How Many Israelis Have Left the Country? 82,800 in 2023
82,800 Israelis left for the long term in 2023 and 24,200 returned, on Central Bureau of Statistics data compiled by the Knesset’s research service.
82,800 Israelis left the country for the long term in 2023, on Central Bureau of Statistics data compiled by the Knesset Research and Information Centre in its update of 16 October 2025. That was 39% more than the 59,400 who left in 2022. In 2023, 24,200 Israelis returned after a long stay abroad.
| Figure | What it counts | Period |
|---|---|---|
| 82,800 | Israelis who left for the long term, up 39% on 2022 | 2023 |
| 59,400 | Israelis who left for the long term, up 44% on 2021 | 2022 |
| 24,200 | Israelis returning after a long stay abroad | 2023 |
| 29% | Returners as a share of long-term leavers | 2023 |
| About 50,000 | Israelis who left for the long term | January to August 2024 |
| About 125,200 | Fall in the migration balance of Israelis, returners minus long-term leavers | Since the start of 2022, on data to August 2024 |
Source: Knesset Research and Information Centre, Data on the Emigration of Israelis, Update, 16 October 2025, on Central Bureau of Statistics data.
82,800 Israelis left for the long term in 2023
The Knesset Research and Information Centre recorded 82,800 long-term departures in 2023, on the Bureau’s data. The Centre presents these figures by year of departure. It notes a marked rise in October 2023, which it says was possibly influenced by the outbreak of the war.
- 2022: 59,400 left, an increase of 44% on 2021.
- 2023: 82,800 left, an increase of 39% on 2022.
- October 2023: a marked rise within the year, in the Centre’s words possibly linked to the war.
Returns fell to 24,200 in 2023, 29% of departures
The Knesset Research and Information Centre counted 24,200 Israelis returning after a long stay abroad in 2023, down from 29,600 in 2022. Returners in 2023 were 29% of the number leaving. The Centre states this was the widest gap of recent years.
In the first eight months of the year, returns also fell. There were 12,100 returners in January to August 2024, against 15,600 in the same months of 2023.
The migration balance of Israelis fell by about 125,200 from 2022
The Knesset Research and Information Centre published a fall of about 125,200 in the migration balance of Israelis since the start of 2022. The balance is returners minus long-term leavers. It excludes new immigrants.
- The 125,200 is a net figure. It is not the number of people who left.
- It covers 2022, 2023 and the months of 2024 to August.
- The Centre gives it as approximate, and it stays approximate.
About 50,000 left in January to August of both 2023 and 2024
The Knesset Research and Information Centre reported that departures in January to August 2024 were similar to the same months of 2023, at about 50,000 in each. The update’s data stop at August 2024.
- January to August 2023: about 50,000 long-term leavers.
- January to August 2024: about 50,000 long-term leavers.
- The update gives no full-year figure for 2024 and no figure for 2025.
The Bureau put the balance of Israelis abroad at 45,000 in 2025 to 2026
The Central Bureau of Statistics publishes a separate measure in its Independence Day releases: the balance of Israelis staying abroad, one of the components of population change. It was a negative 56,000 between Independence Day 2024 and Independence Day 2025, and a negative 45,000 in the 11.75 months to 22 April 2026.
| Period | Balance of Israelis staying abroad | Release |
|---|---|---|
| Independence Day 2024 to Independence Day 2025 | 56,000, negative | Israel’s Independence Day 2025 |
| 11.75 months to 22 April 2026 | 45,000, negative | Israel’s Independence Day 2026 |
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, Independence Day media releases, 2025 and 2026. Both periods run between Independence Days, not calendar years, and the 2026 figures are preliminary.
The Bureau counts a leaver after 275 days abroad
The Central Bureau of Statistics changed its method from 2023, the Knesset Research and Information Centre states. A long-term leaver is someone who spent at least 275 days abroad in the year after leaving, with the first 90 days consecutive. A returner is the mirror of that, with the days spent in Israel.
- The Bureau revised earlier years to the new definition. Series built on the old one do not match it.
- The Centre presents data by year of departure or return.
- The Bureau also presents the data by the year the follow-up ended. The Centre states that the two presentations give different annual figures.
Which of these figures may not be added together?
Leavers and returners are separate counts. The 125,200 is a balance between them, not a count of people.
- Figures by year of departure and figures by year the follow-up ended are two bases, and one may not be set against the other.
- Series on the pre-2023 definition are not comparable with these.
- The about 50,000 for January to August stays approximate and is never restated as an exact count.
- The returner share of 29% is 24,200 of 82,800, for 2023 only.
- The Bureau’s Independence Day balance of Israelis staying abroad runs between Independence Days and is a different measure from the Centre’s calendar-year balance, so the two are not set against each other.
Questions readers ask
Did emigration from Israel rise after 7 October?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre recorded a marked rise in departures in October 2023. It says the rise was possibly influenced by the outbreak of the war.
How many Israelis left in 2024?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre reported about 50,000 long-term leavers in January to August 2024. Its update ends at August 2024 and gives no full-year total.
How many Israelis left in 2025?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre published no figure for 2025 in its October 2025 update. The Central Bureau of Statistics’ Independence Day 2026 release gives a balance of Israelis staying abroad of 45,000, negative, for the 11.75 months to 22 April 2026, which is a balance rather than a count of leavers.
How many Israelis live abroad?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre published no count of Israelis living abroad in this update. It counts departures and returns year by year.
How many Israelis returned in 2022?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre counted 29,600 Israelis returning after a long stay abroad in 2022. The figure rests on Bureau data.
Why do some 2023 departure figures differ from 82,800?
The Central Bureau of Statistics publishes its data on two bases. The Knesset Research and Information Centre states that year of departure and year the follow-up ended give different annual figures, and it uses year of departure.
Does a long trip abroad count as leaving?
The Central Bureau of Statistics counts a leaver after at least 275 days abroad within a year of leaving, the first 90 consecutive. The Knesset Research and Information Centre records that this definition applies from 2023.
Are new immigrants in the migration balance?
No. The Knesset Research and Information Centre calculated the balance of Israelis excluding new immigrants.
How many people live in Israel?
The Central Bureau of Statistics put Israel’s population at 10.244 million on the eve of the 78th Independence Day, a preliminary figure up to date for 22 April 2026.
How many immigrants arrived over the same period?
The Central Bureau of Statistics counted about 21,000 immigrants in the 11.75 months to 22 April 2026, and about 28,000 between Independence Day 2024 and Independence Day 2025. Immigrants are outside the Israelis’ migration balance.
Who publishes Israel’s emigration figures?
The Central Bureau of Statistics produces the data. The Knesset Research and Information Centre compiled them by year of departure in its update of 16 October 2025.
Sources
- Central Bureau of Statistics, 2025. Israel’s Independence Day 2025. Media release. https://www.cbs.gov.il/He/mediarelease/DocLib/2025/134/11_25_134e.pdf. Official or primary record.
- Central Bureau of Statistics, 2026. Israel’s Independence Day 2026. Media release. https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/mediarelease/DocLib/2026/117/11_26_117e.pdf. Official or primary record.
- Knesset Research and Information Centre, 2025. Data on the Emigration of Israelis, Update. 16 October 2025, on Central Bureau of Statistics data. fs.knesset.gov.il. Official or primary record.
