Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) reported that in 2023 46,033 immigrants arrived in Israel, a decrease of 38.4% compared to 2022.
The CBS attributed the decrease in the number of immigrants due to the decrease in immigrants from Ukraine (2,091 immigrants in 2023 – compared to 14,656 in 2022). However, the number of immigrants in 2023 is the second largest since 2000, after 2022.
Since the founding of the State of Israel, about 3,460,000 people immigrated to the country, roughly 47% of them from 1990 onwards (after the fall of the Soviet Union and he Iron Curtain which allowed for a massive influx of immigrants from Eastern Europe).
After the October 7 Hamas massacre and the beginning of the “Iron Swords” war, there was a temporary decrease in the number of immigrants.
The decrease was somewhat halted, and the number of immigrants increased again in the first half of 2024.
Image - Miriam Alster/Flash90