How Many Israelis Get Welfare Benefits? 1.28 Million Families Draw Child Allowance
National Insurance paid child allowance to about 1.28 million families and income support to 57,600 in 2024. Each benefit is counted separately.
About 1.28 million families drew child allowance each month in 2024, the National Insurance Institute recorded in its Annual Report 2024, with about 3.13 million children between them. The Institute counted 1.19 million recipients of old-age and survivors’ pensions in the same year, and 57,600 families on income support, the means-tested benefit for the working-age population. Each benefit is counted on its own and in its own unit. The Institute publishes no single total of Israelis on benefits.
| Figure | What it counts | Period |
|---|---|---|
| About 1.28 million | Families receiving child allowance, with about 3.13 million children | 2024, monthly average |
| 1.19 million | Recipients of old-age and survivors’ pensions, with a pension split between two people counted once | 2024, monthly average |
| 362,100 | Recipients of long-term care benefit | 2024, monthly average |
| 335,800 | Recipients of general disability pension | 2024, monthly average |
| 101,800 | Recipients of unemployment benefit | 2024, monthly average |
| 57,600 | Families receiving income support, working-age population | 2024, monthly average |
Source: National Insurance Institute, Annual Report 2024, chapter 1, Table 7. Each figure is the Institute’s own count of the benefits it pays.
National Insurance paid child allowance to 1.28 million families in 2024
The National Insurance Institute counted 1,279,700 families receiving child allowance as a monthly average in 2024, up 0.8%, on its own count of the payments it makes. The unit is the family. The Institute’s chapter text puts the children covered at about 3.13 million. Old-age and survivors’ pensions, the next largest branch, reached 1,192,500 recipients on the same count, up 2.6% on 2023.
The allowance is paid per child, at a rate set by the child’s place in the family, so a family’s payment is the sum across its children. The National Insurance Institute stated on 1 January 2026 that the amounts were frozen in 2025 and rose in 2026 with the consumer price index.
| Child’s place in the family | Monthly allowance |
|---|---|
| First child | NIS 173 |
| Second, third and fourth child | NIS 219 each |
| Fifth child and onward | NIS 173 each |
Source: National Insurance Institute, Child Allowance Amounts from 1 January 2026, and the 2026 benefit update. Rates in force from 1 January 2026.
Income support reached 57,600 families, the lowest since 1992
The National Insurance Institute counted 57,600 families on income support as a monthly average in 2024, down 5.8%, on its own count of the payments it makes. The chapter text calls it the lowest monthly average since 1992. Income support counts families, and a split benefit has been counted as one unit since 2004.
The National Insurance Institute’s 2024 poverty report puts measured poverty at 20.7% of individuals, and states that without government intervention it would have reached 31.5%. The 31.5% is the Institute’s calculation on income before transfers and direct taxes, not a past rate.
| Figure | What it counts | Period |
|---|---|---|
| 57,600 | Families on income support | 2024, monthly average |
| 20.7% | Individuals below the poverty line, measured | 2024 |
| 31.5% | Individuals below the line on income before transfers and direct taxes | 2024 |
| 34.5% | Families below the line on the same calculation | 2024 |
| NIS 113 | Monthly supplement per third and fourth child, for a parent on income support | From 1 January 2026 |
Source: National Insurance Institute, Annual Report 2024, chapter 1, Table 7; The National Insurance Institute 2024 Poverty Report; Child Allowance Amounts from 1 January 2026. All are the Institute’s own figures.
General disability pensions rose 8.0% to 335,800 recipients
The National Insurance Institute counted 335,800 recipients of general disability pension as a monthly average in 2024, up 8.0%, which the chapter text calls the fastest rise since 2008. The disabled child benefit rose fastest of the branches, by 16.3%. Unemployment benefit fell 7.1% after a 78.4% rise in 2023, during the war, when it reached 109,600.
| Benefit | Recipients, 2024 | Change on 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Long-term care benefit | 362,100 | Up 8.9% |
| General disability pension | 335,800 | Up 8.0% |
| Disabled child benefit | 142,900 | Up 16.3% |
| Unemployment benefit | 101,800 | Down 7.1% |
| Special services allowance | 86,800 | Up 7.1% |
| Work injury permanent disability pension | 66,400 | Up 6.5% |
| Work injury allowance | 63,900 | Down 5.8% |
| Mobility benefit | 51,800 | Up 3.5% |
Source: National Insurance Institute, Annual Report 2024, chapter 1, Table 7. Monthly averages, on the Institute’s own count of the benefits it pays.
Which of these recipient counts may not be added together?
None of them may be added together. The National Insurance Institute counts each benefit separately, in its own unit, and its Table 7 states no total of people drawing any benefit. One person can draw more than one benefit: an old-age pensioner can also draw long-term care, and a parent with a disability can draw a child allowance.
| Benefit | Unit counted | Basis | 2024 figure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Child allowance | Families | Monthly average | 1,279,700 |
| Income support | Families | Monthly average | 57,600 |
| Old-age and survivors’ pensions | Recipients, a split pension counted once | Monthly average | 1,192,500 |
| Birth grant | Distinct recipients | During the year | 180,900 |
| Maternity allowance | Distinct recipients | During the year | 143,700 |
Source: National Insurance Institute, Annual Report 2024, chapter 1, Table 7, on the Institute’s own count of the benefits it pays.
