Emigration from Israel rising sharply

The number of Israelis leaving the country has jumped even after taking into account that many immigrants from Russia and Ukraine fleeing the war there have used Israel as a “transit” country. The war in Israel accelerated exodus, which peaked at 78,000 in 2024 (Israelis leaving in 2023), the Central Bureau of Statistics reports. 14% of those who immigrated were from Tel Aviv, while only 6.3% of those who immigrated came from Jerusalem, the largest city.

The Central Bureau of Statistics recently changed its calculation method, so that Israelis who leave their homeland and occasionally return for “family visits” are still considered immigrants. The definition today is “a person who spent a full year abroad, starting from the day he left the country, for no less than 275 days.” This means that the year in which a person is declared to have left the country is actually the year following his immigration.

Immigration from Israel began to increase significantly in 2023 (Israelis who left in 2022), as the number rose from 37 thousand in 2022 (who left in 2021) to 56 thousand. One of the main reasons for this is the multiplicity of beneficiaries of the Law of Return from Russia and Ukraine, after the Russian invasion that began in February 2022, with many of them arriving in Israel, using it as a temporary “transit station” on their way to other countries. This is most evident in the proportion of those born in the former Soviet Union among those leaving, which reached 43% in 2023 (they left in 2022) and increased even more the following year, when their percentage reached 47% of those leaving. In 2023, those born in Israel made up only 39% of departures.

But even among those born in Israel alone, there has been a jump in the number of those leaving the country: from 19,000 in 2022 (they left in 2021) to 23,000 in 2023 and 30,000 in 2024. Although the number of Russians and Ukrainians using Israel as a transit point has accelerated significantly in this trend, a jump of tens of percent can still be seen in Those born in Israel and those leaving the country. Country.

The level of population return remains relatively stable

From January to September 2025 (left in 2024), Tel Aviv continued to lead in the rate of departure from the country, at 14%. This rate has increased in recent years, and for comparison a decade ago, in 2014, the percentage of those leaving Tel Aviv to immigrate was only 11.2%. The population of Jerusalem, Israel’s largest city, makes up only 6.3% of those leaving the country. The opposite trend is clear for Jerusalem. In 2014, Jerusalem residents accounted for 10.6% of departures, and today the number has decreased significantly.

Haifa shows a similar trend to Tel Aviv, where the proportion of its population among immigrants has increased from 4.7% in 2014 to 7.7% today. Beersheba accounts for 2.1% of departures, with a stable trend, as well as Rishon LeZion with 3.2%. The migration rate is increasing from Bat Yam (2.6% in 2014 to 3.9%) and from Netanya (3.3% to 6.9%). More Israelis are leaving Netanya, with a population of 227,000, than are leaving Jerusalem, whose population recently reached more than a million. It should be emphasized that the migration rate has increased significantly in absolute numbers, and therefore the migration from Tel Aviv is more meaningful than expressed in percentages.

However, the rate of Israelis returning home has remained relatively stable, with Tel Aviv leading (10%) and Jerusalem in second place (9.4%), and neither showing dramatic trends one way or the other.

Demographically, 94.3% of immigrants are Jews and others (non-Jewish Russians and Ukrainians), most of whom (60%) have some academic education. But these numbers only go back to 2023 (the year of departure was 2022), so it is difficult to draw conclusions about trends in recent years, especially since the outbreak of war.

These are relatively alarming numbers, and indicate that relatively large numbers of residents, especially from the center of the country, have left the country at an increasing rate in recent years. Only a year later will we know whether the end of the main phase of the war last month has changed this trend.

Published by Globes, Israel Business News – en.globes.co.il – on November 12, 2025.

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