5% increase of Israelis living abroad returning to Israel since 2016; Emigration at lowest in decade; Prior statistics released report 80% of Israelis under 20 feel safe, satisfied with their lives in Israel.
Israel’s emigration is at its lowest in a decade, a 9% decline since 2016.
In an Israel’s Bureau of Statistics report published on Tuesday, emigration is not only at a record low, but the number of Israelis citizens abroad returning to Israel has also increased. According to the report, over 8,900 Israeli citizens living abroad returned to Israel in 2016, a 5% increase from 2015.
Of those who left Israel in 2016, 15,200 left Israel for one year or longer. Of that figure, 46% were born in Israel and 54% of them were not. 11,100 were Jewish and 700 Arab.
The drop in emigration and rise in returning residents follows a previous report by the Israel Bureau of Statistics released in June measuring Israelis satisfaction with their lives in Israel. The report claimed more than 80% of Israelis under the age of 20 reported that they are satisfied with their lives and feel safe and secure in Israel.
The report evaluated data collected from 2016 and reported 89.3% of Jewish citizens and 80.7% percent of its Arab population as satisfied with their lives.
In March of this year, the UN released a report on the world’s happiest nations, Israel ranked 11th. The report cited an increase in Israeli life span of 3.4 years and Israel’s health system as factors. A low unemployment rate of 4% and strong social support were also factors.
Ahead of the Jewish new year, Rosh HaShanah, next month, Israel’s population is set to exceed 9 million, the population last measured during its 70 years of independence at 8,842,000. In 1948 when the State of Israel was established, the population stood at 806,000. In the past year, Israel’s population increased by 1.9%, with over 28,000 immigrants making “aliyah” (Hebrew term for immigration by Jews to Israel) and the birth of over 177,000 babies. The Bureau predicts that Israel’s population will rise above 15.2 million by 2048.
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