Global Jewish population hits 14.7 million – but remains far below pre-Holocaust peak

The worldwide Jewish population hit 14.7 million by the end of 2018, according to a new report released by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics.

According to the report, which was released ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day, the total Jewish population worldwide remains well below its pre-Holocaust peak. While the size of the Jewish population was similar in 1925, with about 14.8 million Jews living around the world at the time, by the eve of World War II in 1939, the population had grown to over 16.6 million.

Of the 16.6 million Jews worldwide on the eve of World War II, 449,000, or roughly 3% of the total population, lived in the British Mandate for Palestine, which would later become the State of Israel.

In 1948, on the eve of the establishment of the State, the number of Jews worldwide was 11.5 million, of whom 650,000 were in Israel (6%).

By the end of 2018, the worldwide Jewish population had risen to 14.7 million, with 6.7 million, or 45.6%, living in the State of Israel.

The second largest Jewish population in the world is in the US, with 5.7 million Jews, followed by France, with about 450,000 Jews, Canada with 392,000, the UK with 292,000, Argentina with 180,000, Russia with 165,000, Germany with 118,000, and Australia with 116,000.

Of the 6.7 million Jews living in the State of Israel as of the end of 2018, 5.2 million were born in Israel, while 1.5 million were foreign-born.