Almost 2 million Israelis below poverty line, including 1 in 4 kids

Roughly two million people, including 880,000 children and 150,000 elderly citizens, were living below the poverty line in Israel in 2024, according to an annual National Insurance report published on Friday morning.

Making up 21 percent of the population, the figure marks an increase of 0.3% from 2023, the report for which was published in December 2024. The rate of children living in poverty is at 28%, slightly worse than the 27.9% recorded a year earlier.

With around one in four children living in poverty, Israel has the second-highest rate of child poverty among OECD countries, after Costa Rica. However, the rate of food insecurity suffered by children in Israel dropped from 36% in 2023 to 31.7% in 2024. In total, 28.1% of the population suffered from food insecurity, with 9.9% suffering from severe levels.

A single person who earns less than NIS 3,547 per month before taxes is considered to be living below the poverty line. The threshold for a couple to be considered as such is NIS 7,095, and for a family with three children, it rises to NIS 13,303. The report noted that having at least one breadwinner in the household is not enough to lift a family out of poverty: “Poverty among families with breadwinners has become an increasingly common phenomenon.” “This is due, among other things, to the increase in the employment rate over the years, and the definition of poverty as relative,” it said.

According to the NII, 27.8% of households cannot support themselves with their monthly income. The report found that 4.7% of the public give up a hot meal at least every two days, while 9% give up on medical treatments due to financial difficulties. Poverty levels are highest in the ultra-Orthodox and Arab sectors, with 32.8% of Haredi households and 37.6% of Arab households falling below the minimum threshold. In total, these two communities make up 65.1% of Israelis living below the poverty line.

The poorest municipality in Israel is the ultra-Orthodox West Bank settlement of Modi’in Illit, with 48.2% of residents living in poverty, followed by Jerusalem (38.6%), Beit Shemesh (36.3%), Bnei Brak (31.1%), Lod (21.8%), and Netanya (20.7%). Huge numbers of Haredi men study rather than work, and ultra-Orthodox education institutions don’t teach core curriculum subjects such as math, English and science, hobbling the ability of many graduates to get higher paying jobs.