Jewish population by country

Jewish population by country (2013)

The world's core Jewish population in early 2014 was estimated at 14.2 million people (around 0.2% of the world's population).^[1][2] While dozens of countries host at least a small Jewish population, the community is concentrated in a handful: Israel and the United States account for 83% of the Jewish population, while a total of 18 countries host 98%.^[2]

With just over 6 million Jews, Israel is the only Jewish majority and explicitly Jewish state. Jewish population figures for the United States are contested, ranging between 5.7 and 6.8 million.^[3] (The core global total of Jews jumps above 15 million if the highest American estimates are assumed). Other countries with a significant Jewish population are, like Israel and the US, typically well-developed OECD members with Jews concentrated in major urban centers.^[2]

In 1939, the core Jewish population reached its historical peak of 17 million (0.8% of the global population). Because of the Holocaust, the number was reduced to 11 million in 1945.^[4] The population grew again to around 13 million by the 1970s, but has since recorded near-zero growth until around 2005 due to low fertility rates and to assimilation. Since 2005, the world's Jewish population has been growing modestly at a rate of around 0.78% (in 2013). This increase primarily reflects the rapid growth of Haredi and some Orthodox sectors, who are becoming a growing proportion of Jews.^[5]

Demographer Sergio DellaPergola proposes an "extended" Jewish population, including people identifying as partly Jewish and non-Jews with Jewish parents, that numbers 17.2 million globally. His "enlarged" Jewish population figure further includes non-Jewish members of Jewish households and totals 20.1 million. Finally, the total number of people who hold or are eligible for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return — defined as anyone with at least one Jewish grandparent, and who does not actively profess any other religion — is estimated at around 22.9 million, of which 6.4 million are currently living in Israel. Figures for these expanded categories are naturally less precise than for the core Jewish population.^[2]

Recent trends

Recent Jewish population dynamics are characterized by continued steady increase in the Israeli Jewish population and flat or declining numbers in countries of the diaspora. The Jewish population of Israel has increased more than tenfold since the country's inception in 1948 to 6,135,000 today^[6] while the population of the diaspora has dropped from 10.5 to 8.1 million over the same period.^[2] Current Israeli Jewish demographics are characterized by a relatively high fertility rate of 3 children per woman and a stable age distribution.^[7] The overall growth rate of this group is 1.7% annually.^[8] The diaspora countries, by contrast, have low Jewish birth rates, an increasingly elderly age composition, and a negative balance of people leaving Judaism versus those joining.^[2]

Immigration trends also favor Israel ahead of diaspora countries. The Jewish state has a positive immigration balance (referred to as aliyah in the country). Israel saw its Jewish numbers significantly buoyed by a million-strong wave of Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union in the 1990s^[9] and immigration growth has been steady in the low tens of thousands since then.^[10] Globally, only the United States, Canada, Australia, and Germany have shown a positive recent Jewish migration balance outside of Israel. In general, the anglosphere has seen its share of the diaspora increase since the Holocaust and the foundation of Israel, while historic Jewish populations in Eastern Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East have significantly declined or disappeared.^[11] France continues to be home to the world's third largest Jewish community, between 500,000 and 600,000 people,^[12][13] but has shown an increasingly negative trend, including the largest emigration loss to Israel in 2014.^[14]

Debate over American numbers

The exact number of Jews in the United States has been the subject of much debate given questions over counting methodology. In 2012, Sheskin and Dashefsky put forward a figure of 6.72 million based on a mixture of local surveys, informed local estimates, and US census data. They qualified this, however, with a concern over double counting and suggested the real figure may lie between 6 and 6.4 million.^[15] Drawing on the work, the Steinhardt Social Research Institute released their own estimate of 6.8 million Jews in the United States in 2013.^[16] All of these figures stand in contrast to Israeli demographer Sergio DellaPergola's number of 5,425,000 also in 2012.^[2] He has called high estimates “implausible” and “unreliable” although he did revise the American Jewish number upward to 5.7 million in 2014.^[2][3] This latest furor follows a similar debate in 2001 when the National Jewish Population Survey released a Jewish American estimate as low as 5.2 million only to have serious methodological errors suggested in their survey.^[3] In sum, a confidence interval of a million or more people is likely to persist in reporting on the number of Jewish Americans.

