The 2000-2001 National Jewish Population Survey shows that there are fewer Jews living in the United States than there were ten years ago. The Jewish population of the U.S. now stands at 5.2 million, the survey shows, compared to 5.5 million a decade earlier. The study also reveals that the American Jewish community has aged. The median age for American Jews has risen from 37 to 41, while the proportion of children in the Jewish community has dropped from 21 to 19 percent.
Mandell L. Berman, UJC’s Chairman for the survey, said, “Not only is the Jewish population aging, young Jews are waiting longer to have fewer children.” Among the survey’s key findings, the UJC website includes age, gender, marital status, fertility, national origin, regional distribution, households, education, employment, and income.
177,000 people were contacted at random to participate in the survey, which was commissioned by United Jewish Communities (UJC). Only a portion of the survey’s results was released yesterday, and the rest will be revealed next month. A breakdown according to religious affiliation was not yet available, although observers said that the $6 million project attempted to gauge all religious sectors more accurately than past surveys had done.
Mandell L. Berman, UJC’s Chairman for the survey, said, “Not only is the Jewish population aging, young Jews are waiting longer to have fewer children.” Among the survey’s key findings, the UJC website includes age, gender, marital status, fertility, national origin, regional distribution, households, education, employment, and income.
177,000 people were contacted at random to participate in the survey, which was commissioned by United Jewish Communities (UJC). Only a portion of the survey’s results was released yesterday, and the rest will be revealed next month. A breakdown according to religious affiliation was not yet available, although observers said that the $6 million project attempted to gauge all religious sectors more accurately than past surveys had done.