According to data published by the Central Department of Statistics in Israel, on the eve of Christmas 2018, around 175 000 Christians live in Israel. They constitute 2 % of the total population in Israel. In 2017 the average of Christian demographic growth reached 2.2 %, against 1.4 % in the previous year. The hike is attributed to the arrival of 597 immigrants from Ethiopia. According to statistics, 70.6 % of Christians live in Northern Israel. The most densely populated city with Christians is Nazareth, embracing a population of 22 100 inhabitants, followed by Haifa with 15 800 inhabitants According to the same data, 782 Christian couples got married during year 2016. The average of male newly weds reached the age of 29.2 , while average of females reached the age of 25.6 The number of Christian new borns in 2017 reached up to 2 504. The average of number of children aged until 7 years within a Christian family reached 1.89 – the lowest percentage across the overall Israeli communities. The average number of children within Jewish families reached 2.39 , while with Moslem families 2.83 On the level of education, 78.5 % of Christian 12th graders earned their secondary diploma which qualifies them to join higher learning, according to requisites of the Israeli universities, against 59.5 % of Moslem students and 78.7 % of Jewish students. The number of Christian students in institutes of higher learning during academic year 2017/18 reached 5 900 students. They constitute 2.3 % of the overall number of students in institutes of higher learning. 73 % of Christian students strive to earn the first rank, of whom 22.8 % study hard to get the 2nd rank, while 3.3 % study to earn the 3rd rank, meaning Ph.D. According to the Israeli Department of Statistics, the percentage of participation in active forces in 2017 with Christians, aged 15 years and above, reached 68.6 % (with males 63.6 % and with females 74.7 %)