About 8.1 million of the Jewish population live outside Israel (of which about 5.7 million are in the US), while in Israel the number of Jews is about 6.7 million (compared with about 6.6 in 1990). There are also more than 400,000 immigrants to Israel who have come under the Law of Return but are not listed as Jews in the Population Register. These updated estimates are according to Professor Sergio Della Pergola of the Hebrew University in an article published in the American Jewish Journal AJYB 2019.

These figures include all those who define themselves as Jews and who do not hold a different religious identity. The research also indicates that the number of persons entitled to the Law of Return in the world is 23.6 million, 16.5 million of whom still live outside the State of Israel.

Jewish Agency Chairman Yitzhak Herzog said: “In the past year, tens of thousands of immigrants came up to Israel with the aid of the Jewish Agency, and tens of thousands of young Jews visited Israel in educational programs. The Jewish Agency will continue to be a bridge between Israel and the Jewish communities around the world and address the key challenges facing the Jewish people in Israel and in the Diaspora, most notably the fight against antisemitism which saw it worse year ever. We will also continue efforts to connect young Jews from around the world to Israel in the face of the boycott and delegitimization movements against the Jewish nation.

The Jewish population in countries around the world:

France 450,000
Canada 392,000
United Kingdom 292,000
Argentina 180,000
Russia 165,000
Germany 118,000
Australia 118,000
Brazil 93,000
South Africa 67,000
Ukraine 48,000
Hungary 47,000
Mexico 40,000
Netherlands 30,000
Belgium 29,000
Italy 27,000
Switzerland 19,000
Chile 18,000
Uruguay 16,000
Sweden 15,000
Spain 12,000

About 26,000 Jews live in Arab and Muslim countries, of which about 15,000 are in Turkey, about 8,500 in Iran, about 2000 in Morocco, and about 1,000 in Tunisia.

Countries in which the Jewish population numbers 500 or less include: Bermuda, Bahamas, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Jamaica, Curacao, Virgin Islands, Bolivia, Suriname, Cyprus, Malta, Slovenia, Bosnia, Northern Macedonia, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Indonesia, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Congo, Botswana, Kenya, Madagascar, Namibia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Yemen, Syria, Egypt.

The Jewish communities awaiting immigration to Israel from Ethiopia numbers about 8,000 persons.

In 98 of the world countries there are less than 100 Jews.

Jewish Agency Chairman Yitzhak Herzog is called for the “Challenges for the New Year – Combating Antisemitism and Connecting Diaspora Youth to Israel.”

Watch the Jewish Agency video wishing a Happy New Year from Israel and around the Jewish world.