What are the largest Jewish communities outside Israel and the U.S. in 2025?
Executive summary
As of 2025, after Israel and the United States, the largest Jewish communities are concentrated in a handful of Western countries—France, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and Argentina are consistently reported among the biggest non‑Israel/U.S. Jewish populations—though precise ranks and counts differ across estimates and definitions [1] [2] [3]. Demographic experts and institutional counts emphasize that these figures are estimates shaped by differing definitions of “Jewish” and by uneven national data collection, so any list should be read as a best‑available snapshot, not an exact census [2] [4].
1. The immediate leaderboard: France, Canada, the U.K., Germany and Argentina
Most compilations place France at the top of the post‑Israel/U.S. list with roughly four‑ to five‑hundred thousand Jews, making it the largest Jewish community in Europe outside Israel [1] [5]. Canada is typically listed next with figures around 300,000–400,000 Jews in countrywide estimates used by demographic projects [3] [4]. The United Kingdom follows, with estimates commonly cited in the low‑to‑mid three‑hundred thousands [1] [2]. Germany and Argentina appear as the other major centers: Germany with roughly a low‑hundreds figure and Argentina with community estimates often placed in the high‑hundreds‑thousands to mid‑hundreds‑thousands range depending on the source [1] [6]. These five countries repeatedly show up as the largest Jewish communities outside Israel and the U.S. across public demographic compilations [1] [2].
2. Why headline rankings vary: definitions and data sources
Discrepancies between lists stem from two core methodological choices: whether counts use “core” Jewish population (those who identify as Jewish to the exclusion of other religions), broader self‑identification measures, or “connected/enlarged” definitions that include partial Jewish heritage and household members; each produces very different totals [2] [7]. Demographers such as Sergio DellaPergola and institutional compilations—Jewish Agency, Jewish Virtual Library, Pew Research and national surveys—are cited interchangeably in public lists and they do not always align, which explains why France might be reported at 446,000 in one table and at a different level in another [3] [6] [2].
3. Regional patterns and recent trends
Overall trends show continued growth in Israel’s Jewish population while diaspora communities are largely stable or slowly declining in many Western countries, with pockets of growth or decline tied to migration, birth rates and assimilation patterns [2] [8]. Europe retains important historical communities—France and the U.K. especially—while the Americas host major communities in Canada and Argentina, and smaller but significant populations in places like Germany and Russia depending on the source used [4] [1]. The Jewish Agency and other organizations reported approximately 15.7–15.8 million core Jews worldwide in recent years, with roughly 8.5–8.6 million living outside Israel, of whom about 6.3 million are in the United States—figures that contextualize the relative sizes of the largest non‑Israel/U.S. communities [3] [2].
4. Caveats: measurement, politics and hidden agendas in reporting
Public lists often borrow from secondary aggregators (World Population Review, Statista, Wiki compilations) that in turn rely on different primary sources, and those aggregators sometimes omit methodological footnotes, which can obscure important distinctions between religious identity and ethnic or legal eligibility for aliyah under Israel’s Law of Return [5] [6] [7]. Political sensitivities—such as whether to include populations in contested territories—also affect national totals in public reporting, a point noted explicitly by some compilers and essential to interpreting country rankings [5] [2]. Where national censuses do not record religion, estimates must rely on community surveys or institutional registers, increasing uncertainty [4].
5. Bottom line and near‑term watchlist
The strongest, most defensible conclusion is that France, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and Argentina constitute the largest Jewish communities outside Israel and the United States in contemporary demographic overviews, but exact ordering and counts vary by source and definition; readers seeking precise ranks should consult the original demographic datasets (DellaPergola, Jewish Agency, Pew and national studies) and note whether “core,” “connected,” or “enlarged” populations are being reported [1] [3] [2]. Key future indicators to monitor are migration flows to Israel, fertility differences, and changes in national survey practices—any of which could shift the post‑Israel/U.S. rankings in the coming years [8].