Countries and Territories

Below is a list of Jewish populations in the world by country or territory. Unless otherwise indicated, core and enlarged population numbers are taken from DellaPergola's chapter "World Jewish Population" of the American Jewish Year Book of 2014.^[2] Where other credible sources present competing numbers these are presented with a range and citation. DellaPergola's population figures are primarily based on national censuses combined with trend analysis. Regarding definitions, he has described the "core Jewish population" in the diaspora as "all persons who, when asked in a socio-demographic survey, identify themselves as Jews; or who are identified as Jews by a respondent in the same household, and do not have another monotheistic religion."^[2]

The American Jewish Year Book numbers are reproduced with explanatory notes by country in the online Jewish Virtual Library.^[17] The library is a comprehensive non-governmental website covering topics about U.S.-Israel relations and the Jewish people. A number of tiny countries whose Jewish populations are not listed in DellaPergola are provided here from the Virtual Library. For European countries, further information is provided by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, including an interactive map of core and enlarged Jewish population that generally corresponds to DellaPergola's figures.^[18]

Country populations used to deduce the "One Jew per # of people" column in the table are taken from the CIA World Factbook, with most estimates current as of July 2014.^[19]

Table

Country or Territory	Core Jewish Population	One Jew per # of people	Enlarged Jewish Population
World	14,212,800	505	20,114,400
Israel[lower-alpha 1]	6,335,000[20]	1.32	6,451,000
United States	5,700,000 - 6,800,000[16]	56	10,000,000
European Union	1,103,300	464	1,597,700
France	475,000	139	600,000
Canada	385,000	90	550,000
United Kingdom	269,568	220	370,000
Russia	186,000	766	500,000
Argentina	181,300 - 230,000[21]	238	330,000
Germany	118,000	686	250,000
Australia	112,500	213	135,000
Brazil	95,000 - 107,329[22]	2,133	150,000
South Africa	70,000	691	80,000 - 92,000[23]
Ukraine	63,000	703	130,000
Hungary	47,900	207	95,000
Mexico	40,000 - 67,476[24]	3,007	50,000 - 67,476
Spain	30,000	900	50,000
Belgium	30,000	348	40,000
Netherlands	29,900	563	50,000
Italy	28,000	2,166	45,000
Poland[lower-alpha 2]	25,000[28]	11,983	7,500 - 100,000[27]
Switzerland	19,000	424	25,000
Chile	18,500	939	26,000
Turkey	17,200	4,801	21,000
Sweden	15,000	648	25,000
Uruguay	12,000[29] - 17,200	278	25,000
Belarus	11,500	835	25,000
Panama	10,000	361	11,000
Romania	9,400	2,312	17,000
Austria	9,000	914	17,000
Iran	8,756[30] - 10,000	9,186	12,000
Azerbaijan	9,100[31]	1,113	16,000
Venezuela	8,000	3,608	12,000
New Zealand	6,867[32]	655	10,000[33]
Denmark	6,400	870	8,500
Morocco	6,000[34]	13,745	6,500
Latvia	5,600	387	12,000
Hong Kong	5,000[35]	1,422	5,000
India	5,000	247,269	7,000
Greece	4,500	2,394	6,000
Colombia	4,500	10,277	3,200
Czech Republic	3,900	2,725	6,500
Uzbekistan	3,800	7,613	8,000
Republic of Moldova	3,700	968	7,500
Kazakhstan	3,100	5,790	6,500
Lithuania	2,900	1,209	6,500
Georgia	2,800	1,763	6,000
Slovakia	2,600	2,093	4,500
Costa Rica	2,500	1,902	3,000
China	2,500	542,277	3,000
Bulgaria	2,000	3,462	6,000
Estonia	2,000	629	3,400
Peru	1,900	15,867	3,000
Croatia	1,700	2,629	3,000
Ireland	1,600	3,020	2,400
Puerto Rico	1,500	2,431	2,500
Serbia	1,400	5,149	2,800
Finland	1,300	4,052	1,800
Norway	1,300	3,960	2,000
Japan	1,000	127,103	1,400
Paraguay	900 - 1,000[36]	7,448	1,500
Guatemala	900	16,274	1,500
Tunisia	900	12,153	1,100
Ecuador	600	26,090	1,000
Luxembourg	600	867	900
Portugal	600	18,022	1,000
Gibraltar	600	48	800
Cuba	500	22,094	1,500
United States Virgin Islands	500	208	700
Bolivia	500	21,262	900
Bosnia and Herzegovina	500	7,742	1,000
Kyrgyzstan	500	11,208	1,000
Zimbabwe	400	34,430	600
Armenia	300 - 500[37]	10,200	300 - 500
Bahamas	300	1,070	400
Singapore	300	18,557	500
Vietnam	300[38]	311,403	300
Kenya	300	150,033	700
Pakistan	200[39] - 1500[40]	980,870	1500
Lebanon	200[41][42]	29,415	200
Jamaica	200	14,650	400
Netherlands Antilles	200	1,525	400
Suriname	200	2,865	400
Turkmenistan	200	25,860	400
Thailand	200	338,705	300
French Polynesia	120[43]	1,533	120
Republic of Macedonia	100	20,910	200
Philippines	100	1,076,680	200
Dominican Republic	100	103,497	200
El Salvador	100	61,255	200
Cyprus	100	11,724	200
Malta	100	4,126	200
Slovenia	100	19,882	200
South Korea	100	490,400	200
Taiwan	100	233,600	200
Ethiopia	100	966,334	1,000
Botswana	100	21,558	200
Democratic Republic of the Congo	100	774,337	200
Namibia	100	21,984	200
Nigeria	100	1,771,558	200
Yemen	90[44] - 200	289,467	300
Martinique	90[45]	4,289	90
Fiji	60[46]	15,050	60
New Caledonia	50[47]	5,340	50
Albania	40 - 50[48]	75,500	40 - 50
Bahrain	36[49]	36,500	36

