World Jewish Population

Transcription

1 World Jewish "-phe DECREASE in the volume of Jewish migration, already visible in the first * half of 1952, continued throughout the period under review (July 1, 1952, through June 30, 1953), with the result that little change occurred in the relative distribution of the Jewish population in the world. The available data show that the world Jewish population in 1953 stood at about 11,627,000, with some 5,860,000, or approximately 50 per cent of the total, residing in North and South America. Europe had about 3,424,000, or 29 per cent including the estimated 2,000,000 Jews in the Soviet Union. The Jewish population of Israel, 1,463,000, represented over 12 per cent of the total. It is necessary to emphasize at this point, however, that the estimates of Jewish population in some of the countries could not be ascertained with any degree of precision, hence the data presented below can serve only to represent the best possible approximation under the circumstances. On the basis of the latest local estimates, figures on the size of Jewish communities in certain countries had to be revised upwards. At the time of writing (October 1953) local observers and/or communal bodies estimated the number of Jews in Metropolitan France (exclusive of three Algerian provinces) at somewhere between 275,000 and 300,000. In Iran, notwithstanding the emigration, the Jewish population was estimated at about 80,000. The natural population increase has been taken into account in this summary only to the extent that it was reflected in the source material. On the other hand, the changes resulting from migration have been recorded and checked, when possible, against the figures dealing with the arrivals of Jewish immigrants in the countries of their destination. Europe There were about 3,424,000 Jews in Europe, including some 2,440,000 residing in Eastern Europe. This number, which assumed an estimated 2,000,000 Jews in the Soviet Union, was thought by some students to be considerably exaggerated; they put the number of Jews in the Soviet Union as somewhere between 1,500,000 and 1,700,000. Unfortunately, no new statistical data or even official estimates had been made available in the Soviet Union and there was no way of arriving at a definitive figure. However, the figure of 2,000,000 seems to be borne out by fragmentary material on the evacuations of Jews during the war (see AMERICAN JEWISH YEAR BOOK, 1949 [Vol. 50], p. 696). 156

2 WORLD JEWISH POPULATION 157 About 910,000 Jews resided in Western Europe and Scandinavia. The largest Jewish center in Western Europe was in England (450,000), the second largest in France (275,000). North and South America There were no changes in the Jewish population of North and South America, whose total was about 5,860,000. Of this total, an estimated 5,000,- 000 resided in the United States, 638,030 in Latin America, and 222,000 in Canada. The question of the number of Jews in the United States was still much debated; recent researches seemed to indicate that the community had passed the 5,000,000 mark (see p. 159). Asia and Australia Of approximately 1,609,000 Jews in Asia, the largest part, some 1,463,000, resided in Israel. The only other important center of Jewish life on this continent was in Iran, with 80,000 Jews. In Australia, the Jewish community remained unchanged, with 53,750 reported in ISRAEL The mass migration, which brought substantial numbers of Jews to Israel in the period , had been arrested in In fact, only 23,375 Jews came to Israel in that year. 1 Figures supplied by the Jewish Agency for the first half of ,346 immigrants indicated a further decrease. According to official figures, the total population of Israel on April 1, 1953, stood at 1,644,000. This number comprised 1,463,000 Jews and 181,000 others. 2 Africa No changes were recorded in Africa, where the total Jewish population was about 675,000, including some 500,000 in French North Africa. Judging from the available data, French North Africa at least seemed not to have been seriously affected by migration. Whatever departures did take place were apparently compensated for by the high rate of natural increase. 3 The largest Jewish settlement in Africa was in Morocco, with 255,000 Jews, followed by Algeria, with 140,000. Outside of the Moslem countries, the only sizable Jewish community was in the Union of South Africa, which had 110,000. Countries with Largest Jewish The largest Jewish communities were, in order of size, the United States, the Soviet Union, and Israel. Together, these three countries accounted for latest Figures, Central Bureau of Statistics and Economic Research, January 1953, Israel. 'Idem., April See Andr6 Chouraqul, Marche vers I'Oeddent Lea Juifa d'afrique du Nord, Paris 1962, p

3 158 AMERICAN JEWISH YEAR BOOK approximately 73 per cent of the total Jewish population of the world. Apart from these three countries, only six countries had Jewish populations in excess of 200,000. Continent Europe* America (North and South) Asia Africa Australia and New Zealand TABLE 1 DISTRIBUTION OF JEWISH POPULATION BY CONTINENTS TOTAL 11,627,450 Including Asiatic USSR and Turkey. Number 3,424,150 5,860,030 1, Per Cent TABLE 2 ESTIMATED JEWISH POPULATION OF EUROPE, BY COUNTRIES;I General Jewish Country Albania 1,175, Austria 6,955,000 11,500 Belgium 8,705,000 35,000 Bulgaria 7,160,000 6,000 Czechoslovakia 12,340,000 17,000 Denmark 4,334,000 6,500 England 50,429, ,000 Finland 4,091,000 1,800 France 42,600, ,000 Germany 67,032,000 20,500 Gibraltar 22, Greece 7,776,000 7,000 Hungary 9205, ,000 Irish Free State 2,948,000 5,400 Italy 46384,000 34,500 Luxembourg 302, Netherlands 10,377,000 27,000 Norway 3.327, Poland 24,977,000 45,000 Portugal 8,549,000 4,000 Rumania 15,873, ,000 Soviet Union 193,000,000 2,000,000" Spain 28,306,000 3,000 Sweden 7,126,000 15,000 Switzerland 4,815,000 21,000 Turkey 21,983,000 50,000" Yugoslavia 16,729,000 6,000 TOTAL 607, ,424,150 a Data on general population are based on the Monthly Bulletin of Statistics, published by the Statistical Office of the United Nations, Aug. 1953, Vol. VII, No. 8, New York. Where such material was not available, use was made of other sources, including local publications. > Including the Asiatic regions.

