Under 200,000 Jewish Holocaust survivors remain alive today, data shows

There are fewer than 200,000 living Jewish Holocaust survivors remaining in the world today, with about half living in Israel, according to new data published by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day next week.

An estimated 196,600 Jewish Holocaust survivors currently live across more than 90 countries, the Claims Conference says. That’s down from roughly 220,000 a year ago.

Half of all survivors reside in Israel, while 18% live in North America and 17% in Western Europe. The United States is home to about 31,000 survivors, or 16% of the global total. France, Russia, Germany and Ukraine also have significant survivor populations.

The median age of survivors is 87, with ages ranging from 79 to over 100. Around 30% are aged 90 or older, and just over 1% have reached 100.

Nearly all survivors (97%) are considered child survivors, born in 1928 or later. Women make up the majority of the population at 62%.

The report notes that about 34% of survivors receive monthly pensions negotiated by the Claims Conference, while 71% have received social welfare services in the past year through more than 300 partner agencies. Tens of thousands also rely on assistance for food security and basic needs, it says.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day is held yearly on January 27, the day Auschwitz was liberated by the Red Army in 1945.