The world Jewish population is 11,810,000 according to a study made public today by the Institute of Jewish Affairs of the World Jewish Congress. The Institute based its figure on 1956 census reports and estimates.
Though the 11,810,000 Jews are located in about 110 lands and territories, 90 percent are living in 13 countries: United States, 5, 200, 000; Soviet Union, 2,000,000: Israel, 1,585,000: Britain, 450, 000; Argentina, 400,000; France, 250,000: Canada, 230,000; Morocco, 210, 000; Rumania, 190, 000; Algeria, 130,000; Brazil, 125, 000; South Africa 110, 000; and Hungary, 100, 000.
Among countries showing major increases since World War II are Canada, whose Jewish population rose from 170, 000 to its present 230, 000; Argentina, which added 80, 000 to its 1939 Jewish population of 320, 000; and Australia whose admission of immigrants increased the 1939 Jewish community from 30, 000 to 53, 500. The 1, 585, 000 Jews in Israel compare with 475,000 in pre-State Palestine.
In addition to a section on Jewish population figures, the survey deals with Jewish communities and their achievements throughout the world, with special sections on conditions behind the Iron Curtain, in North Africa, in the Moslem lands, and in a number of other countries. It establishes that in the nine-year period 1946-1955, more than one million Jews migrated, mainly from Europe and the Middle East, to new homes throughout the world, the majority settling in Israel.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
