As Rosh Hashanah begins, Jewish world population on the up

The number of Jews around the world stands at 14.7 million on the eve of the Jewish new year of Rosh Hashanah, according to the Jewish Agency, marking an increase of 100,000 since 2017. Around 8.1 million Jews live outside Israel, 5.7 million of whom reside in the United States, a little shy of the 6.6 million Jews living inside Israel.

With 453,000 Jews, France is home to the second largest Jewish population outside the US, followed by Canada, in which 391,000 Jews live.

Britain has the second largest population of European Jewry with 290,000 Jews while in South America, Argentina is in the lead with 180,000 Jews.

(Photo: AFP)

Russia is home to 172,000 Jews while Germany's Jewish population falls behind at 116,000, the Jewish Agency figures show. Australia’s Jewish population stands at 113,000.

Muslim countries contain the fewest number of Jews, with none of the Jewish population figures reaching beyond 4 digits. 8,500 of the total 27,000 Jews spread throughout the Arab countries reside in Iran, while 2,000 live in Morocco and 1,000 live in Tunisia. In total, 98 countries around the globe host 100 Jews or more.

(Photo: Uri Davidovitch)

In all, Israel’s population stands at approximately 8.907 million as the country heads into the new year, up from 8,743,000 compared to the same period in 2017, according to data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS).  The CBS report also predicts that Israel’s population will reach 10 million by the end of 2024, and 15 million residents by the end of 2048. “By the end of the projection period, in 2065, the population of Israel is expected to grow to 20 million,” the fresh statistics reports says.

(Photo: EPA)

The report also breaks down Israel’s demographic composition, with the Jewish population accounting for 74.4% of the total population at approximately 6.625 million. The number of Arabs living in Israel is said to be approximately 1.864 million (20.9%), while those registered as “other” account for approximately 418,000 (4.7%). “Since Rosh Hashanah last year, the population of Israel has grown by approximately 162,000. The annual population growth rate in 5778 was 1.9%, similar to the rate in previous years,” the report noted. “During the year, approximately 175,000 babies were born and approximately 43,000 people died. Approximately 29,000 people were added to the population of Israel in the migration balance. Of those, approximately 25,000 were new immigrants,” the report summary added.

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