Israelis have among the highest life expectancies on the globe, with an overall life expectancy of 81.7 years, according to a new study released by the Central Bureau for Statistics Tuesday.
The study, which covered Israeli demographic trends from 2011, found that although Israeli men can expect to live shorter lives than Israeli women, when compared to other men around the world they come in second only to Switzerland.
According to the study, the overall Israeli life expectancy of 81.7 years puts Israel in fifth place out of all OECD countries, and is two years more than the average OECD life expectancy of 79.7.
According to OECD data, Israeli men have an average life expectancy of 79.9 years, coming in second only to Swiss men, who have an average life expectancy of 80.6. Men in Japan, Sweden, Iceland and Australia have similar life expectancies to Israeli men.
But while Israeli women live longer than men and have an average life expectancy of 83.6 years, they fall below several other countries, especially the chart topper, Japan, where women can expect to live 86.4 years.
When broken down by sectors, there are also significant differences between Jews and Arabs in Israel. Israeli Jews have an average life expectancy of 80.7 years, while Israeli Arabs have an average life expectancy of 76.4. The life expectancy of Jewish women is 83.9 and of Arab women 80.9.
The study also examined fertility rates, and found that the average Israel woman has three children, while the average for a woman in the OECD stands at 1.7 children.
The fertility rate among Muslim women in Israel is higher than the national average, at 3.51 children per woman. Jewish women, on average, have 2.98 children each. Israeli women who do not classify their religion tend to have the fewest children, with 1.75 children each.
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