Jewish Population on the Increase

May 21, 2008

Author: Robert Pigott

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7411877.stm

The UK's Jewish population is growing for the first time since World War II, research suggests.

The rise appears to be due to a growth in the size of ultra-orthodox Jewish families, according to researchers at the University of Manchester.

The population fell to a historic low of 275,000 in 2005, but that figure has since increased to 280,000 in 2008.

The figures were based on UK census data and the monitoring of Jewish births by academics.

The Jewish population of the UK decreased by 40% from just after World War II to a low point in 2005 as the birth-rate among secular Jews declined and more married outside the community.

Britain has the fifth largest Jewish population in the world.