Israel's Population Grows Despite More Emigration Than Immigration

Israel's population has reached 10.305 million, marking a 1.2% increase over the past year, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics. This growth occurred despite a negative migration balance, with more Israelis leaving the country than new immigrants arriving. Approximately 24,000 new immigrants arrived in Israel during the year, while around 57,000 Israelis emigrated. An additional 21,000 citizens living abroad returned to Israel, but the net migration figure remained negative.

The primary driver of population growth was a high birth rate. Over the past year, about 182,000 children were born in Israel, and approximately 50,000 people died. This natural increase of about 132,000 people more than compensated for the net loss from migration.

The current demographic landscape shows approximately 7.8 million Jews and others (excluding Arabs), and about 2.17 million Arabs. The statistics also include around 300,000 foreign citizens. This contrasts with demographic trends from a few years ago. Israel's population surpassed 10 million in late 2024, and has been growing at roughly 1% annually since then.

As Israel enters the Jewish year 5787, the country faces the paradox of a growing population fueled by births rather than immigration, highlighting that newborns, not new immigrants, are currently the main demographic asset.