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Source: https://en.idi.org.il/articles/38540
Israeli Arabs See Rise in Standard of Living, Life Expectancy and Education
(Israel Democracy Institute) Dr. Nasreen Haddad Haj-Yahya - Arab society in Israel is being revolutionized by a rise in the standard of living, life expectancy and education. The number of Arab citizens of Israel was 1,595,300 at the end of 2020, 17.2% of the total population. They are 83% Muslim, 9% Druze, and 8% Christian. Over the last two decades, life expectancy for both Arab men and women has increased by three years, similar to the equivalent increase among Jews. The median number of years of education among Arabs has risen dramatically. In 1985, the median was 7.7 years for Arab women and 9.3 for Arab men; in 2017, the median for both sexes was 12 years. Matriculation rates in the Druze system are even higher than in the Jewish school system. The number of Arab undergraduate students and their share of the total student population has almost doubled over the last decade, from 10% in 2009-2010 to 18.3% in 2019-2020. Students for an MA degree have risen from 6.5% in 2009-2010 to 14.6% in 2019-2020. The proportion of Arab Ph.D. students rose from 3.9% in 2009-2010 to 7.3% in 2019-2020. In 2000, Arabs constituted 4.8% of civil service employees. By 2020 it reached 13.2%. The percentage of Arab board members in government companies has risen from 1.2% in 2000 to 12% in 2018. The writer is director of the Arab Society in Israel Program at IDI.