(JTA) — The worldwide Jewish population is approaching the size it was before the Holocaust, a new report by an independent Jerusalem-based think tank says.
The report, compiled by the Jewish People Policy Institute, indicates that there are 14.2 million Jews worldwide as of early 2015. Add in various “subgroups” (such as immigrants to Israel and American “partial Jews”) and the number approaches 16 million, which nears the pre-World War II global Jewish population of 16.6 million, Ynet reported Friday.
After Israel, which is home to 6.1 million Jews, the United States has the second-highest Jewish population at 5.7 million.
The JPPI report says that the period from 2005 to 2015 has seen an 8 percent increase in the Jewish population — the largest gain since the end of World War II. According to Ynet, the JPPI based the numbers on “halacha criteria for those living in Israel and self-identification for those living outside of Israel.”
Here is the list of countries and regions with the highest Jewish populations:
- Israel – 6,103,200
- United States – 5,700,000
- France – 475,000
- Canada – 385,300
- Latin America – 383,500
- Britain – 290,000
- Russia – 186,000
- Germany – 118,000
- Australia – 112,500
- Africa – 74,700
- South Africa – 70,000
- Ukraine – 63,000
- Hungary – 47,900
- Iran – 20,000
- Asia – 19,700
- Romania – 9,400
- New Zealand – 7,600
- Morocco – 2,400
