880,000 children in Israel live in poverty – highest rate among devel

One million people, including about 880,000 children, live below the poverty line in Israel. This emerges from the National Insurance Institute’s poverty report for 2024. This represents about 20% of the total population and 28.0% of children. In international comparison, child poverty in Israel is extremely severe: Israel leads among developed countries (OECD) and is second only to Costa Rica. In Tel Aviv and the central region, poverty rates are much lower than the national average (14-15%), while in the south and north, poverty rates are much higher (21%-22%). In the Jerusalem district, poverty rates climb to 36.5%. The report data includes initial references to 2025 figures, and according to current estimates (which will only be finalized next year), there has been a slight increase in both the extent and severity of poverty.