What is the most common country of origin for immigrants to Israel?

1. Russia dominated recent aliyah numbers — the short answer

Official Israeli statistics cited in reporting show Russia was the largest single country of origin in 2024, with 19,091 immigrants, representing 61.4% of new immigrants that year; immigrants from former Soviet Union countries made up 70.6% of all immigrants in 2024 ^[1]. The OECD report similarly highlights that inflows under the Law of Return were driven by Russians in 2023 and that Russian share fell from 72% in 2023 to 60% in 2024 amid a 30% decline in overall immigration ^[2].

2. Why 2022–2024 is an unusual window

Migration to Israel surged in 2022 because of extraordinary events: large inflows from Russia and Ukraine after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine produced a peak of 74,807 immigrants in 2022 ^[1]. Subsequent years saw declines — the OECD notes inflows fell from 2022 into 2023 and 2024, and the Central Bureau of Statistics and ministry tallies cited by news outlets show 2024 totals substantially lower than 2022 ^{[2] [1]}. That means the “most common country of origin” in those years reflects a short, conflict‑driven spike rather than a long‑run stable pattern ^[1].

3. Competing indicators and reporting differences

Different outlets and datasets emphasize different slices: the OECD frames permanent migration under the Law of Return and highlights the Russian share change between 2023 and 2024 ^[2], while local Israeli reporting gives absolute counts for 2024 and points to Russia as the largest single source that year ^[1]. Other summaries note broader trends — e.g., continued higher-than-decade-average immigration despite declines after 2022 — but those do not dispute that Russia was the top source in the 2023–2024 window ^[1].

4. Where other countries figure in recent flows

Beyond Russia and other former Soviet states, reporting lists smaller but notable source countries for recent years: the United States (about 2,864 arrivals in 2024), France ^{[3] [4]}, Ukraine ^[5] and Belarus ^[6] in 2024 ^[1]. The OECD and news reports also point to substantial interest from North America and Europe in 2024–2025, with agencies and ministries launching initiatives to attract and integrate immigrants from those regions ^{[2] [7]}.

5. Broader context: emigration, net migration and policy changes

Israel’s migration story in this period is two‑sided: while aliyah rose sharply in 2022 and remained above pre‑2022 averages in 2023–2024, large numbers of Israeli citizens also emigrated. The OECD notes emigration to OECD countries rose (with the U.S., Germany and Canada as top destinations) and that overall immigration figures dipped in 2024 ^[2]. The policy environment also evolved — Israel introduced reforms affecting newcomers (licensing, taxation and travel authorizations) and ministries reported incentives and outreach to diasporas ^{[2] [7]}.

6. Limits of the available reporting

Available sources in the set focus on 2022–2025 trends and on aliyah under the Law of Return; they provide explicit country breakdowns for 2023–2024 but do not supply a definitive, long‑run historical ranking of the “most common” country across decades ^{[2] [1]}. For claims about the single most common country of origin over Israel’s entire history, or for post‑2024 changes, available sources do not mention that information ^[1].

7. Bottom line for readers

If your question concerns recent immigration (2023–2024), Russia was the most common country of origin, and former Soviet countries together supplied the majority of new immigrants in 2024 ^{[1] [2]}. If you mean the long‑term or pre‑2022 norm, available reporting here does not provide a comprehensive historical ranking and the picture is more complicated because 2022–2024 were exceptional years driven by geopolitical events ^{[2] [1]}.