How Many Ethiopian Israelis Are There?
The Central Bureau of Statistics counted 168,800 residents of Ethiopian origin at the end of 2022, and defines who is in that count.
168,800 residents of Ethiopian origin lived in Israel at the end of 2022, in the count the Central Bureau of Statistics published for the Sigd festival in 2023. The Central Bureau of Statistics defines that population as people born in Ethiopia together with people born in Israel whose father was born in Ethiopia, so the total is a birthplace-and-descent count rather than a count of immigrants. Figures in the release carry mixed reference periods, and each one below carries its own.
| Figure | What it counts | Period |
|---|---|---|
| 168,800 | Residents of Ethiopian origin: born in Ethiopia, or born in Israel to a father born in Ethiopia | End of 2022 |
| Approximately 92,100 (55%) | Of that total, those born in Ethiopia | End of 2022 |
| 76,800 (approximately 45%) | Of that total, those born in Israel to a father born in Ethiopia | End of 2022 |
| 6,144 | Israeli-born residents whose mother was born in Ethiopia, counted outside the 168,800 | End of 2022 |
| 1,680 | Immigrants arriving in Israel from Ethiopia during the year | 2022 |
| 62,400 (36.9% of the 168,800) | Residents of Ethiopian origin living in the Central District | End of 2022 |
| 42,700 | Households of persons of Ethiopian origin, 1.5% of all Israeli households | 2020 to 2022 average |
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, The Population of Ethiopian Origin in Israel, selected data published on the occasion of the Sigd festival, 2023.
The Bureau counts about 168,800 residents of Ethiopian origin
The Central Bureau of Statistics recorded 168,800 residents of Ethiopian origin at the end of 2022, on its own definition of the group, and published the count as a Sigd festival release rather than as a standing series. The same release reports the age structure of that population, against the Jews and Others population as the Bureau defines it.
- 26.5% of the 168,800 were aged 0 to 14, and approximately 92.6% of that age group were born in Israel.
- 6.5% of the 168,800 were aged 65 and over.
- 14.3% of the Jews and Others population were aged 65 and over, on the same end-of-2022 reference date.
92,100 were born in Ethiopia and 76,800 in Israel
The Central Bureau of Statistics put approximately 92,100 of the total, or 55%, as people born in Ethiopia, and 76,800, or approximately 45%, as people born in Israel whose father was born in Ethiopia. The second component is a descent criterion rather than a birthplace one, and it is the reason roughly half the published total was born in Israel. The Central Bureau of Statistics counts a further 6,144 Israeli-born residents whose mother was born in Ethiopia outside the 168,800.
What share of Israel’s population is of Ethiopian origin?
The Central Bureau of Statistics published a household share in the Sigd 2023 release and no share of the total resident population: it counted 42,700 households of persons of Ethiopian origin, approximately 1.5% of all Israeli households and approximately 1.8% of the households of Jews and Others, as a 2020 to 2022 average. Those two percentages have different denominators, all Israeli households in the first case and the households of Jews and Others in the second, and they are not interchangeable. The total resident population is published by the Central Bureau of Statistics in separate releases with their own reference dates, and dividing across releases produces a share the Bureau did not publish.
Where the Bureau records the Ethiopian-origin population living?
The Central Bureau of Statistics recorded 62,400 residents of Ethiopian origin in the Central District at the end of 2022, 36.9% of the 168,800, and approximately 11,000, or 6.4%, in the Tel Aviv District.
| Place | Figure | What it counts | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central District | 62,400 (36.9%) | Residents of Ethiopian origin, as a share of the 168,800 | End of 2022 |
| Tel Aviv District | Approximately 11,000 (6.4%) | Residents of Ethiopian origin, as a share of the 168,800 | End of 2022 |
| Netanya | 12,200 | Highest number in any urban locality | End of 2022 |
| Qiryat Mal’akhi | 15.1% | Highest share of any locality’s residents | End of 2022 |
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, Sigd 2023 release. The locality table covers only localities with 2,000 or more residents of Ethiopian origin, and district figures for the Judea and Samaria Areas relate to Israeli localities only.
