(Ynet News) Jacob Sivak - On Nov. 23, the Population and Immigration Authority reported that close to 18,000 babies were born in Israel since Oct. 7, many named after locations attacked by Hamas. World fertility rates have been dropping for decades, with the numbers for wealthy, developed nations falling below replacement level - 2.1 births per woman. In 2021, the average for the 35 OECD countries was 1.58. The value for Israel was 3.0, close to twice the OECD average. 140,000 Jewish babies are born annually in Israel. Israel also receives a consistent flow of new immigrants, with a significant increase in diaspora interest in aliyah reported after the Hamas attack. The writer, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, is a retired professor who taught at the University of Waterloo.
2023-12-21 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive