Jerusalem's population size and composition has shifted many times over its 5,000 year history.
Most population data pre-1905 is based on estimates, often from foreign travellers or organisations, since previous census data usually covered wider areas such as the Jerusalem District.[1] These estimates suggest that since the end of the Crusades, Muslims formed the largest group in Jerusalem until the mid-19th century. Between 1838 and 1876, a number of estimates exist which conflict as to whether Jews or Muslims were the largest group during this period, and between 1882 and 1922 estimates conflict as to exactly when Jews became a majority of the population.
In 2020, the population was 951,100, of which Jews comprised 570,100 (59.9%), Muslims 353.800 (37.2%), Christians 16.300 (1.7%), and 10,800 unclassified (1.1%).[2]
- ^ Usiel Oskar Schmelz, in Ottoman Palestine, 1800–1914: Studies in Economic and Social History, Gad G. Gilbar, Brill Archive, 1990
- ^ https://jerusaleminstitute.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/shnaton_C0922.pdf Jerusalem Institute