Jewish population

For historical figures, see Historical Jewish population comparisons. For different regions, see Judaism by country and Jewish ethnic divisions

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Jewry in 2006

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" is a source of controversy.

Total population

According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics there were 13,421,000 Jews worldwide in 2009, roughly 0.19% of the world's population at the time.

According to the estimates for 2007 of the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute, the world's Jewish population is 13.2 million. Adherents.com cites figures ranging from 12 to 18 million. These statistics incorporate both practicing Jews affiliated with synagogues and the Jewish community, and approximately 4.5 million unaffiliated and secular Jews.

Largest Jewish populations by country

Top countries by Jewish population Rank Country Jews  % of Country  % of all Jews 1 United States 6,543,820 2.1% 38% 2 Israel 5,931,000 75.5% 41% 3 France 484,000-607,000 0.8% 3.9% 4 Canada 375,000 1.1% 2.8% 5 United Kingdom 292,000 0.5% 2.1% 6 Russia 205,000 0.1% 1.1% 7 Argentina 200,000 0.4% 1.0% 8 Germany 130,000 0.1% 0.7% 9 Ukraine 103,000 0.2% 0.6% 10 Brazil 100,000 0.1% 0.5% 11 Australia 88,800 (2006) 0.1% 0.4% 12 South Africa 72,800 0.1% 0.4% 13 Hungary 60,600 0.5% 0.3% 14 Mexico 39,400 0.04% 0.2% 15 Belgium 30,300 0.28% 0.2% 16 Netherlands 30,000 0.20% 0.2% 17 Poland 29,200 0.05% 0.2% 18 Italy 28,400 0.04% 0.2% 19 Chile 20,500 0.2% 0.1% 20 Switzerland 17,600 0.1% 0.1% 21 Turkey 17,600 0.03% 0.1% 22 Uruguay 17,500 0.8% 0.1% 23 Belarus 16,500 0.1% 0.1% 24 Sweden 15,000 0.01% 0.1% 25 Venezuela 12,000 0.1% 0.1% 26 Spain 12,000 0.01% 0.1% 27 Iran 10,400 0.02% 0.1% 28 Romania 9,700 0.03% 0.1% 29 Latvia 9,700 0.02% 0.1% 30 Austria 9,000 0.01% 0.05% 31 Panama 8,000 0.004% 0.04% 32 New Zealand 7,500 0.1% 0.04% 33 Azerbaijan 6,400 0.003% 0.03% 34 Denmark 6,400 0.02% 0.03%

Current population estimates

According to the World Jewish Population Survey of 2002; "The size of world Jewry at the beginning of 2002 is assessed at 13,296,100. One in about 457 people in the world is Jewish. 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 by the Jewish Agency, "the number of Jews in the world is declining at an average of 50,000 per year."

The World Jewish Population Survey gives the following geographical breakdown of the Jewish population:

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 Israeli West Bank and Golan Heights.

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. 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, and, if not available on that site, from Jewish Population Tables. The total population of each country was taken from census.gov (2005 estimates).

These numbers are for Jews as an ethnicity; many, but not all, practice the religion of Judaism.

By country

Note: The total at the end shows the entire population of the world, not just the listed countries

