Overview: Jewish Peoples constitute a distinct ethnoreligious group with over 3,000 years of history. Jewish identity encompasses shared ancestry, religious tradition, cultural practices, and historical experience, with Hebrew, religious texts, holidays, and customs serving as unifying elements. Jewish identity is multifaceted and debated within communities. Religious observance ranges from Orthodox to secular, with roughly half identifying as non-practicing. Traditional religious law (halakha) defines Jewishness through matrilineal descent or conversion, while Israel's Law of Return uses different criteria. The largest populations are in Israel (approximately 7 million) and the United States (6-7 million), with significant communities in France, Canada, the UK, Argentina, and Russia.

  -- ROP Editor

People clusters: Jews

Countries where they are found: Algeria; Argentina; Australia; Azerbaijan; Bahrain; Brazil; Canada; Colombia; Cuba; Czech Republic; Egypt; Ethiopia; France; Georgia; Germany; Hungary; Iran; Iraq; Israel; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan; Mexico; Moldova; Morocco; Netherlands; New Zealand; Panama; Poland; Russian Federation; Singapore; South Africa; Spain; Suriname; Switzerland; Tunisia; Türkiye; Turkmenistan; United Kingdom; United States; Uruguay; Uzbekistan; Venezuela; Yemen