Historical Jewish population
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Jewish population centers have shifted tremendously over time, due in modern times to large scale population movements, and in earlier times due to a combination of population movements, religious conversions and religious assimilation. Population movements have been caused by both push and pull factors, with the most notable push factors being expulsions and persecutions, in particular the pogroms in the Russian Empire and the Holocaust.
The 20th century saw a large shift in Jewish populations, particularly the large-scale migration to
Today, the majority of the world's
Ancient times
The
In the
By the first century, the Jewish community in Babylonia, to which Jews were exiled after the Babylonian conquest as well as after the Bar Kokhba rebellion in 135 CE, already held a speedily growing[3] population of an estimated one million Jews, which increased to an estimated two million[4] between the years 200 CE and 500 CE, both by natural growth and by immigration of more Jews from the Land of Israel, making up about one-sixth of the world Jewish population in that era.[4] The 13th-century author Bar Hebraeus gave a figure of 6,944,000 Jews in the Roman world; Salo Wittmayer Baron considered the figure convincing.[5] The figure of seven million within and one million outside the Roman world in the mid-first century became widely accepted, including by Louis Feldman.
However, contemporary scholars now accept that Bar Hebraeus based his figure on a census of total Roman citizens, the figure of 6,944,000 being recorded in Eusebius' Chronicon.[6][7] John R. Bartlett rejects Baron's figures entirely, arguing that we have no clue as to the size of the Jewish demographic in the ancient world.[8]: 97–103 Louis Feldman, previously an active supporter of the figure, now states that he and Baron were mistaken.[9]: 185
Middle Ages
As regards the number of Jews in the
The Middle Ages were mainly a period of expulsions. In 1290, 16,000 Jews were expelled
By the early 13th century, the world Jewish population had fallen to 2 million from a peak at 8 million during the 1st century, and possibly half this number, with only 250,000 of the 2 million living in Christian lands. Many factors had devastated the Jewish population, including the Bar Kokhba revolt and the First Crusade.[citation needed]
It is estimated by some modern geneticists from Israel that modern Ashkenazi Jews descend from about 25,000 individuals who lived in 1300 A.D.[15][16] A more recent study by Shai Carmi et al. indicated an even smaller population, where modern Ashkenazi Jews commonly descend from only approximately 350 individuals who lived around 1350 A.D., and who were of an even mix of Middle Eastern and European ancestry.[17]
Modern era
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Dutch researcher
Again following Jacobs,[2] Jacques Basnage at the beginning of the 18th century estimated the total number of European Jews at 1,360,000, but according to a census at the First Partition of Poland in 1772, the Jews of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth numbered 308,500. As these formed the larger part of the European Jews, it is doubtful whether the total number was more than 400,000 at the middle of the 18th century; and, counting those in the lands of Islam, the entire number in the world at that time could not have been much more than 1,000,000.
Assuming that those numbers are reasonable, the increase in the next few centuries was remarkably rapid. It was checked in Germany by the laws limiting the number of Jews in special towns, and perhaps still more by overcrowding; Jacobs gives citations for there being 7,951 Jews at Prague in 1786 and 5,646 in 1843, and 2,214 at Frankfurt in 1811.[2]
Chubinsky reports that in 1840 the Jews of southern Russia were accustomed to dwell thirteen in a house, whereas among the general population the average was only four to five (Globus, 1880, p. 340). The rapid increase was undoubtedly due to the early age of marriage and the small number of deaths of infants in the stable communities. The chief details known for any length of time are for the Netherlands, Hungary, Poland, and Württemberg; see chart at right.
Jacobs in the Jewish Encyclopedia presents some evidence that Jewish increase in this period may have exceeded that of the general population, but remarks also that such figures of increase are often very deceptive, as they may indicate not the natural increase by surplus of births over deaths, but accession by immigration. This applies especially to Germany during the early part of the 19th century, when Jews from
This growth in actual numbers was somewhat offset by conversion away from Judaism. While
Toward the end of the 19th century, estimates of the number of Jews in the world ranged from about 6,200,000 (Encyclopædia Britannica, 1881) to 10,932,777 (American Jewish Year Book, 1904–1905). This can be compared with estimates of about half that number a mere 60 years earlier, though for comparison estimates of the total population of Europe show it also to have doubled between 1800 and 1900.
