Haredi population grows rapidly while male employment and army service stall, IDI report finds
According to the IDI, the ultra-Orthodox community is growing rapidly, but gaps in employment, income and military service persist, particularly among ultra-Orthodox men.
The Israel Democracy Institute released its 10th annual statistical report on ultra-Orthodox (haredi) society on Sunday, finding that stagnation in haredi male employment and military enlistment has persisted over the past decade, while the community’s population and yeshiva enrollment have continued to grow.
The report was released as the government advances legislation to regulate ultra-Orthodox conscription and as the issue of exemptions from military service remains under legal scrutiny.
According to the report, Israel’s ultra-Orthodox population numbers approximately 1.45 million people, representing approximately 14.3 percent of the country’s total population. The IDI found that 57% of the ultra-Orthodox population is under the age of 19, making it one of the youngest societies in the world.
The IDI said this age structure, driven by a fertility rate of around 6.5 children per woman, creates continued and increasing pressure on the education system, social services and labor market. The report notes that fertility rates and age at marriage have remained largely unchanged over the past decade, contributing to the continued rapid growth of the ultra-Orthodox population.
Along with these demographic trends, the report finds that employment prospects for ultra-Orthodox men have largely stalled. The IDI reported that men’s employment rates have remained in the low 50% range over the past decade, while ultra-Orthodox women’s employment has continued to rise and is now at a level almost identical to that of non-Haredi Jewish women. Despite this, the report finds that the income levels of ultra-Orthodox men and women remain significantly lower than those of their non-haredi counterparts.
Peak of the ultra-Orthodox education system
The report also highlights the strong growth of the ultra-Orthodox education system. According to the IDI, approximately 420,000 students were enrolled in ultra-Orthodox educational institutions in the 2024-2025 school year, representing approximately 21% of all students in Israel and approximately 27% of Hebrew-medium education. Over the past decade, the number of yeshiva and kollel students has increased by 83 percent, from 92,500 to approximately 169,500.
The report notes that official figures for 2024 show a decline in the number of students enrolled in yeshiva and kollel, but says this reflects funding definitions rather than a reduction in actual enrollment, as nearly 70,000 service-age students are unfunded and therefore do not appear in Department of Education data.
While the rate of ultra-Orthodox students eligible for a matriculation certificate (bagrut) has increased from 10% to 16% over the past decade, the IDI found that the gap compared to public and religious education, where eligibility stands at around 85%, remains significant.
Regarding military and national service, the report reveals that 3,060 ultra-Orthodox education graduates enlisted in 2024, a figure almost identical to that recorded ten years earlier. The IDI noted that due to rapid population growth, this represents a decline in enlistment rates in real terms. Of those who enlisted in the Israeli army, 55% were placed in general streams rather than in settings reserved for the ultra-Orthodox.
The report said this distribution indicates that many people counted as ultra-Orthodox recruits either did not identify as ultra-Orthodox at the time of their service or have since left the community.
IDI’s economic analysis further found that 33 percent of ultra-Orthodox families live below the poverty line, compared to 14 percent among non-Haredi Jewish families. At the same time, 75% of the ultra-Orthodox population owns an apartment, a rate slightly higher than that of the non-Haredi Jewish public.
The report concludes that despite improvements in areas such as technology training, higher education participation and Internet use, the overall data reflects a decade of stagnation in the integration of ultra-Orthodox men, particularly in employment, income and military service, even as the community continues to grow rapidly.
