New Claims Conference Data Shows Approximately 196,600 Jewish Holocaust Survivors Alive Globally
New Claims Conference Data Shows Approximately 196,600 Jewish Holocaust Survivors Alive Globally
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, January 20, 2026: In advance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 81st anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) released new data on the Jewish Holocaust survivors living around the world.
The data provides a clear, up-to-date snapshot of the global survivor population, including total numbers, gender demographics, geographic distribution and critical figures related to compensation and care. The data sheet is intended as a resource for journalists covering International Holocaust Remembrance Day and related stories, offering essential context on the aging survivor population and the ongoing need for support and remembrance.
Claims Conference Data Shows
- There are an estimated 196,600 Jewish Holocaust survivors globally, living across more than 90 countries. This is down from the 220,000 survivors estimated to be alive when the Claims Conference released this data in January 2025.
- Half (50 percent) of all survivors reside in Israel; 17 percent reside in Western Europe and 18 percent reside in North America, with 16 percent of all survivors worldwide residing in the United States. Approximately 11 percent reside in countries of the former Soviet Union (FSU).
- The countries with the most Jewish Holocaust survivors include:
| COUNTRY | POPULATION | PERCENT OF GLOBAL POPULATION |
| Israel | 97,600 | 50% |
| United States | 31,000 | 16% |
| France | 17,300 | 9% |
| Russian Federation | 14,300 | 7% |
| Germany | 10,700 | 5% |
| Ukraine | 5,200 | 3% |
| Canada | 4,800 | 2% |
| Hungary | 2,800 | 1% |
| Australia | 2,000 | 1% |
| Belarus | 1,600 | 1% |
- The median age of Jewish Holocaust survivors is 87. The population of survivors ranges in age from 79 to over 100 years of age. Just over 1 percent of survivors are 100 years and older while 30 percent are 90 years and older.
- Nearly all Jewish Holocaust survivors (97 percent) are “child survivors” who were born 1928 and later.
- The majority of Jewish Holocaust survivors are female (62 percent), and only 38 percent of the population is male.
- About 34 percent of survivors – 68,000 – receive monthly pension payments negotiated by the Claims Conference, while the remaining survivors are eligible for one-time or annual payments.
- Seventy-one percent of survivors – about 139,000 survivors – are currently receiving or have received social welfare services in the past year, provided by over 300 agencies that receive grants administered by the Claims Conference.
- About 66,700 survivors were eligible for additional support from the Claims Conference’s Basic Needs Fund, which delivers targeted food security assistance to the most economically vulnerable Holocaust survivors who are not currently receiving monthly compensation pensions.