The Jewish Encyclopedia article on which this discussion is largely based estimates only 314,000
In 1939, the core Jewish population reached its historical peak of 17 million (0.8% of the global population). Because of
According to a 2017 Pew Research Center survey, the number of Jews around the world is expected to increase from 14.3 million in 2015 to 16.4 million in 2060.[20]
Comparisons
Region | Jews, No. (1900)[2] |
Jews, % (1900)[2] |
Jews, No. (1942)[21] |
Jews, % (1942)[21] |
Jews, No. (1970)[22] |
Jews, % (1970)[22] |
Jews, No. (2010)[23] |
Jews, % (2010)[23] |
Jews, No. (2020)[22] |
Jews, % (2020) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Europe
|
8,977,581 | 2.20% | 9,237,314 | 3,228,000 | 0.50% | 1,455,900 | 0.18% | 1,300,000 | 0.1% | |
Austria (Cisleithania) | 1,224,899 | 4.68% | 9,000 | 0.11% | ||||||
Belgium | 12,000 | 0.18% | 60,000 | 0.7% | 30,300 | 0.28% | 42,000 | 0.36% | ||
Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
8,213 | 0.58% | 500 | 0.01% | 281 | 0.00% | ||||
Bulgaria/Turkey/Ottoman Empire[a] | 390,018 | 1.62% | 24,300 | 0.02% | 8,000 | 0.1% | ||||
Denmark | 5,000 | 0.20% | 6,400 | 0.12% | ||||||
France | 86,885 | 0.22% | 250,000 | 0.6% | 530,000 | 1.02% | 483,500 | 0.77% | 450,000 | 0.69% |
Germany | 586,948 | 1.04% | 30,000 | 0.04% | 119,000 | 0.15% | 118,000 | 0.14% | ||
Transleithania )
|
851,378 | 4.43% | 445,000 | 5.1% | 70,000 | 0.68% | 48,600 | 0.49% | 47,300 | 0.48% |
Ireland/United Kingdom | 250,000 | 0.57% | 300,000 | 0.65% | 390,000 | 0.70% | 293,200 | 0.44% | 292,000 | 0.43% |
Italy | 34,653 | 0.10% | 48,000 | 0.11% | 28,400 | 0.05% | ||||
Luxembourg | 1,200 | 0.50% | 600 | 0.12% | ||||||
Netherlands | 103,988 | 2.00% | 156,000 | 1.8% | 30,000 | 0.18% | ||||
Norway/Sweden | 5,000 | 0.07% | 7,100 | 0.07% | 16,200 | 0.11% | ||||
Poland | 1,316,776 | 16.25% | 3,000,000 | 9.5% | 3,200 | 0.01% | ||||
Portugal | 1,200 | 0.02% | 1,200 | 0.02% | 500 | 0.00% | ||||
Romania | 269,015 | 4.99% | 756,000 | 4.2% | 9,700 | 0.05% | 9,000 | 0.04% | ||
Russian Empire (Europe)[b] | 3,907,102 | 3.17% | 2,525,000 | 3.4% | 1,897,000 | 0.96% | 311,400 | 0.15% | 165,000 | 0.1% |
Serbia | 5,102 | 0.20% | 1,400 | 0.02% | ||||||
Spain | 5,000 | 0.02% | 4,000 | 0.02% | 12,000 | 0.03% | 11,700 | 0.02% | ||
Switzerland
|
12,551 | 0.38% | 17,600 | 0.23% | ||||||
Asia | 352,340 | 0.04% | 774,049 | 2,940,000 | 0.14% | 5,741,500 | 0.14% | 6,699,700 | 0.15% | |
Arabia/Yemen | 30,000 | 0.42% | 200 | 0.00% | 6 | 0.00% | ||||
Taiwan/Japan
|
2,000 | 0.00% | 2,600 | 0.00% | 4,100 | 0.00% | ||||
India | 18,228 | 0.0067% | 5,000 | 0.00% | 4,800 | 0.00% | ||||
Iran | 35,000 | 0.39% | 10,400 | 0.01% | 8,500 | 0.01% | ||||
Israel | 2,582,000 | 86.82% | 5,413,800 | 74.62% | 6,940,000 | 74.2% | ||||
Russian Empire (Asia)[c] | 89,635 | 0.38% | 254,000 | 0.57% | 18,600 | 0.02% | ||||
Africa
|
372,659 | 0.28% | 593,736 | 195,000 | 0.05% | 76,200 | 0.01% | 72,000 | ||
Algeria | 51,044 | 1.07% | 120,000 | 1.7% | 2,000 | 0.01% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% |
Egypt | 30,678 | 0.31% | 100 | 0.00% | 9 | 0.00% | ||||
Ethiopia | 50,000 | 1.00% | 100 | 0.00% | ||||||
Libya | 18,680 | 2.33% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | ||||
Morocco
|
109,712 | 2.11% | 2,700 | 0.01% | 2,100 | 0.00% | ||||
South Africa | 50,000 | 4.54% | 118,000 | 0.53% | 70,800 | 0.14% | 67,500 | 0.11% | ||
Tunisia | 62,545 | 4.16% | 1,000 | 0.01% | 1,000 | 0.00% | ||||
Americas | 1,553,656 | 1.00% | 4,739,769 | 6,200,000 | 1.20% | 6,039,600 | 0.64% | |||
Argentina
|
20,000 | 0.42% | 282,000 | 1.18% | 182,300 | 0.45% | ||||
Bolivia/Chile/Ecuador/Peru/Uruguay | 1,000 | 0.01% | 41,400 | 0.06% | ||||||
Brazil | 2,000 | 0.01% | 90,000 | 0.09% | 95,600 | 0.05% | ||||
Canada | 22,500 | 0.42% | 286,000 | 1.34% | 375,000 | 1.11% | ||||
Central America | 4,035 | 0.12% | 54,500 | 0.03% | ||||||
Colombia/Guiana/Venezuela | 2,000 | 0.03% | 14,700 | 0.02% | ||||||