The Bureau publishes no count of the third generation
The Central Bureau of Statistics defines the population of Ethiopian origin as people born in Ethiopia plus people born in Israel to a father born in Ethiopia, which places Israeli-born people whose Ethiopian-born grandparents immigrated outside the published total. The Sigd 2023 release carries no figure for that third generation, and the Central Bureau of Statistics states no alternative definition covering it in the release. Arrival volumes across the whole period of immigration to Israel are published separately.
Which figures here may not be added together?
Every figure on this page comes from one release, and its periods differ by table: population stock and geography are end of 2022, immigration and births are annual, marriage and divorce are 2021, education is the 2021/22 school year, and households are a 2020 to 2022 average.
The 92,100 and the 76,800 are rounded components and do not sum exactly to the published total of 168,800. The 6,144 Israeli-born residents whose mother was born in Ethiopia sit outside that total and may not be added to it. The 1.5% household share and the 1.8% share of Jews and Others households rest on different denominators. Marriage and divorce figures in the release come from the Population Register.
Questions readers ask
How many people of Ethiopian origin live in Israel?
The Central Bureau of Statistics recorded 168,800 at the end of 2022.
Who does the Central Bureau of Statistics count in that figure?
The Central Bureau of Statistics counts people born in Ethiopia and people born in Israel whose father was born in Ethiopia.
Are Israeli-born people inside the total?
Yes. The Central Bureau of Statistics counted 76,800 Israeli-born people with an Ethiopian-born father, approximately 45% of the total, at the end of 2022.
Are people whose mother was born in Ethiopia counted?
The Central Bureau of Statistics counted 6,144 Israeli-born residents whose mother was born in Ethiopia separately, outside the 168,800.
How many immigrants arrived from Ethiopia recently?
The Central Bureau of Statistics reported 1,680 arrivals in 2022, 1,755 in 2021 and 1,080 in 2020.
Which city has the most residents of Ethiopian origin?
The Central Bureau of Statistics recorded 12,200 in Netanya, the highest number of any urban locality, at the end of 2022.
Which locality has the highest share?
The Central Bureau of Statistics recorded 15.1% in Qiryat Mal’akhi at the end of 2022, the highest share of any locality in the release.
How many babies were born to women of Ethiopian origin?
The Central Bureau of Statistics counted 3,959 infants born to women of Ethiopian origin in 2022.
What fertility rate does the release give?
The Central Bureau of Statistics reported 2.68 children per woman of Ethiopian origin in 2022, against 2.90 in the Jews and Others population.
Does the Central Bureau of Statistics publish fertility by population group?
The Central Bureau of Statistics reports total fertility rate by population group, Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Druze and no religion, in its vital statistics series and in Israel in Figures 2024. Origin within the Jewish population is not one of those groups.
How many students of Ethiopian origin are in the education system?
The Central Bureau of Statistics counted 32,702 in the 2021/22 school year, and reported that 94.4% of 12th grade students of Ethiopian origin took matriculation exams, against 96.2% in the overall Hebrew education sector.
What divorce figure does the release give?
The Central Bureau of Statistics recorded approximately 17.0 divorces per 1,000 married couples among persons of Ethiopian origin in 2021, against 9.3 per 1,000 married couples in the overall Jewish population, with 385 men and 420 women divorcing.
Sources
- Central Bureau of Statistics, 2023. The Population of Ethiopian Origin in Israel: Selected Data Published on the Occasion of the Sigd Festival 2023. cbs.gov.il. Official or primary record.
- Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, 2024. Total Fertility Rate by Population Group. Vital statistics series. cbs.gov.il. Official or primary record.
- Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, 2024. Israel in Figures 2024. cbs.gov.il. Official or primary record.
