Israel recorded net emigration of 144,270 people during the three years of Benjamin Netanyahu's current government, with 211,439 Israelis leaving the country whilst only 67,200 returned, according to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics.

The negative migration trend continued in 2025, with 69,300 Israelis leaving and 19,000 returning, resulting in net emigration of approximately 50,000 people, financial newspaper TheMarker reported on January 1.

The exodus has reduced Israel's annual population growth rate from around 2% to 1.1% in 2025, similar to 2024 levels, with the ongoing cold war with Iran and separate conflicts with Palestinian Hamas, Lebanon's Hezbollah all acting as contributing factors.

The year 2024 marked a record for Israeli emigration, with approximately 83,000 people leaving, though this figure includes Ukrainian immigrants who obtained Israeli citizenship in recent years before departing for third countries, including the UK and the US.

Even excluding Ukrainian-Israelis, the data shows a sharp increase in negative migration trends, which, the current premiership has attempted to play down in recent months.

A higher proportion of recent emigrants hold advanced degrees compared with previous years, according to the statistics bureau. In 2023, 39.6% of those leaving lacked academic qualifications, down from higher rates previously.

Among returnees, approximately 54% are non-academics, according to the published data.

Between January 2023 and September 2024, Israel lost 875 doctors, 633 doctorate holders in science, technology and mathematics, and more than 3,000 engineers.

After accounting for returnees, the net losses stood at 481 doctors, 224 PhD holders and 2,330 engineers, university researchers noted.

Those who emigrated in 2023-2024 paid more than ILS1.5bn ($430mn) in taxes during the year before their departure, the researchers calculated.

The vast majority of emigrants are classified as "Jews and others" rather than Arab citizens, indicating Arab emigration rates remain below their share of the population.