On the eve of Israel's 68th Independence day, the number of its citizens stands at 8,522,000 people, according to the figures provided by the Central Bureau of Statistics.

The State of Israel only had 806,000 citizens when it was established in 1948, while the CBS estimates that there will be approximately 11.3 million Israelis by 2035.

Israel’s Independence Day begins with celebrations on Wednesday night, as the country transitions from Yom Hazikaron - Memorial Day — 24 hours of mourning for its fallen soldiers and terror victims.

There are 6,377,000 Jewish Israelis, 74.8% of the total population, and 1,771,000 Arab Israelis, 20.8% of the population, the bureau said. Christians, non-Arabs, and other minority groups account for 374,000 people, or 4.4% of the population.

Since last year’s Independence Day, 195,000 people were born and 47,000 died, while 36,000 immigrated to Israel.

75 percent of the Jews living in Israel were born in Israel, compared to only 35 percent when the state was established 68 years ago.

In 1948, only Tel Aviv-Jaffa had more than 100,000 residents. Today, there are 13 cities with more than 100,000 people, eight of them with over 200,000 residents: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv–Jaffa, Haifa, Rishon Lezion, Petah Tikva, Ashdod, Netanya, and Be'er Sheva.

According to CBS data, there were only 11.5 million Jews in the world in 1948, and only 6 % of them lived in Israel. Three generations later, there are about 14.3 million Jews worldwide, of which 43 % live in Israel – almost half of all Jews worldwide.