Remnant and vanished populations

The above table represents Jews that number at least a few dozen per country. Reports do exist of Jewish communities remaining in other territories in the low single digits that are on the verge of disappearing, particularly in the Muslim world; these are often of historical interest as they represent the remnant of once much larger Jewish populations. Egypt, for example, had a Jewish community of 80,000 in the early twentieth century that numbers less than 40 today, mainly because of the immigration movements to Israel at that time.^[50] Afghanistan may have only one Jew left, Zablon Simintov, despite a 2,000 year history of Jewish presence.^[51] In Syria, another ancient Jewish community saw mass exodus at the end of the twentieth century and numbered less than 20 in the midst of the Syrian Civil War.^[52] The size of the Jewish community in Indonesia has been variously given as 65, 100, or 18 at most over the last 50 years.^[53][54]

See also

• Jewish ethnic divisions
• Jewish population by urban areas
• Judaism
• Judaism by country
• Historical Jewish population comparisons

Notes

1. Numbers in this list are the total for Israel proper as well as the disputed Palestinian territories. Broken down by area, the Jewish population numbers are:^[2]
   • Israel: 5,763,100 (core); 6,103,100 (enlarged)
   • Palestinian territories: 340,100 (core); 348,000 (enlarged)
2. Poland shows the widest range of any entry in this table. Once the epicenter of the diaspora with millions of Jews, the population was decimated by the Holocaust and further subdued by communism; estimating current numbers has been difficult. DellaPagoria presents conservative estimates of just 3,200 (core) and 7,500 (enlarged) because census numbers have been low. There is reason to suspect the number is higher with multiple sources suggesting a population in the range of 20,000 to 25,000.^[25][26] One report notes that estimates have ranged anywhere from 10,000 to 100,000.^[27]

