📜 A long story
Israel, 1800 → today
Israel grew from 210,000 in 1800 to 9.26 million; a newborn can expect 12.5 more years of life than in 1950, and output per person is 8.2× its 1950 level, adjusted for inflation.
Told with long-run reconstructions, not the yearly series used elsewhere on the site: each chapter names its source. Scroll to move through the years.
☺ Chapter 1 · Population
How many people live there?
1800
In 1800, about 210,000 people lived in Israel.
1900
359,300 people.
1.7× the 1800 level
1950
1.29 million people.
3.6× the 1900 level
Reached twice the 1800 level in 1913.
Reached 5 times the 1800 level in 1945.
2023
9.26 million people, the latest year in this series.
7.2× the 1950 level
Reached 10 times the 1800 level in 1963.
Reached 20 times the 1800 level in 1987.
Long-run series: before 1950, reconstructions by HYDE and Gapminder, filled in between benchmark years by those sources. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.
✚ Chapter 2 · Life expectancy
How long do people live?
1950
In 1950, a newborn in Israel could expect to live 69.9 years, on average.
2023
82.4 years, the latest year in this series.
+13 years since 1950
Passed 70 years in 1965.
Passed 80 years in 2004.
Long-run series: before 1950, historical estimates (Riley, Clio Infra, Human Mortality Database), only for years they cover.
◎ Chapter 3 · GDP per person (PPP)
How much is produced per person?
1950
In 1950, Israel produced about Int$4,490 per person, in 2011 prices.
2022
Int$36,600, the latest year in this series.
8.2× the 1950 level
Reached twice the 1950 level in 1964.
Reached 5 times the 1950 level in 1995.
Long-run series (Maddison Project) in 2011 international dollars: adjusted for inflation, so not the same unit as today’s PPP figure. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.
❦ Chapter 4 · CO₂ per person
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
1930
In 1930, fossil fuels and industry in Israel emitted about 0.1 t of CO₂ per person.
1950
1.3 t.
19× the 1930 level
Reached twice the 1930 level in 1947.
Reached 5 times the 1930 level, reached 10 times the 1930 level in 1950.
The sharpest fall in the data: down 54% between 1935 and 1938 (0.1 t → 0.1 t).
2024
5.6 t, the latest year in this series.
4.3× the 1950 level
Reached 20 times the 1930 level in 1951.
Reached 50 times the 1930 level in 1960.
Long-run series: fossil CO₂ emitted within each country’s borders (Global Carbon Budget); early estimates are less certain. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.