Ashdod (Hebrew: אַשְׁדּוֹד; Arabic: إسدود, Isdud) is a city in the Southern District of Israel. It is located in the south of the Israeli Coastal Plain. Its jurisdiction is 60,000 dunams (60 km²). It was declared a city in 1968. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Ashdod had a population of about 200,000 at the end of 2005 (5th largest in Israel). The annual population growth rate is 2.6%. The ratio of women to men is 1,046 to 1,000.