Jewish population
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Jewish population refers to the number of Jews in the world. Precise figures are difficult to calculate because the definition of "Who is a Jew" remains a source of controversy.
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[edit] Total population
According to the estimates for 2007 of the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute, the world population of Jews is 13.2 million. [1]Adherents.com cites figures ranging from 18.8 million to 25.2 million Jews.[2] These statistics incorporate both practicing Jews affiliated with synagogues and the Jewish community, and approximately 4.5 million unaffiliated and secular Jews.
In 2007, 41% of the world's Jews were living in Israel. The number of Jews living outside Israel dropped by 100,000 and the Jewish population of Israel rose by 300,000.[3]
The Jewish Autonomous Oblast continues to be an autonomous oblast of the Russian state. [1] Governor Nikolay Mikhaylovich Volkov has stated that he intends to, "support every valuable initiative maintained by our local Jewish organizations." [2] The Birobidzhan Synagogue opened in 2004 on the 70th anniversary of the regions founding in 1934. [3] The Chief Rabbi of Birobidzhan, Mordechai Scheiner, says there are 4,000 Jews in the capital city. [4]
[edit] Largest Jewish populations by country
The factual accuracy of this section is disputed. Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page.(March 2008) |
This table represents data from 2002.
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[edit] Current population estimates
According to the World Jewish Population Survey of 2002[4], "The size of world Jewry at the beginning of 2002 is assessed at 13,296,100. World Jewry constituted about 2.19 per 1,000 of the world’s total population. One in about 457 people in the world is a Jew. According to the revised figures, between 2001 and 2002 the Jewish population grew by an estimated 44,000 people, or about 0.3 percent."
According to a 2002 study[5] by the Jewish Agency, "the number of Jews in the world is declining at an average of 50,000 per year."
The major population centers of the Jewish community are (Table from the World Jewish Population Survey)
Jewish Population | 2002 | ||
Region | Population | Percent b | |
World | 13,296,100 | 100.0 | |
Americas, Total | 6,476,300 | 48.7 | |
North c | 6,064,000 | 45.6 | |
Central | 52,500 | 0.4 | |
South | 500,000 | 2.7 | |
Europe, Total | 1,558,500 | 11.7 | |
European Union | 1,034,400 | 7.8 | |
Other West | 19,600 | 0.1 | |
Former USSR d | 410,000 | 3.1 | |
Other East and Balkans d | 94,500 | 0.7 | |
Asia, Total | 5,069,900 | 38.1 | |
Israel h | 5,025,000 | 37.8 | |
Former USSR d | 25,000 | 0.2 | |
Other | 19,900 | 0.1 | |
Africa, Total | 87,200 | 0.7 | |
North e | 7,400 | 0.1 | |
South f | 79,800 | 0.6 | |
Oceania g | 104,200 | 0.8 |
a January 1.
b Minor discrepancies due to rounding.
c U.S. and Canada.
d Asian regions of Russia and Turkey included in Europe.
e Including Ethiopia.
f South Africa, Zimbabwe, and other sub-Saharan countries.
g Australia, New Zealand.
h Including about 370,000 Jewish Israeli citizens living in the West Bank and Golan Heights.
[edit] Populations as a percentage
All estimates of population in this section are generated by taking the estimated percentage of Jews in each country, and multiplying it by the population of the country. Though figures given in the table may seem precise to many digits, they are often highly inaccurate, and can vary by significant margins from other published surveys. This data is intended to give rough estimates of the number of Jews in each country, more precise estimates for some countries are available above.
As an example, the tables below give the Jewish population of Argentina as 195,000 Jews in Argentina, but the best survey-based sources generally estimate the number of Jews in Argentina between 185,000 and 250,000[6]. All the numbers below are similarly estimates, so the figures in the table below should be considered in the light of these variations, and should not be viewed as exact counts.
The percentage of Jewish population of each country was taken from the US State Department's International Religious Freedom Report 2004[7], and, if not available on that site, from Jewish Population Tables[8]. The total population of each country was taken from census.gov [9] (2005 estimates).
These numbers are for Jews as an ethnicity; many, but not all, practice the religion of Judaism.
