The five largest cities in the country (Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Rishon Lezion, and Ashdod) where more than a quarter of the Israeli population is concentrated, approximately 2 million people, recorded negative migration between 2010 and 2013. In Tel Aviv, 22,500 people left the city in 2013 compared to 20,500 who moved there. 18,000 people left Jerusalem the same year compared to only 10,500 who settled there. Raanana is the most abandoned city, losing 2% of its population each year! The cost of apartments is said to be the main cause of these departures (a new 4-room apartment would cost an average of 2.14 million shekels in Raanana according to figures provided by the Ministry of Construction). The desire to live better, more peacefully and in a more intimate and less polluted environment would also explain this flight from major urban centers to small towns or communities with fewer than 100,000 inhabitants. Ganei Tikva (30,800 inhabitants in 2013), Gan Yavné (24,300), and Yokneam (13,300) continue to attract more and more Israelis.
Sources: Central Bureau of Statistics.
