Jerusalem, 12 April, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israel Is home to approximately 111,000 Holocaust survivors and victims of antisemitic persecution during World War II, according to data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics on Sunday.
The numbers were published ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day, which honors the six million Jews killed by Nazi Germany and its allies. Commemorations begin on Monday at sundown.
The figures highlight both the aging survivor population and broader demographic shifts of the Jewish people since the Holocaust. At the start of 2025, the global Jewish population stood at 15.8 million, still below the 16.6 million recorded on the eve of World War II in 1939. Of today’s total, 7.2 million — about 45% — live in Israel, compared to just 3% in 1939 and 6% in 1948, when the state was established.
The United States is home to 6.3 million Jews, or roughly 40% of the global population, with smaller communities in Europe, Canada and elsewhere.
Within Israel, most Jews — 5.8 million — were born in the country, while 1.4 million were born abroad, reflecting decades of immigration that have shaped the state’s population.
The survivor population itself is predominantly elderly and female. Women account for 63% of survivors, compared to 37% men. About 37% were born during the war years between 1939 and 1945 and are now aged 80 to 85. Another 35% are aged 86 to 89, while roughly 28% are over 90.
Nearly half of survivors — 49.3% — are widowed, while 38.2% are married. Around 10.6% are divorced, and about 2% have never married. Among married survivors, approximately 18,700 are married to another survivor, forming about 9,300 households in which both spouses endured wartime persecution.
The data also reflect the diverse geographic origins of survivors living in Israel. About 60.5% were born in Europe, with the largest group originating from the former Soviet Union. Others were born in Romania and Poland. A significant portion — 16.8% — were born in Morocco, while smaller groups come from Algeria, Iraq, Tunisia and Libya, including those affected by Nazi-allied regimes or anti-Jewish violence such as the 1941 Farhud pogrom in Iraq.
Immigration patterns vary widely by origin. Only about 6% of survivors arrived in the pre-state period between 1933 and 1947. Roughly 30.2% immigrated during the mass influx following Israel’s establishment between 1948 and 1951, with another 30.2% arriving between 1952 and 1989. The remaining 33.6% have come since the 1990s, largely from the former Soviet Union.
The statistics are based on data from the Holocaust Survivors’ Rights Authority, a government body responsible for recognizing survivors and providing compensation to those who endured concentration camps, ghettos, hiding or other forms of Nazi persecution. The authority also recognizes certain groups affected by Nazi policies outside Europe, including Jews in North Africa and Iraq.