As Israel observes its annual Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day on Monday the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) released data on the number of Holocaust survivors who live in the country as well as the worldwide Jewish population. The most troubling statistic revealed is that, 89 years since the end of the Holocaust, the world Jewish population is less than it was before the Holocaust began in 1939.
Israel has the largest share of the world Jewish population. The CBS reported that at the end of 2023, the world Jewish population was 15.7 million, of whom 7.1 million lived in Israel (45% of the world Jewish population) and 6.3 million (40% of the world Jewish population) lived in the United States.
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There are 440,000 Jews in France (3%), 398,000 in Canada (2.5%), 312,000 in the United Kingdom (2%) 171,000 in Argentina (2%), 132,000 in Russia (1.1%), 125,000 in Germany (0.8%), and 117,000 live in Australia (0.7%).
In 1939, on the eve of World War II, the world Jewish population was 16.6 million, of whom 449,000 (3%) lived in Israel.
In 1948, on the eve of the establishment of the State of Israel, the world Jewish population was 11.5 million, of whom 650,000 (6%) lived in Israel.
As for Holocaust survivors, the CBS said that on the eve of Holocaust Day 2024, there are about 133,000 Holocaust survivors and victims of anti-Semitic acts perpetrated during the Holocaust living in Israel. Based on data for the beginning of 2024, women constitute 62% of the Holocaust survivors, and men constitute 38%. Of the survivors, about 6.2% immigrated to Israel before the establishment of the state, during 1933–1947. About one-third (30.5%) of the survivors immigrated to Israel in the great wave of immigration after the establishment of the state (1948–1951). Another 29.8% immigrated in the years 1952–1989, and about one-third (33.5%) immigrated since the 1990s, during the last wave of immigration from the USSR (former).
The CBS also stated that, at the end of 2023, the world Jewish population was 15.7 million. In 1939, on the eve of World War II and the Holocaust, the world Jewish population was 16.6 million, of whom 449,000 (3%) lived in Israel. In 1948, on the eve of the establishment of the State of Israel, the world Jewish population was 11.5 million, of whom 650,000 (6%) lived in Israel.
Jews in Israel by Continent of Origin:
The number of Jews living in Israel: 7.1 million (45% of the world Jewish population)
Of them: 5.7 million were born in Israel
1.4 million were born abroad, of whom 1 million were born in Europe or in America, 275,000 were born in Africa, and 143,700 were born in Asia.
