Israel’s population grew in 2013 by 1.8 percent, or
147,000 people, bringing the country’s total population to 8.1 million,
according to data from the Jewish Agency and the Immigrant Absorption
Ministry.

Some 19,200 Jews moved to Israel from other countries. The
most significant rise was in the number of immigrants from France, with 3,120
French Jews moving to Israel in 2013, a 63% jump from the previous year (1,916).
The largest group of immigrants, 7,520, came from the former Soviet Union. Some
2,680 immigrants came from the United States.

The oldest person to immigrate this year was a
103-year-old man from the U.S., and the youngest was only five weeks old.

Immigrant Absorption Minister Sofa Landver said: “Every
immigrant who arrives to establish a home in Israel makes me very happy, and I
am hopeful the aliyah trend will continue to grow.”

Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky said, “This is an era of
making aliyah by choice, not due to adversity, so it is important that we
continue the Jewish Agency’s efforts to strengthen the Jewish identity of
hundreds of thousands of young people in the world and deepen their connection
to Israel.”