Ten Most Populous West Bank Settlements, 1994–2004

 

Name	Population		Population Change
	1994	2004	Number	%
Ma'ale Adumim	18,400	28,923	10,523	57
Modi'in Illit	6,150a	27,386	21,236	345
Betar Illit	4,880	24,895	20,015	410
Ariel	12,800	16,414	3,614	28
Giv'at Ze'ev	6,750	10,635	3,885	58
Efrata	4,650	7,273	2,623	56
Qiryat Arba	5,120	6,651	1,531	30
Qarne Shomron	4,820	6,170	1,350	28
Oranit	3,380	5,458	2,078	61
Alfe Menashe	2,710	5,433	2,723	100
Total	69,660	139,238	69,578	100
West Bank Total	122,700	234,487	111,787	91

a.1996.

Source: Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, “Population in Localities, 1994, Demographic Characteristics, by Geographical Divisions (S.P.1026);” “Israel in Numbers 2004.”

The largest and most popular settlements, most of which are located in the metropolitan Jerusalem region, have doubled in population over the last decade. The ten largest settlements house 59 percent of the total West Bank settler population of 234,487. Almost half—46 percent—of the settler population live in the five largest settlements. Ariel, at one time the second most populous settlement, has grown far less than the average -- 28 percent compared to 91 percent -- and has now been eclipsed by larger and faster growing settlements catering to the ultra-Orthodox community.