Since the middle of the current decade, the number of students has stabilized, primarily in undergraduate degrees. In the last year, an increase has been noted in their numbers, and it is expected that this increase will also continue in the 2019/20 academic year

Press Release – Collection of Data for Start of Year 2019/2020

According to estimates, during the 2019/20 academic year, 31,600 students are expected to be enrolled in the 61 academic institutions in Israel,[1] including: 236,450 undergraduate students, 64,180 graduate students, 11,870 doctoral students, and 1,100 certificate students.[2]

When one looks at the number of students over the decade, it is clear that during the first years of the decade – 2010-2015, the increased trend in the number of students in all degree levels continued, albeit at a slower pace as compared to prior years. The second half of the decade – 2015-2019 – is characterized by stability in the overall number of students.

During the 2018/19 academic year, 308,320 students were enrolled in all institutions of higher education as compared to 283,850 in 2010. Since the 2014/15 academic year, there has been a clear trend toward stability in the number of students in general. During the 2017/18 academic year, slight decreases were noted, primarily in the number of undergraduate students. In the 2018/19 academic year, the number of undergraduate students increased by approximately 1,500, reaching a total of 232,365, and according to the forecast received from the institutions of higher education, during the 2019/20 academic year, we expect their number to increase by approximately 4,100, for a total of 236,450.

This increase that we are seeing in the 2019/20 academic year will apply to all institutions of higher education, starting with research universities, the Open University, budgeted and non-budgeted academic colleges, as well as academic colleges of education.

[1]The student data appearing in this report were received from the Central Statistics Bureau in coordination with and with the guidance of the Planning and Budgeting Committee of the Council for Higher Education.

[2]The forecast data include those enrolled in the Open University. The Open University data does not include study writers. According to the Open University’s data, this includes 3,358 undergraduate students and 174 graduate students during the 2018/19 academic year, and 3,500 undergraduate students and 180 graduate students during the 2019/20 academic year. These data were reported by the Open University to the CSB for the first time starting from the 2018/19 academic year.

The trend toward an increase in advanced degrees continues. During the course of the decade, the number of graduate students increased from 50,270 (2009/10) to 64,180 students (the forecast for 2019/20). During the course of the decade, the number of doctoral students increased from 10,570 (2009/10) to 11,870 students (the forecast for 2019/20).

Multiyear View – Breakdown of Students by Degree