British Newspaper: 150,000 Israelis Have Emigrated in Three Years, Turning Migration Balance Negative.

A “Completely Exceptional” Reversal, Researcher Says

The British newspaper Financial Times reported that around 150,000 people have left Israel over the past three years, pushing net migration negative in both 2023 and 2024 — a rare occurrence in Israel’s history, with expectations that last year’s figures will also show a net outflow. The paper quoted Hebrew University professor emeritus Sergio DellaPergola as saying this marks the first time in a century that Israel has recorded a sustained negative migration balance across consecutive years, describing the situation as completely exceptional.

War, Cost of Living, and Political Polarization Cited as Drivers

According to the Financial Times, Israel has struggled for years with a high cost of living, while property prices remain elevated, particularly in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The paper said the causes behind the departures are varied, but researchers point to sharp political polarization, the fallout from judicial overhaul efforts, the war that has now stretched on for roughly three years, and a pervasive sense of security instability as key factors driving the current wave of departures. A qualitative study conducted by sociologist Lilach Lev Ari during 2024 and 2025, covering 71 Israelis who emigrated to the United States, found participants expressing growing concern over Israel’s political and social climate, especially since the 2023 judicial reform crisis — concerns particularly concentrated among secular and liberal Israelis, who see Israeli society steadily shifting rightward under successive Netanyahu governments.

A Tel Aviv University Study Puts the Figure Even Higher

A separate study led by Professor Itay Ater of Tel Aviv University’s Coller School of Management found that nearly 270,000 Israelis left the country for at least three consecutive months between 2023 and 2025, averaging around 90,000 people a year, compared with an annual average of roughly 60,000 during 2010–2019. The study found that 86,509 people left for three months or more in 2023, rising to 91,499 in 2024 and 90,922 in 2025 — figures the study’s authors described as deeply concerning, marking the highest levels recorded since data tracking began in 2009. Based on the statistical relationship between long-term stays abroad and permanent emigration, the study estimated that between 45,000 and 50,000 Israelis left the country for a year or more during 2025 alone.
Researchers noted that while current migration levels do not yet pose a direct threat to the Israeli economy, the real risk lies in the possibility that this trend continues or accelerates in the years ahead, warning of potentially serious consequences for Israel’s economy and security if the pattern does not reverse. The figures nonetheless remain below the emigration wave recorded between 2013 and 2015, when roughly 183,219 Israelis left the country over three years, underscoring that while current levels are historically elevated, they have not yet reached the peak of previous outflow periods.