No national count of welfare-department registrants appears here
Neither the National Insurance Institute’s Table 7 nor the two Central Bureau of Statistics releases carrying welfare registrations gives a national total of people registered with local social-services departments. The Central Bureau of Statistics published registrations one population group at a time, drawn from the Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs’ own registration files. The two group counts cover different years and may not be added.
| Figure | What it counts | Period |
|---|---|---|
| About 277,000 | Moslems registered at the Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs | 2021 |
| About 17,500 | Christians registered at the Ministry, about 98 per 1,000 Christians | 2020 |
| About 3,500 | Christians placed in social service frameworks, about 20 per 1,000 Christians | 2020 |
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, The Moslem Population in Israel (2022) and Christmas 2021, Christians in Israel. The Bureau’s processing of the Ministry’s own registration files.
Registration with the Ministry and receipt of a National Insurance benefit are counted by different bodies from different files, and the two may not be combined.
Every benefit figure here is the Institute’s own count
- The National Insurance Institute’s figures are its own counts of the benefits it pays, from Table 7 of its Annual Report 2024. Most are monthly averages; the birth grant and maternity allowance count distinct recipients during the year.
- Child allowance and income support count families. The pensions and the other branches count recipients. The rows may not be summed.
- Table 7 prints its figures in thousands: 1,192.5 is 1,192,500.
- The 31.5% poverty figure is the Institute’s calculation on income before transfers and direct taxes, not a past rate.
- The welfare registrations are the Central Bureau of Statistics’ processing of the Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs’ own registration files, for one group and one year at a time.
Questions readers ask
How much is the child allowance in 2026?
The National Insurance Institute published rates from 1 January 2026 of NIS 173 a month for the first child, NIS 219 each for the second to fourth, and NIS 173 each from the fifth.
How many children does the child allowance cover?
The National Insurance Institute counted about 3.13 million children in about 1.28 million families, as a monthly average in 2024.
How many Israelis receive an old-age pension?
The National Insurance Institute counted 1.19 million recipients of old-age and survivors’ pensions as a monthly average in 2024, up 2.6% on 2023. A pension split between two people counts as one.
Who gets the NIS 113 supplement?
The National Insurance Institute publishes a supplement of NIS 113 a month per third and fourth child, paid from 1 January 2026 to a parent receiving income support, alimony, or an old-age or survivors’ pension with the income supplement.
How many Israelis received unemployment benefit in 2024?
The National Insurance Institute counted 101,800 recipients as a monthly average in 2024, down 7.1% from 109,600 in 2023.
How many people receive long-term care benefit?
The National Insurance Institute counted 362,100 recipients as a monthly average in 2024, up 8.9%, on the year the table prints.
How many children receive a disabled child benefit?
The National Insurance Institute counted 142,900 recipients as a monthly average in 2024, up 16.3% on 2023.
How many people received a birth grant in 2024?
The National Insurance Institute counted 180,900 distinct recipients of the birth grant during 2024, and 143,700 of maternity allowance.
How many Israelis are poor?
The National Insurance Institute’s 2024 poverty report puts about 2 million Israelis below the poverty line in 2024, 20.7% of individuals, including about 880,000 children.
What is the poverty line in Israel?
The National Insurance Institute put the poverty line at NIS 3,547 a month per standard person in 2024, half the median net income per standard person, up from NIS 3,318 in 2023.
How many Moslems are registered with the welfare ministry?
The Central Bureau of Statistics recorded about 277,000 Moslems registered at the Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs in 2021, from the Ministry’s own registration files.
How many Christians are registered with social services?
The Central Bureau of Statistics recorded about 17,500 Christians registered at the Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs in 2020, about 98 per 1,000 Christians, from the Ministry’s own files.
How many work injury pensions does National Insurance pay?
The National Insurance Institute counted 66,400 recipients of the work injury permanent disability pension as a monthly average in 2024, up 6.5%, and 63,900 of the injury allowance, down 5.8%.
Sources
- Central Bureau of Statistics, 2021. Christmas 2021, Christians in Israel. Media release 432/2021. https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/mediarelease/DocLib/2021/432/11_21_432e.pdf. Official or primary record.
- Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, 2022. The Moslem Population in Israel: Data on the Occasion of Eid al-Adha (The Feast of the Sacrifice). Media release 217/2022. https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/mediarelease/DocLib/2022/217/11_22_217e.pdf. Official or primary record.
- National Insurance Institute, 2026. Annual Report 2024, Chapter 1, Table 7: Benefit Recipients in the Main Insurance Branches. https://www.btl.gov.il/Publications/Skira_shnatit/2024/Documents/chap-01%202024.pdf. Official or primary record.
- National Insurance Institute, 2026. Child Allowance Amounts from 1 January 2026, and the 2026 benefit update. https://www.btl.gov.il/About/newspapers/Pages/idkonkitzvaot2025.aspx. Official or primary record.
- National Insurance Institute, 2026. The National Insurance Institute 2024 Poverty Report. Press release. https://www.btl.gov.il/English%20Homepage/About/PressReleases/Pages/dohoni2024.aspx. Official or primary record.
