Change in Countries With Largest Jewish Populations
The countries with large Jewish populations in 2010 are expected to experience slower population growth than the rest of the world in future decades. The 10 countries with the largest Jewish populations were home to about 14% of the world’s population in 2010; they are expected to hold less than 12% of the world’s people in 2050.
The countries with large Jewish populations in 2010 are expected to experience slower population growth than the rest of the world in future decades. The 10 countries with the largest Jewish populations were home to about 14% of the world’s population in 2010; they are expected to hold less than 12% of the world’s people in 2050.
The United States and Israel had similarly sized Jewish populations in 2010 (5.7 million Jews in the U.S., 5.6 million in Israel). Other countries with a considerable number of Jews as of 2010 included Canada (350,000), France (310,000) and the United Kingdom (290,000).
Nearly 95% of all Jews in the world lived in the countries with the 10 largest Jewish populations. Only Israel had a majority-Jewish population, with about three-quarters of its population (76%) identifying as Jewish in 2010. In the other nine countries on this list, about 2% or less of each nation’s people were Jewish as of 2010.
By 2050, Israel’s Jewish population (8.1 million) is expected to be significantly larger than the U.S. Jewish population (5.4 million). Between 2010 and 2050, Israel’s Jewish population is expected to grow by about 2.5 million people while the U.S. Jewish population declines by about 330,000.
As the number of Jews in Israel increases, so will Israel’s share of the world’s Jews. By 2050, more than half of the world’s Jews (51%) are expected to live in Israel. In 2010, about 41% of Jews lived in Israel. Meanwhile, about a third of the world’s Jews (33%) will live in the United States at mid-century, down from 41% in 2010.
While the Jewish population in the U.S. shrinks, some other minority religious groups in the U.S. are projected to grow in size, largely due to immigration. As a result, Judaism is no longer expected to be the most common non-Christian religion in the U.S.; people who identify with the Jewish faith are expected to be fewer in number than Muslims in the U.S. by 2050.