Jews by country

Region	Country	Population (2005E)	% Jewish	Estimated number of Jews
South Asia	Afghanistan	29,928,987	0.0000035%	1
North Africa	Algeria	32,531,853	0.0003%	100
South America	Argentina	39,537,943	0.46%	182,300
Middle East	Armenia	2,982,904	0.03%	750
Oceania	Australia	20,090,437	0.53%	107,500
Central Europe	Austria	8,184,691	0.1%	9,000
Middle East	Azerbaijan	7,500,000	0.00333%	6,400
Middle East	Bahrain	750,000	0.005%	40
South Asia	Bangladesh	154,037,902	0.00011%	175
Eastern Europe	Belarus	10,045,237	0.16%	16,500
Western Europe	Belgium	10,364,388	0.3%	30,300
South America	Bolivia	8,857,870	0.6%	2,500
Balkans	Bosnia and Herzegovina	4,025,476	0.03%	500
Southern Africa	Botswana	1,640,115	0.006%	100
South America	Brazil	186,112,794	0.06%	105,600
Balkans	Bulgaria	7,450,349	0.03%	2,300
North America	Canada	32,805,041	1.1%	375,000
South America	Chile	15,980,912	0.13%	20,200
East Asia	China	1,306,313,812	0.0001%	1,500
South America	Colombia	42,954,279	0.015%	6,436
Central Africa	Democratic Republic of the Congo	60,085,004	0.0002%	120
Central America	Costa Rica	4,016,173	0.06%	2,409
Central Europe	Croatia	4,495,904	0.07%	3,000
North America	Cuba	11,346,670	0.01%	1,500
Central Europe	Czech Republic	10,241,138	0.03%	3,072
Western Europe	Denmark	5,432,335	0.12%	6,400
Caribbean	Dominican Republic	8,950,034	0.001%	100
South America	Ecuador	13,363,593	0.005%	300
North Africa	Egypt	77,505,756	0.0001%	100
Central America	El Salvador	6,704,932	0.001%	100
East Africa	Eritrea	4,401,000	0.00002%	1
Eastern Europe	Estonia	1,332,893	0.14%	1,818
East Africa	Ethiopia	73,053,286	0.03%	20,000
Western Europe	Finland	5,223,442	0.02%	1,110
Western Europe	France	60,656,178	1%	606,561
Middle East	Georgia	4,677,401	0.17%	7,951
Western Europe	Germany	82,431,390	0.14%	119,000
West Africa	Ghana	18,412,247	0.004%	800
Balkans	Greece	10,668,354	0.05%	5,334
Central America	Guatemala	14,655,189	0.008%	1,172
Caribbean	Haiti	8,500,000	0.000006%	50
Central Europe	Hungary	10,006,835	0.5%	48,600
Western Europe	Iceland	300,000	0.03%	100
South Asia	India	1,080,264,388	0.001%	15,401
Middle East	Iran	68,017,860	0.02%	10,400
Middle East	Iraq	26,074,906	0.0004%	100
Western Europe	Ireland	4,015,676	0.05%	1,931
Middle East	Israel	7,374,000	78%	5,703,700
Western Europe	Italy	58,103,033	0.05%	28,400
Caribbean	Jamaica	2,731,832	0.01%	300
East Asia	Japan	127,417,244	0.004%	4,500
Central Asia	Kazakhstan	15,185,844	0.03%	4,100
East Africa	Kenya	33,829,590	0.001%	400
East Asia	South Korea	48,422,644	0.0002%	100
Central Asia	Kyrgyzstan	5,146,281	0.02%	926
Eastern Europe	Latvia	2,290,765	0.4%	9,700
Middle East	Lebanon	3,826,018	0.003%	100
North Africa	Libya	3,826,018	0%	0
Eastern Europe	Lithuania	3,596,617	0.1%	3,596
Western Europe	Luxembourg	468,571	0.14%	655
Balkans	Macedonia	2,045,262	0.01%	200
North America	Mexico	106,202,903	0.04%	39,400
Eastern Europe	Moldova	4,455,421	0.7%	31,187
Western Europe	Monaco	35,000	2.9%	1,000
Balkans	Montenegro	630,548	0.02%	100
North Africa	Morocco	32,725,847	0.016%	5,236
Southern Africa	Namibia	2,030,692	0.006%	115
Western Europe	Netherlands	16,507,491	0.18%	30,000
Oceania	New Zealand	4,035,461	0.2%	7,500
Central America	Nicaragua	5,675,356	0.001%	50
West Africa	Nigeria (see also Igbo Jews)	128,771,988	0.008%	10,000
Western Europe	Norway	4,593,041	0.03%	1,240
South Asia	Pakistan	165,803,560	0.0001%	200
Central America	Panama	3,039,150	0.26%	8,000
South America	Paraguay	6,347,884	0.015%	1,000
South America	Peru	27,925,628	0.01%	3,000
Southeast Asia	Philippines	87,857,473	0.0001%	100
Central Europe	Poland	38,635,144	<0.0001%	<4,000
Western Europe	Portugal	10,566,212	0.007%	739
Caribbean	Puerto Rico	3,916,632	0.06%	2,500
Balkans	Romania	22,329,977	0.04%	9,700
Eastern Europe	Russia	143,420,309	0.14%	205,000
Balkans	Serbia	9,778,991	0.02%	2,200
Southeast Asia	Singapore	4,425,720	0.007%	300
Central Europe	Slovakia	5,431,363	0.06%	3,041
Central Europe	Slovenia	2,011,070	0.025%	500
Southern Africa	South Africa	44,344,136	0.16%	70,800
Western Europe	Spain	40,341,462	0.03%	12,000
South Asia	Sri Lanka	20,000,000	0.00005%	3
South America	Suriname	438,144	0.05%	200
Western Europe	Sweden	9,001,774	0.17%	15,000
Western Europe	Switzerland	7,489,370	0.23%	17,600
Middle East	Syria	18,448,752	0.0005%	100
Central Asia	Tajikistan	7,163,506	0.001%	100
Southeast Asia	Thailand	65,444,371	0.001%	650
Central America	Trinidad and Tobago	1,088,644	0.1%	1,088
North Africa	Tunisia	10,074,951	0.02%	1,813
Balkans	Turkey	69,660,559	0.03%	17,600
Central Asia	Turkmenistan	4,952,081	0.01%	495
East Africa	Uganda	28,816,000	0.004%	1,100
Eastern Europe	Ukraine	47,425,336	0.15%	71,500
Western Europe	United Kingdom	60,441,457	0.5%	292,207
North America	United States	311,943,000	1.7%	5,275,000
South America	Uruguay	3,415,920	0.5%	17,500
Central Asia	Uzbekistan	26,851,195	0.06%	17,453
South America	Venezuela	25,375,281	0.05%	12,900
Middle East	Yemen	20,727,063	0.002%	370
Southern Africa	Zimbabwe	12,746,990	0.006%	764
Total		6,430,856,221	0.24%	15,143,912

