Foreign Postdoctoral Researchers Decline Sharply in Israel
Translated & summarized from Calcalist by baba
The number of foreign postdoctoral researchers in Israel has fallen by over 20% in two years, while the number of Israeli researchers has increased. Data from the Central Bureau of Statistics shows a 11.6% drop in foreign researchers in 2025 and a 10.1% drop in 2024. India was the largest source of foreign researchers, and the Hebrew University hosted the most postdocs.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Foreign postdoctoral researchers in Israel decreased by 11.6% in 2025 and 10.1% in 2024.
- Israeli postdoctoral researchers increased by 8.5% in 2025 and 8.7% in 2024.
- A total of 3,115 individuals were engaged in postdoctoral research in Israel in 2025.
- Over half of foreign postdoctoral researchers in Israel in 2025 came from India.
- The Hebrew University leads in hosting postdoctoral researchers, followed by the Weizmann Institute.
The number of foreign researchers participating in postdoctoral studies in Israel has seen a significant decline, dropping by 11.6% in 2025 and 10.1% in 2024. This contrasts with an increase in Israeli researchers during the same periods, which rose by 8.5% and 8.7% respectively. These figures come from data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS).
In 2025, a total of 3,115 individuals with doctoral degrees were engaged in postdoctoral research across Israel's eight universities. Less than half of these were foreign nationals. The total number of research projects also decreased by 60 compared to 2024, with Israeli researchers contributing 130 more projects while foreign researchers' projects fell by 190.
Foreign postdoctoral researchers in Israel hailed from 73 countries, with the majority (52%) originating from India. Other significant countries of origin included China (8.9%), Germany (6.1%), the United States (3.7%), Italy (3.4%), France (2.9%), and Russia (2.8%).
The Hebrew University leads in the number of postdoctoral researchers, accounting for 24.7% of the total, with research spanning 13 fields. Following is the Weizmann Institute of Science, where 16.4% of researchers work, notably 58.3% of whom are foreign. Ben-Gurion University hosts 13.9% of researchers, while Tel Aviv University and the Technion each have 11.7%.
Specializations vary among institutions. The Hebrew University excels in agriculture, humanities, languages, and social sciences. The Weizmann Institute leads in biological sciences, and the Technion is at the forefront of engineering, architecture, and medicine research.