The two countries with the greatest shares of the world's Jewish population are the United States and Israel. The United States had been a hub of Jewish immigration since the nineteenth century, as Jewish people sought to escape persecution in Europe by emigrating across the Atlantic. The Jewish population in the U.S. is largely congregated in major urban areas, such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, with the New York metropolitan area being the city with the second largest Jewish population worldwide, after Tel Aviv, Israel. Israel is the world's only officially Jewish state, having been founded in 1948 following the first Arab-Israeli War. While Jews had been emigrating to the holy lands since the nineteenth century, when they were controlled by the Ottoman Empire, immigration increased rapidly following the establishment of the state of Israel. Jewish communities in Eastern Europe who had survived the Holocaust saw Israel as a haven from persecution, while the state encouraged immigration from Jewish communities in other regions, notably the Middle East & North Africa. Smaller Jewish communities remain in Europe in countries such as France, the UK, and Germany, and in other countries which were hotspots for Jewish migration in the twentieth century, such as Canada and Argentina.

The world's Jewish population has had a complex and tumultuous history over the past millennia, regularly dealing with persecution, pogroms, and even genocide. The legacy of expulsion and persecution of Jews, including bans on land ownership, meant that Jewish communities disproportionately lived in urban areas, working as artisans or traders, and often lived in their own settlements separate to the rest of the urban population. This separation contributed to the impression that events such as pandemics, famines, or economic shocks did not affect Jews as much as other populations, and such factors came to form the basis of the mistrust and stereotypes of wealth (characterized as greed) that have made up anti-Semitic rhetoric for centuries. Development since the Middle Ages The concentration of Jewish populations across the world has shifted across different centuries. In the Middle Ages, the largest Jewish populations were found in Palestine and the wider Levant region, with other sizeable populations in present-day France, Italy, and Spain. Later, however, the Jewish disapora became increasingly concentrated in Eastern Europe after waves of pogroms in the west saw Jewish communities move eastward. Poland in particular was often considered a refuge for Jews from the late-Middle Ages until the 18th century, when it was then partitioned between Austria, Prussia, and Russia, and persecution increased. Push factors such as major pogroms in the Russian Empire in the 19th century and growing oppression in the west during the interwar period then saw many Jews migrate to the United States in search of opportunity.

The average for 2013 based on 21 countries was 4.3 percent. The highest value was in Israel: 76.2 percent and the lowest value was in Hungary: 0.2 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2013. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

This statistic shows the top 25 countries in the world with the largest number of Jewish population in 2010. In 2010, there were living about 5.7 million Jews in the United States.

Russia: People practicing Judaism as percent of the population: The latest value from 2013 is 0.4 percent, unchanged from 0.4 percent in 2012. In comparison, the world average is 4.3 percent, based on data from 21 countries. Historically, the average for Russia from 1991 to 2013 is 0.5 percent. The minimum value, 0.4 percent, was reached in 2005 while the maximum of 0.6 percent was recorded in 1991.

Mexico: People practicing Judaism as percent of the population: The latest value from 2013 is 0.2 percent, unchanged from 0.2 percent in 2012. In comparison, the world average is 4.3 percent, based on data from 21 countries. Historically, the average for Mexico from 1960 to 2013 is 0.2 percent. The minimum value, 0.2 percent, was reached in 1960 while the maximum of 0.2 percent was recorded in 1960.

In the Middle Ages, it is believed the largest Jewish populations in the world were found in Asia, particularly across the Middle East. Of the estimated total Jewish population of 1.2 million people, over 80 percent are thought to have lived in Asia, while 13 percent lived in Europe, and the remaining six precent lived in (North) Africa. The largest populations were found on the Arabian peninsula, as well as Iran and Iraq, while the Near East (here referring to the Levant region) had a much smaller population, despite being the spiritual homeland of the Jewish people.

