19 September 2007
A study of the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute (JPPPI) in Israel has concluded that there are 13.1 million Jews living in the world. This constitutes an increase of almost half a million people, or about 4 per cent, compared to 1970 figures, according to the ‘Ma’ariv’. newspaper The largest decrease in the number of Jews in the Diaspora was noted in the former Soviet Union and in Eastern Europe, following the migration of about one million Jews from that region to Israel. There are currently about 450,000 Jews left in those countries, of whom about 221,000 are estimated to live in Russia and about 79,000 in Ukraine.
An additional significant decline of about 24 per cent has occurred in South America, where only 393,000 Jews remain. About 184,000 Jews live in Argentina, 96,000 in Brazil, and 40,000 in Mexico. The number of Jews in North Africa has also dwindled significantly and currently only about 5,000 Jews remain in the region, compared with 83,000 in 1970. In South Africa, 72,000 of the 124,000 Jews recorded in 1970 remain. Asia has also seen a significant decline. Of the 100,000 Jews who lived on that continent in 1970, only 20,000 remain, a large majority of whom live in Iran. About 300 Jews reside in Yemen, about 10 live in Syria, and a single Jew is recorded in Afghanistan.
The number of Jews in North America has still not changed significantly, despite the waves of Jewish immigration from Eastern Europe, and stands at 5.6 million. Western Europe has seen a 5 per cent decrease in the number of Jews. Currently, around one million Jews live in that region, about 490,000 of them in France, 295,000 in the United Kingdom, and 120,000 in Germany. Outside Israel only Australia and New Zealand have experienced an increase in the number of Jews, which now totals 111,000, compared with 70,000 in 1970. In tandem with the decrease in the number of Jews in the Diaspora, the Jewish population in Israel has doubled since 1970, and now stands at 5.4 million, representing 40 per cent of the world-wide Jewish population.
