There was a significant decline in the growth rate of the population in 2024, which dropped from 1.6% in 2023 to 1.1%, according to Knesset and Central Bureau of Statistics data.
This drop is mostly due to the significant increase in emigration that followed the “complex security situation,” the Knesset report, published on Sunday, said.
Some 82,700 people left the country in 2024 and only 23,800 returned.
The number of emigrants first spiked in 2022, according to the report, which noted that between 2009 and 2021, 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.
Nearly 50% of those who left Israel in 2024 were born outside of Israel, 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. In 2024, 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 nine months outside of Israel in the year they left Israel – the first three months of which were spent outside of Israel.
“Despite the wave of antisemitism around the world, the Israel-Hamas War is discouraging new olim from coming to Israel,” said Yisrael Beytenu MK Oded Forer at a meeting of the Knesset’s Immigration and Absorption Committee, which discussed the trend.
“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,” said Forer.
Irit Touitou, co-founder and partner of Tech for Israel, said, “There is a trend of declining start-ups in 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 hi-tech sector has grown, but in 2024, we are identifying a shift in this trend,” she added.
“Hi-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.”