According to the Jewish Agency, more than 29,600* people immigrated to Israel during 2018, compared with 28,220 in 2017, a 5-percent increase year over year.

The country with the largest number of olim in 2018 was Russia, with approximately 10,500 immigrants, representing a 45-percent increase from last year. Also within the former Soviet Union, more than 6,500 people made Aliyah from Ukraine, a 9-percent decrease from 2017.

A total of 3,550 individuals immigrated to Israel from the US and Canada, similar to last year’s figure, according to data coordinated with Nefesh B’Nefesh.

As many as 2,660 made Aliyah from France, a 25-percent decline. Elsewhere, more than 660 immigrants came from Brazil and over 330 arrived from the United Kingdom, both decreases of 4 percent. The more than 330 new immigrants from Argentina in 2018 marked a 17-percent rise from last year, and the over 320 from South Africa represented a 2-percent increase.

*The Jewish Agency emphasizes that these figures comprise the official statistics on Aliyah during 2018 through the end of November as well as the temporary data through December, in addition to estimates of the expected arrival of more immigrants in the remaining days of this month.