50,000 illegal immigrants are living in Israel

Data show a growing number of foreign workers living in Israel, along with tens of thousands of illegal immigrants, including infiltrators from East Africa and people who overstayed visas.

By World Israel News Staff

There were more than 260,000 foreign nationals living in Israel at the end of 2024, including roughly 50,000 illegal immigrants, according to official government records.

On Tuesday, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) released a report on the number of foreign nationals living in Israel – either legally or illegally – as of December 2024.

According to the report, as of the end of last year, there were 260,400 foreign nationals living in Israel, not including non-citizens with permanent resident status.

Of those, 156,000 were foreign workers with valid work visas and 55,200 other foreign nationals legally visiting Israel with visas, including students, clergy, and volunteers.

Two-thirds of those in the latter category resided in Jerusalem, with 3.4% in Beit Shemesh, 3.3% in Bnei Brak, and 3.0% in Haifa.

The number of foreign nationals visiting Israel as students and clergy includes Diaspora Jews studying in Israeli yeshivas and seminaries. More than half of the students (59.6%) are American citizens, with 14.1% carrying British passports.

Among volunteers working in Israel, 14.9% came from the US, with the second-largest percentage coming from Germany (10.9%).

Beyond the 211,200 people in Israel with valid visas, there were 49,200 illegal immigrants in the country at the end of 2024.

That figure includes 22,500 foreign nationals who entered the country legally but overstayed their visas.

A plurality came from Russia (19.0%), with 14.7% from Ukraine, 8.8% from Nigeria, 7.3% from the Republic of Georgia, 4.4% from Poland, 3.6% from Romania, and 3.4% from Brazil.

In addition, at the end of last year, there were 26,700 infiltrators, defined as individuals who entered the country illegally or children born in Israel to parents who illegally entered the country.

The vast majority of infiltrators who entered the country are men (78.8%), and most came either from Eritrea (77.9%) or Sudan (11.7%).

Of the total 26,700 infiltrators, 19,600 snuck into Israel across the Egyptian border, while 7,100 were born in Israel to illegal immigrant parents.