Full report

Haredi Jews around the world: Population trends and estimates

One in seven Jews around the world is now strictly Orthodox (Haredi)

Dr Daniel Staetsky

In this report:

Capitalising on new resources and advances made in the methods of estimation, this report is the first time that the global Haredi (strictly Orthodox) population size has been estimated and calculated, revealing that about 2,100,000 Haredi Jews live worldwide, out of a total global Jewish population of 15 million. The report projects that the Haredi population could double in size by the year 2040, rising to over a fifth of the total by that time.

Some of the key findings in this report:

  • The global Haredi population is estimated at 2,100,000, constituting about 14% of the total Jewish population in the world.
  • Together, Israel and the USA account for about 92% of all Haredi Jews. Europe hosts 5% of the global Haredi population, while the rest live mainly in Latin America, South Africa, Canada and Australia.
  • Outside of Israel and the USA, the three largest Haredi populations are located in the UK (about 75,000, or 25% of all British Jews), Canada (30,000, 8%) and France (12,000, 3%).
  • While the world Jewish population has been growing by approximately 0.7% per year over the past decade, the Haredi population is currently growing by about 3.5%-4.0% annually.
  • Today, a large part of the growth of the global Jewish population as a whole is due to the Haredi population: perhaps as much as 70%-80% of the total growth worldwide.
  • Haredi rates of growth are very high not simply due to high fertility, but rather to the combined effects of very high fertility and very low mortality.

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Dr Daniel Staetsky

Senior Research Fellow and Director of JPR's European Demography Unit

Dr Daniel Staetsky

Senior Research Fellow and Director of JPR's European Demography Unit

Daniel holds a PhD in Social Statistics and Demography from the University of Southampton and a Master’s degree in Population Studies from the Hebrew University...

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