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).

Jews in Africa

Region	Total Population	Jews	% Jewish	% of Jews total
Central Africa	83,121,055	1,000	0.001%	0.007%
East Africa	193,741,900	20,400	0.011%	0.142%
North Africa	202,151,323	7,249	0.004%	0.05%
Southern Africa	137,092,019	89,667	0.065%	0.624%
West Africa	268,997,245	42,000	0.016%	0.292%
Total	885,103,542	160,316	0.018%	1.115%

Jews in Asia

Region	Total Population	Jews	% Jewish	% of Jews total
Central Asia	92,019,166	23,074	0.025%	0.161%
East Asia	1,527,960,261	2,102	0.0001%	0.015%
Middle East	274,775,527	5,076,338	1.847%	35.33%
South Asia	1,437,326,682	15,401	0.001%	0.107%
Southeast Asia	571,337,070	599	0.0001%	0.004%
Total	3,903,418,706	5,117,514	0.131%	35.617%

Jews in Europe

Region	Total Population	Jews	% Jewish	% of Jews total
Balkans	65,407,609	18,299	0.028%	0.127%
Central Europe	74,510,241	99,437	0.133%	0.692%
Eastern Europe	212,821,296	977,173	0.459%	6.8%
Western Europe	375,832,557	1,224,176	0.326%	8.512%
Total	728,571,703	2,319,085	0.318%	16.131%

Jews in The Americas

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	0.124%	0.365%
North America	446,088,748	6,361,443	1.426%	44.274%
South America	371,075,531	290,800	0.097%	1.504%
Total	883,197,750	6,775,631	0.767%	47.156%

Jews in Oceania

Region	Total Population	Jews	% Jewish	% of Jews total
Oceania	30,564,520	95,853	0.314%	0.665%

See also

• Historical Jewish population comparisons
• Jewish ethnic divisions
• Jewish population by cities and city areas
• Judaism
• Judaism by country
• World population

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain:  Jewish Encyclopedia. 1901–1906. 
• 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.

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
• Publications on Jewish population at the Berman Jewish Policy Archive @ NYU Wagner