A special report by the Knesset Research and Information Center, prepared in preparation for a discussion in the Immigration and Absorption Committee on the emigration of Israeli citizens from the country, presents astonishing numbers: In the last five years, between 2020 and 2024, more Israelis left the country than returned - with the gap being 145,900 citizens.
According to the data, in 2020, 34,000 Israelis left the country for the long term, and in 2021 - 43,400 Israelis. In contrast, 32,500 and 23,600 returned to Israel in these years, respectively.
In 2022-2023, there was a surge in the number of Israelis leaving for the long term: in 2022, 59,400 Israelis left - an increase of 44% from the previous year, and in 2023, 82,800 Israelis left - an increase of 39% from the previous year. In October 2023, after the outbreak of the war, there was a significant increase in the number of departures.
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The increase in the number of departures was maintained in 2024, when between January and August the number of departures was similar to their number in the corresponding months in 2023 - approximately 50,000 between these months in both years.
At the same time, the number of Israelis returning after a long stay abroad in 2023 was 24,200 - less than their number in 2022, when 29,600 returned.
The trend continued in 2024, when the number of returnees in the months of January to August 2024 was 12,100 citizens - less than their number in these months in 2023, when 15,600 returned.
The number of returnees after a long stay abroad has been smaller than the number of long-term departures in all recent years, with in 2023 the gap between the number of departures and the number of returnees almost doubling to 58,600 Israelis, and in 2024 - by August - 36,900 Israelis were withdrawn.
It should be noted that, according to CBS data, between Rosh Hashanah last year and Rosh Hashanah this year, 79,000 Israelis emigrated abroad.
In a breakdown by city, most Israelis who left the country in 2024 were from Tel Aviv-Yafo (14%), Haifa (7.7%), Netanya (6.9%) and Jerusalem (6.3%).
The fewest Israelis left Herzliya (1.8%), Ashkelon (1.9%) and Be'er Sheva (2.1%).
More men left: 42,605 men compared to 40,169 women. In terms of the age of those leaving, 28,915 were aged 30–49. 22,183 were aged 0–19, 16,095 were aged 20–29, and 15,581 were aged 50+.
