Celebrating Israel's 66th

Celebrating Yom Haatzmaut Israel's 66th birthday coming soon
Did you know?
• ...That Israel has the 4th longest life expectancy in the world: 82.0 years. More than the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany.
• ...That there are 26 official Muslim States, 18 official Christian States, but there is only 1 Jewish State - Israel.
• ...That relative to its size, Israel is the largest immigrant absorbing nation on Earth, it has absorbed 350% of its population in 60 years.
• ...That Israel has more Nobel Prizes per capita than the United States, France and Germany. It has more laureates, in real numbers, than India, Spain and China.[1]
• ...That Israel's capital city, Jerusalem, is a holy city for Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
• ...That Israel is the only country in the world that entered the 21st century with a net gain of trees, made more remarkable by the fact that it is 60% desert.[1]
• ...That 93% of Israeli homes use Solar energy for water heating, the highest percentage in the world.[1]
• ...That Israel scientific research institutions are ranked 3rd in the world.[1]
• ...That Israel is ranked 2nd in space sciences.[1]
• ...That Israel is one of the ten countries in the world capable of launching its own satellites.[2][3]
• ...That Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation by a large margin.[1]
• ...That Israel has the 3rd highest rate of entrepreneurship amongst women in the world.[1]
• ...That Israel has attracted the most venture capital investment per capita in the world, 30 times more than Europe.[1]
• ...That Israel leads the world in patents for medical equipment.[1]
• ...That Israel has more NASDAQ listed companies than any other country, besides the US. More than all of Europe, India, China and Japan combined.[1]
• ...That in proportion to its population Israel has the largest number of startup companies in the world. In absolute numbers Israel has more startup companies than any other country besides the US.[1]
• ...That Israel has the highest number of museums per capita in the world.[4]
• ...That Israel is the 8th happiest country on Earth.[5]
• ...That Israel has one of the best healthcare systems in the world according to OECD.[6]
• ...That Israel is ranked 16th in the Human Development Index. It's the highest standard of living in the Middle East, and the third highest in Asia.[7]
• ...That Israel is ranked 27th in terms of Gross domestic product per capita with $32,297.[8]
• ...That Israel is among the top three countries in cyber attack defense.[9]
• ...That Israel is the country which offers the best conditions for clean technology startup companies after Denmark.[10]
• ...That Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to population in the world.[11]
• ...That Israel is the second-most educated country after Canada.[12]
• ...That Israel is the Middle East’s only "free" state, according toFreedom House annual report.[13]
• ...That almost 1/3 of all Israelis do volunteer work.[14]
• ...The proportion of women among R&D workers in Israel is approximately 23.4%. This puts Israel in second place behindDenmark. Women earned 37% of all degrees granted in science andengineering in Israel, one of the highest proportions in the world.[15]
• Arabs in Israel have equal voting rights; in fact, it is one of the few places in the Middle East where Arab women may vote. Arabs in 2011 held 14 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. Israeli Arabs have also held various government posts, including one who served as Israel’s ambassador to Finland and the deputy mayor of Tel Aviv. Oscar Abu Razaq was appointed Director General of the Ministry of Interior, the first Arab citizen to become chief executive of a key government ministry. Ariel Sharon’s original cabinet included the first Arab minister, Salah Tarif, a Druze who served as a minister without portfolio. An Arab is also a Supreme Court justice. In October 2005, an Arab professor was named Vice President of Haifa University.
• Arabic, like Hebrew, is an official language in Israel. More than 300,000 Arab children attend Israeli schools. At the time of Israel’s founding, there was one Arab high school in the country. Today, there are hundreds of Arab schools.29
• The sole legal distinction between Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel is that the latter are not required to serve in the Israeli army. This is to spare Arab citizens the need to take up arms against their brethren. Nevertheless, Bedouinshave served in paratroop units and other Arabs have volunteered for military duty. Compulsory military service is applied to the Druze and Circassian communities at their own request.