4 WORLD JEWISH POPULATION 159 TABLE 3 ESTIMATED JEWISH POPULATION OF NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA, BY COUNTRIES* Country General Jewish Canada 14,430, ,000 United States ,000 5,000,000 TOTAL NORTH AMERICAN 171,411, ,000 Argentina 18,056, ,000 Bolivia 3.089, Brazil 54,477, ,000 British Guiana 425, Chile 5, ,000 Colombia 11,266,000 9,000 Costa Rica 850,000 1,500 Cuba 5,469,000 11,000 Curacao 148, Dominican Republic 2,236, Dutch Guiana 223,000 1,000 Ecuador 3,399,000 2,000 El Salvador 1.986, Guatemala 2,890,000 1,000 Haiti 3.112, Honduras 1,513, Jamaica 1,430, Mexico 26,922,000 25,000 Nicaragua 1,088, Panama 841, Paraguay 1,425,000 3,000 Peru 8,714,000 3,000 Trinidad 664, Uruguay 2,353,000 40,000 Venezuela 5280,000 5,000 TOTAL SOUTH AMERICA 163,741, ,030 GRAND TOTAL ,000 5,860,030 See footnote», Table 2.

5 160 AMERICAN JEWISH YEAR BOOK TABLE 4 ESTIMATED JEWISH POPULATION OF ASIA, BY COUNTRIES" General Jewish Country Aden 730,000 1,500 Afghanistan 12,000,000 4,000 Burma 16,823, China 463,493,000 4,000 Cyprus 498, French Indo-China 27,030,000 1,500 Hong Kong 1,800, India 367,000,000 25,000 Indonesia 78,163,000 1,200 Iran 19,151,000 80,000 Iraq 5,100,000 9,000 Israel 1,644,000 1,463,000 Japan 85,500, Lebanon 1,320,000 7,000 Pakistan 75,842,000 1,500 Philippines 20,631, Singapore 961,000 1,000 Syria 3,381,000 3,000 Yemen 3,500,000 3,000 TOTAL 1,184,567,000 1,609,520 ' See footnote \ Table 2. TABLE 5 ESTIMATED JEWISH POPULATION OF AFRICA, BY COUNTRIES" Country Abyssinia Algeria Egypt Kenya Libya Morocco (including Tangier) Northern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia Tunisia Union of South Africa General 15,000,000 9,140, ,000 5,760,000 1,072, ,700, , ,000 12,912,000 Jewish 12, , ,000 3, ,000 1,000 8, , ,000 TOTAL 82,064, ,500 1 See footnote, Table 2.

6 WORLD JEWISH POPULATION 161 TABLE 6 ESTIMATED JEWISH POPULATION OF AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND* General Jewish Country Australia 8,649,000 53,750 New Zealand 1,995,000 4,500 TOTAL 10,644,000 58,250 1 See footnote *, Table 2. TABLE 7 COUNTRIES WITH LARGEST JEWISH POPULATION Jewish Country United States 5,000,000 Soviet Union 2,000,000 Israel 1,463,000 England 450,000 Argentina 360,000 France 275,000 Morocco 255,000 Rumania 225,000 Canada 222,000

7 162 AMERICAN JEWISH YEAR BOOK TABLE 8 'Mostly for ESTIMATED JEWISH POPULATION IN SELECTED CITIES* Jewish City Amsterdam 14,000 Antwerp 12,000 Athens 4,000 Belgrade 2,000 Berlin 6,000 Bordeaux 5,000 Bombay 15,000 Brussels 20,000 Cairo 20,000 Casablanca Florence 1,500 Haifa 175,000 Istanbul 38,000 Jerusalem 150,000 Johannesburg 50,000 La Paz 3,500 London (Greater) 280,000 Marrakesh 18,500 Melbourne 25,000 Milan 6,000 Montreal 80,000 Paris 150,000 Rio de Janeiro 45,000 Rome 12,000 Sao Paulo 40,000 Sydney 22,000 Teheran Tel Aviv 350,000 Toronto 66,000 Trieste 1300 Turin 2,700 Vienna 11,500 Warsaw 5,000 LEON SHAPIRO