Nearly 50,000 Israelis emigrated in 2025 for 3rd consecutive year – report

Between 45,000 and 50,000 Israelis are estimated to have emigrated from the Jewish state in 2025, according to a new Tel Aviv University report published on Monday.

The study found that record levels of Israeli emigration continued for a third consecutive year following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Researchers attributed the increase primarily to the prolonged war and deepening political tensions within Israeli society.

According to the data, 268,509 Israelis left the country for at least three months between 2023 and 2025. In 2025 alone, 90,922 Israelis were abroad for at least three months, compared with an annual average of about 60,000 departures before 2023.

"Accordingly, it can be estimated that if the correlation between the two series is maintained in 2025, then the number of those leaving Israel in 2025 for a period of 12 months or more will be between 45,000 and 50,000 Israelis," the report stated.

The study was conducted by Professor Itai Ater of Tel Aviv University's Coller School of Management, Professor Nittai Bergman, head of the university's School of Economics, and doctoral candidate Doron Zamir. Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) classifies an emigrant as an Israeli citizen who remains abroad for at least 12 consecutive months.

"We parsed the data this way in response to claims by people in the government who said previously that the emigration numbers don't reflect the reality in Israel," Ater told The Times of Israel.

"They tried to say that most of the people leaving were new arrivals from Ukraine [who used their right of return to leave the war zone before continuing on to another country], not longtime Israeli residents. So we wanted to show how many 'real Israelis' are actually leaving," he said.

Founded as a homeland for Jews from around the world, Israel has historically welcomed far more immigrants than the number of citizens leaving the country. Emigration has long carried a social stigma and was traditionally linked to Israelis seeking better economic opportunities abroad.

More recently, however, researchers have pointed to different motivations. A recent study by Professor Lilach Lev Ari, a sociologist at Oranim College, concluded that much of the current emigration is driven by growing dissatisfaction with the policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

Ater warned that the trend could have significant long-term consequences.

"In 2025, we continue to see deeply concerning numbers of Israelis leaving the country for a significant period of time, adding to the exodus seen in 2023 and 2024," he said.

"These figures on their own do not yet pose a threat to Israel's resilience. However, looking ahead – and if there is no change – there is growing concern that emigration will escalate in a manner that endangers Israel's security and economy."

The report cautioned that additional political, economic or security shocks could accelerate the trend.

"Once migration exceeds a certain threshold, reversing the trend will be extremely difficult and carry severe macroeconomic consequences," the researchers wrote.

The study also found that highly educated professionals – including physicians, lawyers and technology workers – make up a significant share of those leaving. Although only about 10% of Israelis are employed in the high-tech sector, it accounts for roughly half of the country's exports and is widely regarded as a key driver of Israel's economy.

Opposition lawmakers seized on the report to criticize the Netanyahu government.

Gilad Kariv of the Democrats party called the trend "a strategic threat to Israel's future" and argued that it is "closely connected to the behavior of the government."

Yesh Atid lawmaker Meirav Cohen wrote that "for all they promised that Gazans would emigrate willfully, in the end the Oct. 7 government encouraged willful emigration from Israel."

Her fellow Yesh Atid Knesset Member Karine Elharrar argued that "every day, more and more Israelis are seeing the massive failures and perilous corruption of this government and despair."