Mexico | 1,000 | 0.01% | 18,299[24] | 0.09% | 35,000 | 0.07% | 39,400 | 0.04% | ||
Suriname | 1,121 | 1.97% | 200 | 0.04% | ||||||
United States | 1,500,000 | 1.97% | 4,228,529 | 3.00% | 5,400,000 | 2.63% | 5,275,000 | 1.71% | 6,700,000 | 2.04% |
Oceania | 16,840 | 0.28% | 26,954 | 70,000 | 0.36% | 115,100 | 0.32% | 125,600 | 0.3% | |
Australia | 15,122 | 0.49% | 65,000 | 0.52% | 107,500 | 0.50% | 118,000 | 0.48% | ||
New Zealand | 1,611 | 0.20% | 7,500 | 0.17% | 7,500 | 0.15% | ||||
Total | 11,273,076 | 0.68% | 15,371,822 | 12,633,000 | 0.4% | 13,428,300 | 0.19% |
a.
b.^ Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), Belarus, Moldova, Russia (including Siberia), Ukraine.
c.
See also
References
- DellaPergola, Sergio (2015). Dashefsky, Arnold; Sheskin, Ira (eds.). "World Jewish Population, 2015". Current Jewish Population Reports. 115: 273–364. Archivedfrom the original on 2018-08-06. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
- ^ a b c d e f g Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Statistics". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
- ^ מרדכי וורמברנד ובצלאל ס רותת "עם ישראל – תולדות 4000 שנה – מימי האבות ועד חוזה השלום", ע"מ 95. (Translation: Mordechai Vermebrand and Betzalel S. Ruth – "The People of Israel – the history of 4000 years – from the days of the Forefathers to the Peace Treaty", 1981, p. 95)
- ^ a b Dr. Solomon Gryazel, "History of the Jews – From the destruction of Judah in 586 BC to the present Arab Israeli conflict", p. 137
- ^ Salo Wittmayer Baron (1937). A Social and Religious History of the Jews, by Salo Wittmayer Baron ... Volume 1 of A Social and Religious History of the Jews. Columbia University Press. p. 132.
- ISBN 978-0-203-44634-8.
- ISBN 978-90-429-0666-2.
- ISBN 9780203446348.
- ^ Louis H. Feldman (2006). Judaism And Hellenism Reconsidered. Brill.
- ^ Joseph Jacobs (1906). "Statistics". The JewishEncyclopedia.com. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
- ^ Cecil Roth, "The World History of the Jewish People. Vol. XI (11): The Dark Ages. Jews in Christian Europe 711-1096 [Second Series: Medieval Period. Vol. Two: The Dark Ages", Rutgers University Press, 1966. Pp. 302-303.
- ^ Edgar C. Polomé, Werner Winter, Reconstructing Languages and Cultures, Walter de Gruyter, 2011-06-24, ISBN 978-3-11-086792-3.
- ^ Sergio Della Pergola, Some Fundamentals of Jewish Demographic History, in "Papers in Jewish Demography 1997", Jerusalem, The Hebrew University, 2001.
- PMID 30840069.
- PMID 16404693.
- S2CID 10310338.
- PMID 25203624.
- ^ "World Jewish Population – Latest Statistics". Archived from the original on 24 April 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ "Haredi Orthodox account for bulk of Jewish population growth in New York City – Nation". Jewish Journal. Archived from the original on 25 December 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ "The Changing Global Religious Landscape: Babies born to Muslims will begin to outnumber Christian births by 2035; people with no religion face a birth dearth". pewforum.org. April 5, 2017.
- ^ a b Taylor, Myron Charles (1942). "Distribution of the Jews in the World". Vatican Diplomatic Files. Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. Archived from the original on June 20, 2013. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
- ^ ISBN 978-9657549025. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 6, 2013. Retrieved March 15, 2012.)
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ignored (help - ^ DellaPergola, Sergio (November 2, 2010). Dashefsky, Arnold; Sheskin, Ira (eds.). "World Jewish Population, 2010" (PDF). Current Jewish Population Reports. Storrs, Connecticut: North American Jewish Data Bank. Archived from the original(PDF) on February 9, 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
- ^ Gleizer, Daniela. El Exilio Incómodo, México y los refugiados judíos. El Colegio de México, 2011, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, 2011, p. 57.