In 1939 there were 16.6 million Jews living around the world; today there are only 14.31 million. Where do they live and how many have immigrated to Israel since 1948?
The number of Jews in the world is still lower than the number of Jews before the Holocaust, figures released by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) in its annual statistical report show. In 1939, there were 16.6 million Jews living around the world, while today there are 14.31 million.
According to the data, the world had 7.8 million Jews in 1882, 24,000 of them in the Land of Israel. In other words, less than 1 percent of the Jews were living in Israel when the First Aliyah (the first modern widespread wave of Zionist immigration) began.
When World War I broke out in 1914, the number of Jews in the world had already reached 13.5 million, 50,000 of them in the Land of Israel.
In 1939, just before the Holocaust, there were 16.6 million Jews in the world, 449,000 of them (3 percent) in the Land of Israel. When the State of Israel was established in 1948, the number of Jews in the world was 11.5 million, and 650,000 of them (6 percent) were living in Israel.
The next 32 years saw a moderate increase in the number of Jews in the world, which reached 12.84 million in 1980, 3.283 million of them in Israel. In other worlds, one in four Jews was living in Israel at the time.
Thirty years later, the number of Jews in the world went up very moderately to 13.925 million, 5.803 million of them (42 percent) in Israel.
According to the figures for 2015, there are 14.31 million Jews in the world, 6.219 million of them in Israel. In other words, 43 percent of the world’s Jews live in Israel today.
The number of Jews outside Israel is gradually decreasing due to the immigration to the Jewish state and assimilation. In 1975, for example, there were 9.781 million Jews living outside Israel, while today there are only 8.1 million. In other words, while the Jewish population in Israel more than doubled itself, the Jewish population in the world dropped some 20 percent.
According to the CBS figures, there are currently 5.7 million Jews living in the United States, 467,000 in France, 386,000 in Canada, 290,000 in Britain, 183,000 in Russia, 181,000 in Argentina, 118,000 in Germany and 113,000 in Australia.
The annual report also includes the number of new immigrants in Israel. A total of 24,112 people made aliyah in 2014 – the highest number since 2003. A total of 3,149,728 people immigrated to Israel since the State’s establishment.
The highest increase in aliyah was in the first years after the State’s establishment. A total of 687,624 people immigrated to Israel by 1951, almost half of them from Europe. The number of immigrants dropped dramatically from 1952 to 1954, with only 54,676 new olim, and increased from 1955 to 1957, with the arrival of 166,492 people, mostly from North Africa. The main immigration to Israel from 1961 to 1964 was also from North African countries.
A low in the number of new immigrants was recorded from 1985 to 1989, with only 70,196 new olim, mostly from European countries. But the fall of the Soviet Union and the Iron Curtain led to a dramatic increase in the number of new immigrants, with 609,322 people arriving from 1990 to 1994 and 346,997 people arriving from 1995 to 1999. The flow of new immigrants was significantly reduced in the following years, until 2014 saw a jump of nearly 50 percent.
The CBS figures reveal that 1949 was the year with the highest number of new immigrants – 239,954. The lowest number was recorded in 1986 – only 9,505. In fact, it was the only year in the State of Israel’s history in which less than 10,000 new immigrants arrived in the country.
The age of new immigrants has also increased over the years. From 1948 to 1960, about 30 percent of the new olim were under 14. In 2014, only 16 percent were under 14. In the first 12 years after the State’s establishment, about 4 percent of new immigrants were over 65, while today about 18 percent of immigrants are pensioners.
The figures further show that more women than men have immigrated to Israel since 1948 – 1,630,048 compared to 1,519,677.
As reported by Ynetnews