approximately 210,000 people aged 65 and above live alone which amounts to 23% of the elderly population – this is in comparison to the 5% among those aged between 18 and 64.

Jerusalem has the largest elderly population in the country with some 65,000 people.

However, due to its high and dense population, this only accounts for 9% of the population.

Bat Yam, on the other hand has the highest concentration of senior citizens making up 21.3% of the population with some 27,500 residents.

In terms of economic satisfaction, the CBS reports that 67% of seniors are satisfied with their economic status in comparison to their younger counterparts who only reached 58%.

In addition 72% of people aged 65 and older are able to cover their monthly expenses unlike 63% of those of a younger age.

The employment rate among those aged 65 and above is at 20.4%.

Out of that number 51.4% work fulltime while the remaining 48.6% work part-time.