2025 Demographic Report

2025 Demographic Report Indicates 220,800 Holocaust Survivors Alive Globally

Conducted By the Claims Conference, The Demographic Study Identifies Jewish Holocaust Survivors In More Than 90 Countries; Half Reside In Israel, 18 Percent Reside In North America.

April 22, 2025: Today, the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) released the second edition of the Global Demographic Report on Jewish Holocaust Survivors, a demographic study on Jewish Holocaust survivors living around the world. Updated for 2025, the study reveals approximately 220,800 Holocaust survivors are still living across more than 90 countries.

Gideon Taylor, President of the Claims Conference, said, “The data we have amassed, not only tells us how many and where survivors are, it clearly indicates that most survivors are at a period of life where their need for care and services is growing. Now is the time to double down on our attention on this waning population. Now is when they need us the most.”

Since its founding in 1951, the Claims Conference has been dedicated to securing a measure of justice for Jewish survivors of the Holocaust. As a result of ongoing negotiations with the German government, the Claims Conference has achieved and administers several compensation programs that provide direct payments to survivors globally, provides grants to over 300 social service agencies worldwide and ensures survivors receive much-needed services such as home care, food, medicine, transportation and socialization.

The facilitation of these programs, funding and services has led to a global compilation of information on Jewish Holocaust survivors. This information, while not the only resource, served as a foundation of the Global Demographic Report on Jewish Holocaust Survivors. The report summarizes data on the demographic composition of Jewish Holocaust survivors worldwide, outlining country of birth as well as current country of residence, age, sex, and what percentage of survivors are receiving various compensations and services.

Greg Schneider, Executive Vice President of the Claims Conference, said, “The numbers in this report are interesting, but it is also important to look past the numbers to see the individuals they represent. These are Jews who were born into a world that wanted to see them murdered. They endured the atrocities of the Holocaust in their youth and were forced to rebuild an entire life out of the ashes of the camps and ghettos that ended their families and communities. The data forces us to accept the reality that Holocaust survivors won’t be with us forever, indeed, we have already lost most survivors.”

The Global Demographic Report on Jewish Holocaust Survivors identifies survivors living in more than 90 countries. Half (50 percent) of all Jewish Holocaust survivors live in Israel, with an additional 18 percent in North America and 17 percent in Western Europe. At the time of publication, the median age of survivors is 87; ages range from 78 years to over 100, with birthdates reaching back as far as 1912.

Malka Schmulovitz, a 109-year-old Holocaust survivor from Lithuania living in Florida, said, “To be one of the oldest survivors alive right now at my age tells me we are running our of time. We all have a testimony that needs to be shared. We all want to be sure that this generation of young people and the ones that come after them, hear and understand what truly happened during the Holocaust; if only so that we do not see it repeated.” 

In addition to the Global Demographic Report, the Claims Conference has also released Vanishing Witnesses: An Urgent Analysis of the Declining Population of Holocaust Survivors, a population projection report based on the extensive data collected since 1952 by the Claims Conference. The Global Demographic Report on Jewish Holocaust Survivors can be viewed/downloaded below. The full population projection report and analysis can be found at www.claimscon.org/vanishing.