Since the outset of the Russo-Ukrainian war, the number of immigrants who made Aliyah from both countries jumped significantly, according to data published by the Central Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday.
The report compared the latest figures with the same period in 2019, before two years of the COVID-19 pandemic and consequent travel restrictions slashed immigration to Israel.
According to data, 31,066 people made Aliyah from Russia and Ukraine combined since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his forces into its ex-Soviet neighbor. The figure stood at 9,744 in 2019.
The report reveals that in 2022, 12,175 out of all immigrants are from Ukraine, and 18,891 are from Russia. In the same period in 2019, 2,651 came from Ukraine and 7,123 came from Russia.
The number of Ukrainian immigrants during wartime soared to 12,175 new arrivals compared with 2,651 during the same period in 2019 while immigration from Russia more than doubled, going from 7,123 to 18,891 Olim Chadashim.
Half of Ukrainian immigrants arrived between the beginning of March and the beginning of April. Arrivals from Russia surpassed their Ukrainian peers since end of April.
2 View gallery
Ukrainian immigrant girl waving Israeli flags after arriving at Ben Gurion Airport
(Photo: Sivan Hilaie)
Most Olim Chadashim from Ukraine are women (63%) whereas immigration from Russia has seen an almost even split between men and women at 49.2% and 50.8%, respectively.
Among the 16-80 age group, women comprise 73.9% of all immigrants coming from Ukraine. The report ties this figure to a ban on fighting-age men from leaving the country during wartime.
Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Statistics also published immigration data for 2021, during which 25,497 people made Aliyah, a 29.6% increase compared with 2020.
According to data, the lion's share of last year's immigration arrived from Russia (7,640 Olim, constituting 30% of total immigration), followed by France (3,594, 14.1%), the United States, (3,480, 13.6%), Ukraine (3,059, 12%), and Belarus (1,014, 4%).