Aliyah Up 19% During Past 12 Months

According to the Jewish Agency and the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption, in 5771 some 21,300 Jews moved to Israel from around the world. This is an increase of 19% compared to 5770, during which Israel absorbed 17,883 immigrants.

Of the 21,300 immigrants to Israel this past year, about 18,500 came from the former Soviet Union, North America, Latin America, Europe and other countries in the world. This is a significant increase of about 12%, compared to 16,560 olim from these countries in the previous year. 2,780 immigrants from Ethiopia made aliyah in 5771, compared to about 1,320 in the year 5770. The rate of immigration from Ethiopia is set by the government.

The statistics also show that most of the immigrants are young: From January to July 2011, approximately 62% of the olim were aged 0-34, of which about 36% are young adults between the ages of 18-34.

Approximately 8,290 immigrants arrived from the former Soviet Union, including from Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States and Central Asian countries. This represents a significant increase of about 19%, with only 6,970 FSU immigrants in the previous year.

North American aliyah reached about 4,070 as opposed to 3,720 the year before (an increase of 9%) and immigration from France rose to approximately 2,100 from 2,000 last year (an increase of 4%). From Latin America, 1,380 olim were absorbed in Israel compared to about 1,360 in 5770.

Over the past year, Israel has also become home to small numbers of olim from other countries, including Hong Kong, Honduras, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Monaco, Suriname, China, the Philippines, Thailand, Angola, Japan, Malta, Congo, South Korea and Nicaragua.