Israelis are emigrating en masse from the country — mass media

Israelis are emigrating from the country en masse. This is reported by The Times of Israel.

The newspaper refers to the data of a study by experts from Tel Aviv University, published in early August 2026, according to which, a record level of emigration remains this year, which began to grow in 2023. These data are based on an analysis of indicators by the Central Bureau of Statistics of Israel.

During the period from 2023 to 2025, 268,509 Israeli citizens left the country for at least three consecutive months. The annual dynamics in the number of such people who have left for a period of 3 months is as follows:

• 2023: 86,509 people;
• 2024: 91,499 people;
• 2025: 90,922 people.

The researchers estimate that the final number of emigrants (remaining abroad for 12 months or more) in 2025 is likely to be between 45,000 and 50,000 people.

Before that, in 2010-2019, an average of about 60,000 people left annually, and in three years (2013-2015) — only 183,219. Thus, the current outflow is almost 50% higher than ten years ago.

The main concern of scientists, primarily Professors Itai Ater and Nittai Bergman, is related not so much to the total number as to the qualitative composition of those leaving. They note the "brain drain" and emigration of representatives of key professions for the economy.

Among those leaving the country, the share of people with high incomes has sharply increased (from a quarter to more than a third of all those who left), as well as specialists from the field of high technology, management and liberal professions.

Between January 2023 and September 2024, 875 doctors left the country. The net outflow (including those who returned) amounted to 481 doctors.

The net outflow of engineers for the same period amounted to about 2,330 people, and among the holders of a doctoral degree (PhD) in scientific and technical fields - 224 people.

More than 75% of those leaving are people under the age of 40, which indicates the loss of the most mobile and promising part of the population.

Researchers attribute this surge in emigration to a combination of factors: protracted military conflict, political tensions and economic difficulties. Many of those leaving associate their decision with dissatisfaction with the political situation and security issues.

As a result, Israel faced a rare phenomenon of a negative migration balance: in 2024 and 2025, almost 50,000 more people left the country than arrived in it. This breaks a long-standing historical trend, when the number of people entering (mostly Jews) exceeded the number of those leaving.

Although the authors emphasize that the current figures do not yet pose an immediate threat to the country, they warn of long-term risks. If the trend continues, it could cause serious damage to the economy, scientific and technological potential, and in the long run, to Israel's security.