section_path: Demographics/Major urban areas
section_name: Major urban areas
paragraph_text: Major urban areas
  
  Israel has four major metropolitan areas: Gush Dan (Tel Aviv metropolitan area; population 3,854,000), Jerusalem (population 1,253,900), Haifa (924,400), and Beersheba (377,100).
  
  Israel's largest municipality, in population and area, is Jerusalem with 981,711 residents in an area of 125 square kilometres (48 sq mi). Israeli government statistics on Jerusalem include the population and area of East Jerusalem, the status of which is in international dispute. Tel Aviv and Haifa rank as Israel's next most populous cities, with populations of 474,530 and 290,306, respectively. The (mainly Haredi) city of Bnei Brak is the most densely populated city in Israel and one of the 10 most densely populated cities in the world.
  
  Israel has 16 cities with populations over 100,000. As of 2018 there are 77 Israeli localities granted "municipalities" (or "city") status by the Ministry of the Interior, four of which are in the West Bank.