These figures are based on the records of Benjamin of Tudela, a Jewish traveller from the Middle Ages who provided one of the most comprehensive collections of population statistics from the period. Benjamin's writings not only recorded the number of Jews living across this part of the world, but also gave an insight into societal structures and the ordinary daily lives within Jewish communities in the medieval period. The source providing these figures, however, has adjusted some of the statistics to account for known populations that were missing from Benjamin of Tudela's records, especially in Europe and Asia.

Between Oct. 14, 2014, and May 21, 2015, Pew Research Center, with generous funding from The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Neubauer Family Foundation, completed 5,601 face-to-face interviews with non-institutionalized adults ages 18 and older living in Israel.

The survey sampling plan was based on six districts defined in the 2008 Israeli census. In addition, Jewish residents of West Bank (Judea and Samaria) were included.

The sample includes interviews with 3,789 respondents defined as Jews, 871 Muslims, 468 Christians and 439 Druze. An additional 34 respondents belong to other religions or are religiously unaffiliated. Five groups were oversampled as part of the survey design: Jews living in the West Bank, Haredim, Christian Arabs, Arabs living in East Jerusalem and Druze.

Interviews were conducted under the direction of Public Opinion and Marketing Research of Israel (PORI). Surveys were administered through face-to-face, paper and pencil interviews conducted at the respondent's place of residence. Sampling was conducted through a multi-stage stratified area probability sampling design based on national population data available through the Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics' 2008 census.

The questionnaire was designed by Pew Research Center staff in consultation with subject matter experts and advisers to the project. The questionnaire was translated into Hebrew, Russian and Arabic, independently verified by professional linguists conversant in regional dialects and pretested prior to fieldwork.

The questionnaire was divided into four sections. All respondents who took the survey in Russian or Hebrew were branched into the Jewish questionnaire (Questionnaire A). Arabic-speaking respondents were branched into the Muslim (Questionnaire B), Christian (Questionnaire C) or Druze questionnaire (D) based on their response to the religious identification question. For the full question wording and exact order of questions, please see the questionnaire.

Note that not all respondents who took the questionnaire in Hebrew or Russian are classified as Jews in this study. For further details on how respondents were classified as Jews, Muslims, Christians and Druze in the study, please see sidebar in the report titled "http://www.pewforum.org/2016/03/08/israels-religiously-divided-society/" Target="_blank">"How Religious are Defined".

Following fieldwork, survey performance was assessed by comparing the results for key demographic variables with population statistics available through the census. Data were weighted to account for different probabilities of selection among respondents. Where appropriate, data also were weighted through an iterative procedure to more closely align the samples with official population figures for gender, age and education. The reported margins of sampling error and the statistical tests of significance used in the analysis take into account the design effects due to weighting and sample design.

In addition to sampling error and other practical difficulties, one should bear in mind that question wording also can have an impact on the findings of opinion polls.

Population: FE: Jewish Autonomous Region: Birobidzhan: Above Working Age data was reported at 16.300 Person th in 2019. This records a decrease from the previous number of 17.100 Person th for 2018. Population: FE: Jewish Autonomous Region: Birobidzhan: Above Working Age data is updated yearly, averaging 15.600 Person th from Dec 2003 (Median) to 2019, with 17 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 17.100 Person th in 2018 and a record low of 12.400 Person th in 2003. Population: FE: Jewish Autonomous Region: Birobidzhan: Above Working Age data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal State Statistics Service. The data is categorized under Russia Premium Database’s Demographic and Labour Market – Table RU.GA023: Population: by City: Far East Federal District.

During the Holocaust, approximately six million Jews were killed. In France, the Jewish population had decreased by ******* individuals between 1939 and 1945. It then increased between the end of World War II and the 1970s, reaching ******* individuals in 1970. However, according to the source, the number of Jews in France has declined by more than 15 percent between that period and 2020, and is now estimated to be *******.

People who identified as Jewish and Jewish identity groups by highest level of qualification, England and Wales, Census 2021.

