Sunday, December 23, 2007

Immigration to Israel in 2007 down 6%, at its lowest since 1989

"The number of new immigrants arriving in Israel in 2007 was 19,700 - a decline of 6 percent over last year, according to the Absorption Ministry end-of-the-year statistics released on Sunday.

This is the lowest number of immigrants since 1989, after the wave of immigration following the fall of the Iron Curtain.

Forecasts for 2008 do not show an increase in newcomers.

The largest number of immigrants, 6,445, came from the former Soviet Union, but their numbers declined by 15 percent from 2006......

The second-largest number of immigrants over the past year, 3,607, came from Ethiopia. However, immigration of the Falashmura from Ethiopia is expected to end in the middle of next year, which will cut the number of immigrants from that country by more than half.

The third-largest number of immigrants came in 2007 came from North America, with 2,957, followed by France, with 2,659......"

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