177,600 Ethiopians Live in Israel

Jerusalem, 16 November, 2025 (TPS-IL) — At the end of 2024, the population of people of Ethiopian origin in Israel numbered 177,600, of whom, 93,400 were born in Ethiopia and 84,200 were born in Israel. In 2024, 285 people arrived in Israel from Ethiopia.

This is according to the data released by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics ahead of the Ethiopian holiday Sigd, to be celebrated this week.

64.6% of Ethiopians live in two main districts: the Central District (37.2%) and the Southern District (27.4%).

At the end of 2024, the urban settlement with the highest number of residents of Ethiopian origin was Netanya (13,300), while the urban settlement with the highest percentage of residents of Ethiopian origin of the total population of the settlement was Kiryat Malachi (13.8%).

Live Births – In 2024, 4,010 babies were born to women of Ethiopian descent. In that year, the average number of children a woman of Ethiopian descent is expected to have in her lifetime was 2.54.

In the 2023/24 school year, 34,300 students of Ethiopian origin studied in elementary and secondary education, which is approximately 2.2% of all students in Hebrew education.

The rate of taking the matriculation exams among 12th grade students of Ethiopian descent that year was 93.7%, compared to 95.1% among all Hebrew education. The rate of eligibility for a matriculation certificate that meets the university’s threshold requirements among 12th grade students of Ethiopian descent has been on the rise in recent years.

The percentage of those continuing on to undergraduate studies at academic colleges among Ethiopian immigrants was significantly higher than the percentage among all students in Hebrew education (57.7% compared to 39.1%, respectively).

In 2024/25, 4,151 students of Ethiopian descent studied for an academic degree (including 534 students who studied for a bachelor’s degree at the Open University).