Jewish identity data by age and sex in England and Wales, Census 2021

The data reported here are from the 2000 Annual Survey of American Jewish Opinion, sponsored by the American Jewish Committee, detailing the views of American Jews about a broad range of subjects. Among the topics covered in the present survey are the Israel-Arab peace process, the attachment of American Jews to Israel, political and social issues in the United States, Jewish perceptions of anti-Semitism, Jewish opinion about various countries, and Jewish identity concerns. Some of the questions appearing in the survey are new; others are drawn from previous American Jewish Committee surveys, including the 1997, 1998, and 1999 Annual Surveys of American Jewish Opinion. The 2000 survey was conducted for the American Jewish Committee by Market Facts, Inc., a leading survey-research organization. Respondents were interviewed by telephone during September 14-28, 2000; no interviewing took place on the Sabbath. The sample consisted of 1,010 self-identified Jewish respondents selected from the Market Facts consumer mail panel. The respondents are demographically representative of the United States adult Jewish population on a variety of measures. (AJC 3/4/2015).

Please Note: This dataset is part of the historical CISER Data Archive Collection and is also available at the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at https://doi.org/10.25940/ROPER-31094161. We highly recommend using the Roper Center version as they may make this dataset available in multiple data formats in the future.

What does it mean to be Jewish in America? A new "https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/05/11/jewish-americans-in-2020/" Target="_blank">Pew Research Center survey finds that many Jewish Americans participate, at least occasionally, both in some traditional religious practices - like going to a synagogue or fasting on Yom Kippur - and in some Jewish cultural activities, like making potato latkes, watching Israeli movies, or reading Jewish news online. Among young Jewish adults, however, two sharply divergent expressions of Jewishness appear to be gaining ground - one involving religion deeply enmeshed in every aspect of life, and the other involving little or no religion at all. This file contains screening data and is one of three files. The other files contain "https://www.thearda.com/data-archive?fid=PUSJH2020" Target="_blank">household data and "https://www.thearda.com/data-archive?fid=PUSJE2020" Target="_blank">extended data.

Israel Population: 2022 Census: excl Foreign Workers: Avg: Jews and Others: ow Jews data was reported at 7,246.900 Person th in Mar 2025. This records an increase from the previous number of 7,240.900 Person th for Feb 2025. Israel Population: 2022 Census: excl Foreign Workers: Avg: Jews and Others: ow Jews data is updated monthly, averaging 7,159.600 Person th from Jan 2023 (Median) to Mar 2025, with 27 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 7,246.900 Person th in Mar 2025 and a record low of 7,055.500 Person th in Jan 2023. Israel Population: 2022 Census: excl Foreign Workers: Avg: Jews and Others: ow Jews data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Central Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Israel – Table IL.G001: Population.

Population: FE: Jewish Autonomous Region data was reported at 144,389.000 Person in 2024. This records a decrease from the previous number of 145,802.000 Person for 2023. Population: FE: Jewish Autonomous Region data is updated yearly, averaging 179,058.000 Person from Dec 1989 (Median) to 2024, with 36 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 220,231.000 Person in 1991 and a record low of 144,389.000 Person in 2024. Population: FE: Jewish Autonomous Region data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal State Statistics Service. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Russian Federation – Table RU.GA002: Population: by Region.

This statistic shows the denominational affiliation of Jewish community members in the United States, as of January 2017. 28 percent of Jews identified with the Reform movement while 29 percent considered themselves to be "just Jewish"

Financial overview and grant giving statistics of Society for the Advancement of Judaism

The questionnaire is composed of three distinct segments. 1) Brief screening to elicit the Jewish character of the household relative to the respondent and other members. A household considered "Jewish" if any of the following was determined to be true of any household member: a) being Jewish, b) considering themselves Jewish, c) being raised Jewish, and d) having a Jewish parent. 2) Basic household demographics and 3) detailed series of questions dealing with a varietyof demographic, social, and philanthropic issues of interest to the Jewish Community.

People who identified as Jewish and Jewish identity groups by housing outcomes in England and Wales, Census 2021.