A new analysis by the Pew Research Center reveals that one in five Jews globally live outside their birth country, making Jews the most migratory major religious group by percentage. The findings are based on data from 2020 and include both adults and children living outside their native countries, regardless of when they migrated.

While Christians make up the largest religious migrant group at 47% worldwide, Jews are the most likely to have migrated, despite being one of the smallest religious groups at just 1% of the global migrant population. According to Pew, 20% of Jews have migrated, compared to 6% of Christians, the next most likely group to move abroad.

Israel is the leading destination for Jewish migrants, with 1.5 million Jews, or 51%, having moved there from other countries as of 2020. The United States follows with 400,000 Jewish migrants, and the United Kingdom ranks third with 120,000.

Pew’s analysis highlights that former Soviet republics, including Ukraine (170,000) and Russia (150,000), are among the top sources of Jewish migrants to Israel. Morocco also ranks high on the list, contributing 160,000 Jewish migrants.

Between 1990 and 2020, the global Jewish migrant population grew by 28%, from 2.3 million to 3 million. This increase represents the smallest growth among major religious groups during that period, with the religiously unaffiliated (67%) and Hindus (48%) experiencing the largest growth, according to Pew.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)