E.g., 11/04/2025
E.g., 11/04/2025
Country Resource - Israel

Israel

IL
  • Population.............................................................................9,402,617 (2024 est.)
  • Population growth rate: .....................................................................1.58% (2024 est.)
  • Birth rate.............................................................19.1 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
  • Death rate.........................................................5.2 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
  • Net migration rate........................................1.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
  • Ethnic groups.......................................Jewish 73.5% (of which Israel-born 79.7%, Europe/America/Oceania-born 14.3%, Africa-born 3.9%, Asia-born 2.1%), Arab 21.1%, other 5.4% (2022 est.)

CIA World Factbook

A gathering in Tel Aviv for asylum seeker rights

Israel has a remarkably open immigration system for anyone who can prove Jewish ethnicity. But as this country profile explores, migration is extremely difficult for non-Jews, including asylum seekers. This article describes immigration flows under the Law of Return and examines labor migration and the rise in asylum seekers, reviewing the main challenges that have emerged within the last three decades.

 

Recent Activity

Image of a family in San Francisco

Nearly one-third of all immigrants in the United States come from Asia, more than any other region except Latin America. Compared to both the U.S. born and overall foreign-born population, immigrants from Asia tend to have higher levels of education and income. This article offers useful statistics about this group, which represents a growing share of the U.S. immigrant population.

A Palestinian woman in Bani Naeem, in the West Bank.

Palestinians constitute the world’s longest protracted refugee situation and largest stateless community. Yet their plight has often been eclipsed by more recent displacement crises and dismissed as unsolvable. Other factors have contributed to Palestinian refugees’ situation, including the near impossibility of obtaining citizenship in many host countries and precarious funding for support, as this article explains.

A construction crew works on a wall the U.S.-Mexico border.

The number of border walls globally has multiplied at a rapid clip, from fewer than five at the end of World War II to more than six dozen now, with more under construction. Most of the world's border fortifications have been built since the turn of the millennium, and are intended to accomplish a range of functions. This article charts the remarkable growth and normalization of border walls globally.

A woman receives remittances from a family member abroad.

Countries across the globe have considered novel ways for diasporas to directly invest in national development by purchasing diaspora bonds. Israel has raised billions through its Israel Bonds over the last 70 years, and India has had some success with its diaspora bond efforts. But other countries have faced challenges, as this article explores.

A gathering in Tel Aviv for asylum seeker rights

Israel has a remarkably open immigration system for anyone who can prove Jewish ethnicity. But as this country profile explores, migration is extremely difficult for non-Jews, including asylum seekers. This article describes immigration flows under the Law of Return and examines labor migration and the rise in asylum seekers, reviewing the main challenges that have emerged within the last three decades.

 

is map
Israel is home to Jews and Jewish immigrants as well as Israeli Arabs, Palestinian refugees, and others. But the arrival of foreign workers in the 1990s has further complicated the country's migration issues, as Martha Kruger reports.
Cover image for Diverging Paths
Reports
March 2024

The COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on mobility in the Middle East and North Africa were immediate and wide-reaching. These include the world’s largest and most sustained repatriation efforts for stranded migrants, halted and reversed irregular journeys, and a reckoning with some countries’ reliance on foreign labor. This report examines how these impacts varied across countries in this highly diverse region, as well as the uneven recovery.