The Tel Aviv skyline at night. Photo: Gilad Avidan via Wikimedia Commons.

Israel has accepted almost 60,000 new immigrants over the past Jewish year, the highest number in 20 years mainly driven by an influx of Russians and Ukrainians seeking refuge from the war between the two countries.

During the Jewish calendar year 5782, a total of 26,000 olim – Hebrew word for new immigrants – were absorbed from Russia and 14,000 from Ukraine as Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, according to data released by the Jewish Agency on the eve of Rosh Hashanah. During the period between Sept. 1, 2021, and Sept. 1, 2022, immigrants were welcomed from 93 countries. A total of 3,800 immigrants arrived from the US and Canada; 2,500 from France; 1,600 from Belarus; 1,450 from Ethiopia; 1,100 from Argentina; 600 from the United Kingdom; 500 from South Africa and 400 from Brazil, according to the data.

The close to 9.6 million people currently residing in Israel are expected to top 10 million people by the end of 2024, 15 million people by the end of 2048 and more than double to 20 million residents by the end of 2065, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) said in data released last week.

On the eve of the Jewish new year of 5783, the world’s Jewish population stands at about 15.3 million, growing by 100,000 from the year before, according to Jewish Agency data. Israel is the location of the largest concentration of Jews in the world, numbering 7.08 million or 46.2 percent of the world’s Jewry. About 8.25 million Jews live outside the country, including around 6 million in the United States.

Another 442,000 Jews live in France, 394,000 in Canada, and 292,000 in Great Britain. A further 145,000 Jews reside in Russia, and 40,000 in Ukraine while Germany is home to 118,000 Jews. The data also found that around 14,300 Jews live in Turkey.