References

1. Wisse, Ruth (2007). Jews and Power. Schocken Books. p. 188. ISBN 978-0805242249.
2. DellaPergola, Sergio (2014). Dashefsky, Arnold; Sheskin, Ira, eds. "World Jewish Population, 2014". Current Jewish Population Reports (The American Jewish Year Book (Dordrecht: Springer)) 113: 301–393. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
3. "US Jewish Population is Anywhere Between 5.425 Million and 6.722 Million". Jewish Political News and Updates. 18 February 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
4. "World Jewish Population - Latest Statistics". Retrieved 14 February 2015.
5. "Haredi Orthodox account for bulk of Jewish population growth in New York City - Nation". Jewish Journal. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
6. Yaakov Levi. "Israel Population Now 8.2 Million - 75% Are Jewish". Israel National News. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
7. "Fertility Rates, by Age and Religion". Statistical Abstract of Israel. Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. 11 September 2012. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
8. "Data: Arab Growth Slows, Still Higher than Jewish Rate". Israel National News. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
9. Post-Soviet Aliyah and Jewish Demographic Transformation - Mark Tolts.
10. "Immigration to Israel by Year". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
11. "Demography". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
12. RFI (7 September 2014). "Les juifs de France émigrent en masse vers Israël". RFI. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
13. "La communauté juive de France compte 550.000 personnes, dont 25.000 à Toulouse". France info. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
14. "France tops list for Jewish emigration to Israel". RFI. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
15. Sheshkin, Ira; Dashefsky, Arnold (2 November 2012). Dashefsky, Arnold; Sheskin, Ira, eds. "Jewish Population in the United States, 2012" (PDF). Current Jewish Population Reports. Storrs, Connecticut: North American Jewish Data Bank. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
16. Tighe, Elizabeth; et al. (September 2013). "American Jewish Population Estimates: 2012" (PDF). Brandeis University: Steinhardt Social Research Institute. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
17. 2012. Retrieved on 30 January 2014
18. "Jewish populations in Europe". Institute for Jewish Policy Research. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
19. "Country Comparison: Population". CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
20. "Latest Population Statistics for Israel | Jewish Virtual Library". www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
21. Congreso Judío Latinoamericano. "Comunidades judías latinoamericanas: Argentina" (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 January 2015.
22. 2010 Brazilian census Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Retrieved on 30 January 2014
23. NSW Board of Jewish Education. "South African Jews". Retrieved 6 July 2015.
24. "Panorama de las religiones en México 2010" (PDF) (in Spanish). INEGI. p. 3. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
25. Pfeffer, Anshel (3 February 2015). "The killing fields of Auschwitz nearby, Polish Jewish life is being reborn in Krakow". Haaretz. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
26. Easton, Adam (27 October 2014). "Polish museum celebrates 1,000 years of Jewish life". BBC. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
27. Timothy Garton Ash. "A small miracle in the tortured history of Polish-Jewish relations". Retrieved 1 July 2015.
28. "Warsaw Jews to Open First JCC in Polish Capital". Retrieved 14 February 2015.
29. Congreso Judío Latinoamericano. "Comunidades judías latinoamericanas: Uruguay" (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 January 2015.
30. "Jewish woman brutally murdered in Iran over property dispute". The Times of Israel. 28 November 2012. Retrieved 16 Aug 2014. A government census published earlier this year indicated there were a mere 8,756 Jews left in Iran
31. "Ethnic composition of Azerbaijan 2009".
32. "Religious Affiliation (total response)". 2013 Census Data – QuickStats About Culture and Identity – Tables. 2013. Table 31.
33. "Jewish professor receives New Zealand Order of Merit". The Jerusalem Post. June 10, 2009. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
34. "The World Factbook".
35. Lyons, Erica (August 2011). "The Jewish Community of Hong Kong". Beit Hatfutsot Museum. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
36. Congreso Judío Latinoamericano. "Comunidades judías latinoamericanas: Paraguay" (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 January 2015.
37. Freund, Michael. "Vandals deface Holocaust memorial in Armenia". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
38. "Economic Opportunities Lure Jews to Land of Ho Chi Minh". Jewish Telegraph Agency. 1 October 2007. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
39. "Pakistan". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
40. "Minorities’ votes may decide fate of 96 constituencies". Dawn. 19 March 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
41. Rainey, Venetia. "Uncovering Lebanon's Jewish past". Al Jezeera. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
42. "Beirut's hidden Jewish community". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
43. "Tahiti". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
44. Finn, Tom; Root, Tik. "For Yemen’s Few Remaining Jews, Time Has Run Out". Time Magazine. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
45. "Martinique". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
46. "Fiji". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
47. "New Caledonia". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
48. "Albania". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
49. Slackman, Michael (17 April 1999). "In a Landscape of Tension, Bahrain Embraces Its Jews. All 36 of Them.". NY Times. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
50. "Egypt's Jewish community buries deputy leader". Al Jazeera. 12 March 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
51. Donati, Jessica; Harooni, Mirwais (12 November 2013). "Last Jew in Afghanistan faces ruin as kebabs fail to sell". Reuters. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
52. "Syria". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
53. CIA World Fact Book
54. Levenda 2007 pp 188

External links

• Israelbooks.com The Jewish People Policy Planning Institute Annual Assessment 2004–2005: Between Thriving and Decline. Gefen Publishing House.
• Publications on Jewish population at the Berman Jewish Policy Archive @ NYU Wagner
• Jewish Population and Migration, by YIVO Encyclopedia