World Jewish Population is 14,259,525; U.S. Has Estimated 5,775,935 Jews

The world Jewish population is estimated at 14,259,525, according to the American Jewish Year Book, whose 1978 edition is being published this month. This figure represents an increase of about 115,000 from the previous year. The United States, with approximately 5,775,935 Jews, has the largest Jewish population in the world.

The Year Book is published jointly by the American Jewish Committee and the Jewish Publication Society of America. Its editors are Morris Fine and Milton Himmelfarb. Martha Jelenko is the executive editor. The world Jewish population estimates were compiled by Leon Shapiro, Professor of Russian and Soviet Jewish History at Rutgers University. The U.S. figures were supplied by Alvin Chenkin, research consultant, Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds.

After the United States, countries with the largest Jewish population are: Israel, 3,059,000; Soviet Union, 2,678,000; France, 650,000; Great Britain, 410,000; Canada, 305,000; and Argentina, 300,000. Forty-seven percent of world Jewry is in North, Central and South America, 29 percent in Europe, 22 percent in Asia, 1.5 percent in Africa, and 0.5 percent in Australia and New Zealand.

JEWS ARE 2.7% OF U.S. POPULATION

In the United States, Jews comprise 2.7 percent of the total population. Among the Jewish population figures for U.S. cities listed in the Year Book’s tables are: Greater New York, 1,998,000; Los Angeles, 455,000; Philadelphia, 350,000; Chicago, 253,000; Miami, 225,000; Boston, 170,000; Washington, 120,000; Bergen County (NJ), 100,000; Essex County (NJ), 95,000; Baltimore, 92,000; Cleveland, 80,000; Detroit, 80,000; Detroit, 80,000; San Francisco, 75,000; St. Louis, 60,000; and Montgomery County (Md.), 53,335.

In Europe, including Asiatic USSR and Turkey, there are 4,158,870 Jews. Of these, 2,678,000 are in the Soviet Union. Figures for other European countries include:

Austria, 12,000; Belgium, 41,000; Bulgaria, 7,000; Czechoslovakia, 12,000; Denmark, 7,500; France, 650,000; Germany, 33,000; Great Britain, 410,000; Greece, 6,000; Hungary, 80,000; Ireland, 4,000; Italy, 38,500; Netherlands, 30,000; Poland, 6,000; Rumania, 60,000; Spain, 9,000; Sweden, 16,000; Switzerland, 21,000; Turkey, 27,000; and Yugoslavia, 6,000.

Estimated population for major centers of Jewish concentration in the Americas, outside the United States, include: Canada, 305,000; Argentina, 300,000; Brazil, 150,000; Uruguay, 50,000; Mexico, 37,500; Chile, 27,000; Venezuela, 15,000; Colombia, 12,000; and Peru, 5,200.

In Asia, the only major centers of Jewish population, except for Israel, are Iran, 80,000; and India, 8,000. In Africa, there are substantial numbers of Jews only in South Africa, 118,000; Ethiopia, 28,000; Morocco, 18,000; Tunisia, 7,000; and Rhodesia, 3,800. There are 70,000 Jews in Australia, and 5,000 in New Zealand.