Africa
Making aliyah from Ethiopia
8,258 people moved from Ethiopia to Israel between 2015 and 2025, including 130 in 2025. Here is what the official record shows about them, and what the process looks like from Ethiopia specifically.
Olim in 2025
130
granted oleh status on arrival
Total since 2015
8,258
11 years of the record
Busiest year
2023
1,678 arrivals
Most chosen town
Be'er Sheva
1,908 people
Settlement concentration
48.2% of olim from Ethiopia registered in three towns: Be'er Sheva, Safed, Ashkelon. That is the 8th most concentrated of the 23 countries with at least 1,000 olim on record.
Different route: Most Ethiopian arrivals are Falash Mura, whose eligibility is decided by cabinet resolution and family reunification rules rather than by the Law of Return. The process, the waiting times and the paperwork are genuinely different, and the figures on this page are not a guide to whether an individual qualifies.
The record
Aliyah from Ethiopia, in the ministry's own files
Every arrival counted once, in the year they landed and the town they registered in.
Arrivals from Ethiopia by year
Where they settled
Absorption town recorded on arrival.
- 1Be'er Sheva1,908
- 2Safed1,106
- 3Ashkelon964
- 4Ibim719
- 5Tiberias703
- 6Haifa543
- 7Beit Alfa529
- 8Kiryat Gat404
- 9Kiryat Yam403
- 10Nahariya275
Age on arrival
41% arrived as children, 4% at 65 or over.
- 10-173,346
- 218-241,358
- 325-341,455
- 435-491,201
- 550-64572
- 665+326
What they did before moving
Occupation recorded at registration. "School pupil" and "student" reflect how many arrive as dependants.
- 1Not stated5,474
- 2School pupil1,601
- 3Not specified399
- 4Unskilled393
- 5Student85
- 6Homemaker58
- 7Agricultural worker28
- 8Retired18
Destination
More went to Be'er Sheva than anywhere else
1,908 of the 8,258 arrivals from Ethiopia registered in Be'er Sheva, ahead of Safed, Ashkelon, Ibim.
That is 23% of everyone arriving from Ethiopia, against 2.9% of olim from all countries.
The town is recorded once, on arrival, so the chart above shows where people registered rather than where they live now.
How it works
The process from Ethiopia
Ethiopian aliyah is run by the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration and the Jewish Agency under specific government decisions, not as ordinary Law of Return applications.
Arrivals come in organised government-approved groups rather than by individual application.
Ethiopian-Israeli communities are concentrated in Netanya, Be'er Sheva, Ashdod, Rehovot, Hadera and Kiryat Gat.
Documents are the slow part everywhere: birth certificates, proof of Jewish descent, police clearance and, in most countries, apostilles. Start collecting before you open the file, not after. The full sequence is in the aliyah guide.
Arriving with Amharic as your first language, ulpan is the single biggest determinant of how fast your first year goes. New olim are entitled to free Hebrew study, and the Hebrew alphabet and essential phrases pages are a no-cost head start.
Before you go
Work out what your money is worth: the cost of living page has rent, groceries and salaries in real numbers, and the shekel converter gives today's rate.
A market stall in Jerusalem with prices marked in shekels.
Check the calendar you are moving into: holiday dates close the country for whole weeks in autumn and spring, and Shabbat times govern the week.
A sesame-topped challah loaf, freshly baked.
See how Ethiopia compares with everywhere else on the full statistics explorer.
An open-plan office floor of screens and desks.
Aliyah from elsewhere in Africa
Total arrivals 2015 to 2025, in brackets.
Start here
The move itself, in six steps
Eligibility, opening the file, the documents, the visa, landing day and the absorption benefits that follow. The guide is the same wherever you are starting from.
Frequently asked questions
How many people make aliyah from Ethiopia each year?+
130 in 2025, and 8,258 in total between 2015 and 2025. The strongest single year was 2023, with 1,678 arrivals.
Where do olim from Ethiopia settle?+
Be'er Sheva takes the largest share, followed by Safed, Ashkelon, Ibim. 23% of olim from Ethiopia settled in Be'er Sheva, against 2.9% of olim overall.
Who handles an aliyah application from Ethiopia?+
Ethiopian aliyah is run by the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration and the Jewish Agency under specific government decisions, not as ordinary Law of Return applications.
Is aliyah from Ethiopia mostly families or individuals?+
Of the 8,258 arrivals recorded, 41% were children under 18 and 4% were 65 or over. That is a family-heavy profile.
Source: Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, published on data.gov.il. Figures count people granted oleh status on arrival. Rebuilt 2026-08-05.