How many Jews are there in the world?

The numbers

Demographers such as Prof. Sergio DellaPergola, whose figures are used by the Jewish Agency and the American Jewish Year Book, count a “core” Jewish population of about 15–16 million in the mid-2020s. Israel has the largest community, a little over 7 million; the United States has a similar number or somewhat fewer depending on the definition. France, Canada, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Russia, Germany and Australia follow. Wider definitions – including people with a Jewish parent who do not identify as Jewish – produce higher totals. These figures are estimates and change from year to year.

A small people

The Torah says so itself: “It is not because you are the most numerous of peoples that the Lord set His heart on you – indeed, you are the fewest of all peoples” (Deuteronomy 7:7). The Jewish population before the Holocaust was about 16.6 million; six million were murdered, and it took about eighty years to return to a similar number.

Why the count is hard

Census questions differ between countries, intermarriage raises the question of who counts, and Jewish law has its own definition (birth to a Jewish mother or conversion). Jewish tradition also avoids counting people directly – a minyan is counted with a verse of ten words rather than with numbers.