Security situation leads to significant emigration, Israel not attractive for educated - Knesset

Nearly 50% of those who left Israel were Olim.

By EVE YOUNG FEBRUARY 3, 2025 18:56

People watch the military airshow as part of Israel's 75th Independence Day celebrations, in Saker Park, Jerusalem, April 26, 2023. (photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)

There was a significant decline in the growth rate of Israel's population in 2024, which dropped from 1.6% in 2023 to 1.1%, according to Knesset and Central Bureau of Statistics data published Sunday.

This drop is mostly due to the significant increase in emigration that followed the "complex security situation," the Knesset report said.

Some 82,700 Israelis left the country in 2024, and just 23,800 returned.

The number of emigrants from Israel first spiked in 2022, according to the report, that noted that between 2009 and 2021, some 36,000 people emigrated from Israel each year on average.

In 2022, this number jumped to 55,300 -  a 46% increase from the previous year. The year 2024 saw another large jump, with 82,700 emigrants - an increase of 50% from the previous year.

Passengers at the Ben Gurion International airport near Tel Aviv on June 9, 2024 (credit: ARIE LIEB ABRAMS/FLASH90)

Nearly 50% of those who left Israel in 2024 were born outside of Israsel, the Knesset research center noted. Some 15% of those who emigrated in 2024 had immigrated to Israel between 2019 and 2023 - just a few years before leaving.

Decrease in new immigration

The report also noted a decrease in new immigration, with around 15,000 fewer people immigrating in 2024 than in 2023, the report added. In 2024, some 32,281 new immigrants moved to Israel, compared to 47,013 in 2023 - a drop of 31%.

The report also noted an OECD study that found that Israel is among the least attractive destinations for those with graduate degrees and entrepreneurs when compared to 35 other countries.

The CBS defines an emigrant as an Israeli who spent at least 9 months outside of Israel in the year they left Israel - the first 3 months of which were spent outside of Israel.

"In spite of the wave of antisemitism around the world, the Israel-Hamas war is discouraging new olim from coming to Israel," said MK Oded Forer at a meeting of the Knesset's Immigration and Absorbtion Committee that was discussing the trend.

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"Despite investments and fairs aimed at encouraging immigration from Western countries, and despite the willingness to open immigration files, in absolute numbers, the number of immigrants from Western countries is lower than expected."

"There is a trend of declining startups in Israel," said Irit Touitou, co-founder and partner of Tech for Israel, after the discussion turned to the challenge of bringing educated Israelis back to the country.

"Over the past decade, the number of employees in the high-tech sector has grown, but in 2024, we are identifying a shift in this trend," she added.

"High-tech professionals love the country and want to live here, but the decline in investors in the Israeli market is harming their ability to stay. If the trend does not change, Israel will lose its social and economic advantage. The government must restore the business sector’s confidence in Israel."