Report: Haredim currently comprise 1 in 7 of world Jewry

Ultra-Orthodox projected to grow to 20-25% by 2040

The high growth rate among ultra-Orthodox Jews has pushed their population past two million, accounting for as much as 80% of the total growth of the world’s Jewish population, according to a new report authored by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research.

The report, the first-ever attempt to create estimates of the global haredi population, calculated and estimated its current size to be about 2.1 million worldwide, or 14% of the total Jewish population of 15 million. It said the haredi population could double by 2040 to more than a fifth of all Jews.

“This report capitalizes on new resources and advances made in the methods of estimation, and is the first time in the history of this subject that such estimates have been calculated,” said its author, Dr. Daniel Staetsky, a senior research fellow at JPR and director of its European Jewish Demography Unit.

Staetsky is a former researcher and analyst for Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics and RAND Europe.

Israel and the US account for some 92% of haredi Jews, the report said. Europe is home to 5% of the global haredi population, while the rest live mainly in Latin America, South Africa, Canada and Australia.

Outside Israel and the US, the three largest haredi populations are in the UK (about 75,000, or 25% of all British Jews), Canada (30,000, 8%) and France (12,000, 3%).

While the world Jewish population has grown by 0.7% annually the past decade, the haredi population is growing 3.5%-4.0% annually – five to almost six times as fast. As much as 70%-80% of worldwide Jewish population growth was attributed to haredim.

Haredi rates of growth were attributed to high fertility and very low mortality.

The Institute for Jewish Policy Research is a London-based research organization, consultancy and think tank. It aims to advance the prospects of Jewish communities in the UK and across Europe by conducting research and informing policy development in dialogue with those best placed to positively influence Jewish life.

Its European Jewish Demography Unit exists to generate demographic data and analysis to support Jewish community planning and development throughout the continent.