More Muslims live in Israel's north

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JERUSALEM, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- More than half the Muslim population of Israel lives in cities and villages in northern districts of the country, an Israeli government agency said.

Data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics indicated 36.8 percent of Muslims live in the Northern District, while 21.5 percent live in the Jerusalem District, Ynetnews reported Friday.

The districts with the fewest Muslim residents were the Southern and Tel Aviv districts, with 11.2 percent each.

Some 281,000 Muslims live in Jerusalem, representing about 35 percent of the total population of the city, the bureau said.

Muslims are a young population in the country. About 58 percent are younger than 15 and only 3.5 percent are 65 and older.

While Muslim fertility rates have dropped to 3.5 children per Muslim woman, their birthrate surpasses that of other religious groups in Israel. Jewish women average three children, Druze 2.3 and Christians two.

The Muslim birth rate in Israel is also higher than in Muslim-majority countries. In Egypt, the rate is 2.9 while in Lebanon it's 1.9

In 2000, Muslim women in Israel averaged 4.7 children.

Muslim women living in southern Israel average 5.5 children, while in the north they average 2.9.