High-earning Israeli citizens, particularly those working in technology and healthcare, are leaving the country in sharply increasing numbers. The departure rate has nearly doubled over the past five years, according to new research from Israel's Tax Authority.
The Planning and Economics Division of Israel's Tax Authority analysed the income of emigrants over the past decade. The findings show that the rate of departure among prosperous Israelis reached record highs in 2023 and 2024, increasing drastically compared to 2019.
The analysis states that the brain drain phenomenon disproportionately involves doctors, engineers and other highly educated workers at the peak of their careers. The study's authors, Dr. Ariel Greizaz and Nili Ben-Tovim, said that emigrants' current income is around 50 per cent higher than the average income in the economy, compared to previously when it was roughly equivalent.
The researchers said it is difficult to determine whether this shift in the composition of emigrants stems from changes in the labour market following the COVID-19 pandemic or represents a reaction to political turbulence related to the judicial overhaul and security events since the 7 October attack and the war in Gaza in 2023. They warned that this increase in emigration could result in tax revenue losses of up to 3.5 billion US dollars per year.
Itai Ater, a professor of economics at the Coller School of Management at Tel Aviv University, said this trend could become a spiral effect that is difficult to reverse. "It is very important for us to address this dangerous trend before it is too late," Ater told The Times of Israel.
