How large is the Jewish population around the world? Where are the most Jews? What are their characteristics? Everything you want to know
In order to know how many Jews there are in total, one must also count the Jewish population around the world. The most recent count was done by the Jewish Agency in 2019 or the Hebrew year תש׳׳פ. At that time, the number of Jews in the world was 14.8 million in total, of which most of the world’s Jewish population lived outside the Land of Israel – about 8.1 million. The largest populations are in Israel and then in the United States, with about 7 million Jews in Israel and about 6 million in the United States.
After Israel and the United States, France is the country with the most Jews with 450,000 Jews, followed by Canada with 392,000 Jews, Britain with 290,000 Jews, about 290,000 in Argentina, and 190,000 in Russia.
Who is a Jew? So we know how many Jews there are in the world population – but how do you even determine who is a Jew? This is a complicated question that troubles the State of Israel regarding the laws of aliyah. Not only does it trouble them, but we will also have to determine who the Jew is for the census of the Jews. The Jewish Agency defines a jew as “someone who represents himself as a Jew and does not identify with another religion.”
The Jewish population in Israel – Jewish Israeli
As stated, the number of Jews as of 2019 stands at almost 7 million, 6.7 million to be exact. But these are only the Jews who define themselves as Jews and do not identify with another religion. According to the Law of Return (a law that defines who is entitled to immigrate to the State of Israel), a Jew is anyone whose mother is Jewish or who converted correctly. According to this definition, the number of Jews in the world is even greater, 23.6 million, of whom 16.5 are outside Israel. Jews make up about 74% of the population in Israel, the second largest population is the Arabs who make up about 20%. About 40% of Jews define themselves as secular, about 21% are traditional, not very religious, about 12% are traditionally religious, about 11% are religious, and about 10% are ultra-Orthodox.
The Jewish population in the United States
The Jewish population in the United States is about 6 million Jews. Despite a large number of Jews in the United States, their number is declining, for example between the early 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s, the number of Jews in the United States decreased by 5.5%. The main reason for the decline is assimilation. The trend began as early as the 1960s and seems to be continuing. The largest Jewish community is in and around New York, about 1.6 million Jews, but in recent years many of them have moved to South Florida, Los Angeles, and other metropolitan areas. The metropolitan areas of New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami make up more than a quarter of the world’s Jewish population. More than 90% of American Jewry are Jews from the Ashkenazi community. High percentages of Jews in the various states are New York at 8.9%, New Jersey at 5.86%, the District of Columbia at 4.5%, and Massachusetts at 4.07%. Although this is one of the largest Jewish communities in the world, of the citizens of the United States, Jews make up only a little more than a percentage of the general population.
The expectation of the Jewish population around the world.
Looking to the future, the maximum predictions are for 20 million Jews in Israel and around the world by 2050, the lowest estimates speak of 14 million Jews in Israel and around the world, meaning a decrease. The average estimate is 17 million. In the State of Israel in 2050. If the people of Israel can return to their pre-Holocaust dimensions. The optimistic scenario, in this case, is economic prosperity and security. Both in Israel and around the world. The pessimistic scenario is of a precarious security situation, a deteriorating economy, a low birth rate, assimilation, and in Israel immigration from it and not to it. It is also expected that a third of the population in Israel will be ultra-Orthodox, in contrast to 10% today.