Israel suffers record emigration wave, with almost 270,000 leaving since 2023

Close to 270,000 Israeli citizens have left the country since 2023, marking the highest emigration levels in Israel's history, according to a new study by researchers at Tel Aviv University.

The study, reported by Haaretz, found that roughly 90,000 Israelis left the country for three months or more in each year between 2023 and 2025. That annual average is well above the roughly 60,000 who emigrated each year between 2010 and 2019.

Drawing on data from Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics and other government agencies, the study found that more than 86,000 Israelis left the country for over three months in 2023, followed by more than 90,000 in both 2024 and 2025.

Itai Ater, one of the study's authors, told Haaretz that the research broke from previous emigration reports by counting anyone who spent at least three months abroad, rather than only those gone for a full year, arguing this gave a more accurate picture of the true scale of departures.

Ater said the figures only include long-term Israeli residents who had lived in the country for at least three years before leaving, excluding recent immigrants from Ukraine and Russia who departed within three years of arrival.

Read more: Israel suffers record emigration wave, with almost 270,000 leaving since 2023