[edit] By country
Note: The total at the end shows the entire population of the world, not just the listed countries
[edit] By region
These percentages were calculated by using the above numbers. The first percentage, 4th column, is the percentage of population that is Jewish in a region (Jews in the region * 100/total population of the region). The last column shows the Jewish percentage compared to the total Jewish population of the world (Jews in the region * 100/total Jewish population of the world).
(Note: Egypt, Sudan, and the Arab Maghreb countries are counted as part of North Africa, not Middle East).
Region | Total Population | Jews | % Jewish | % of Jews total |
---|---|---|---|---|
Central Africa | 83,121,055 | 1,000 | 0.0001% | 0.0008% |
East Africa | 193,741,900 | 20,400 | 0.011% | 0.14% |
North Africa | 202,151,323 | 7,249 | 0.004% | 0.05% |
Southern Africa | 137,092,019 | 89,667 | 0.065% | 0.614% |
West Africa | 268,997,245 | 42,000 | 0.00004% | 0.0007% |
Total | 885,103,542 | 160,316 | 0.013% | 0.805% |
Region | Total Population | Jews | % Jewish | % of Jews total |
---|---|---|---|---|
Central Asia | 92,019,166 | 23,074 | 0.025% | 0.158% |
East Asia | 1,527,960,261 | 2,102 | 0.0001% | 0.014% |
Middle East | 274,775,527 | 5,076,338 | 1.847% | 34.779% |
South Asia | 1,437,326,682 | 15,401 | 0.0004% | 0.037% |
Southeast Asia | 571,337,070 | 599 | 0.0001% | 0.004% |
Total | 3,903,418,706 | 5,117,514 | 0.131% | 34.993% |
Region | Total Population | Jews | % Jewish | % of Jews total |
---|---|---|---|---|
Balkans | 65,407,609 | 18,299 | 0.028% | 0.125% |
Central Europe | 74,510,241 | 99,437 | 0.133% | 0.681% |
Eastern Europe | 212,821,296 | 977,173 | 0.459% | 6.695% |
Western Europe | 375,832,557 | 1,224,176 | 0.326% | 8.387% |
Total | 728,571,703 | 2,319,085 | 0.318% | 15.888% |
Region | Total Population | Jews | % Jewish | % of Jews total |
---|---|---|---|---|
Caribbean | 23,809,622 | 1,888 | 0.008% | 0.013% |
Central America | 42,223,849 | 52,500 | 0.035% | 0.124% |
North America | 446,088,748 | 6,361,443 | 1.426% | 43.1% |
South America | 371,075,531 | 359,800 | 0.09% | 2.7% |
Total | 859,388,128 | 6,773,743 | 0.788% | 45.9% |
Region | Total Population | Jews | % Jewish | % of Jews total |
---|---|---|---|---|
Oceania | 30,564,520 | 95,853 | 0.314% | 0.657% |
[edit] References
- ^ Percent of world Jewry living in Israel climbed to 41% in 2007 - Haaretz - Israel News
- ^ Judaism, continued... citations at Adherents.com
- ^ Percent of world Jewry living in Israel climbed to 41% in 2007 - Haaretz - Israel News
- ^ World Jewish Population Survey of 2002
- ^ Number of Jews dropping, Israeli agency warns 4 December 2002
- ^ Jews In Argentina
- ^ US State Department's International Religious Freedom Report 2004'
- ^ Jewish Population Tables
- ^ census.gov
- This article incorporates text from the 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, a publication now in the public domain.
- This article incorporates text from Joseph Jacobs, "Statistics" in the Jewish Encyclopedia; that article, in turn, gives an extensive bibliography.
- Jewish Population Survey
- Geography of the Jewish Population
- The US State Department's International Religious Freedom Report 2004
- Jewish Population Table
- Religious Freedom page
- census.gov
- Jews of Nigeria and Uganda
- Jews of North Eastern India
- Israelbooks.com The Jewish People Policy Planning Institute Annual Assessment 2004-2005: Between Thriving and Decline. Gefen Publishing House.
[edit] See also
- Historical Jewish population comparisons
- World population
- Jews by country
- Jewish ethnic divisions
- Judaism
[edit] External links
- World Jewish Population in-depth
- Orthodox Jewish population growth and political changes
- Estimated Jewish Population of Europe (1949 and 1945) The Avalon Project