The National Insurance Institute 2024 Poverty Report

Approximately 900,000 children in Israel are paying the price of war and the cost of living – child poverty in Israel continues to deepen

The National Insurance Institute today presents the official poverty report for 2024, which indicates a continuing deterioration in the economic situation of Israeli children, against the backdrop of the war, the cost of living and the slowdown in economic growth. According to the report, in 2024: Approximately 2 million Israelis are poor, including approximately 880,000 children – more than a quarter of all children in Israel. Israel ranks second among OECD countries, after Costa Rica, in the rate of poverty expectancy among children – 28%, an increase compared to 2023, which was 27.6%.

Zvika Cohen, Deputy Director General of the National Insurance Institute: “When viewed from a multi-year perspective, poverty in Israel “maintains” stability. The war and the high cost of living of recent years have exacerbated the problem, not created it. Without focused investment in children, young families, and social services, poverty in Israel will continue to be passed down from generation to generation. The report also shows the importance of the National Insurance Institute and its assistance in both providing benefits and in vocational rehabilitation programs as a crucial social safety net in Israeli society."

Deputy Director of Research and Planning of the National Insurance Institute, Nitza Kassir: "The poverty report emphasizes more than anything the importance of a social safety net and a response to the decline in income of the Israeli public, certainly after the effects of the war and the high cost of living that we are experiencing more intensely these days. The burden on the population is not equal because the economic burden is deeper and heavier on populations whose economic situation is already difficult. The dimensions of poverty and inequality constitute a real social challenge, and investment in education, integration into employment, adequate wages, and encouraging growth will lead to a narrowing of gaps and a reformed society."

The poverty rate in Israel has not changed compared to 2023 - among individuals, a slight increase was recorded from 20.6% to 20.7%, and among families, a slight decrease can be seen from 20.2% to 20.0%. The poverty line in Israel stands at 3,547 NIS (an increase of 229 NIS compared to 2023) and those whose income is below this amount are, according to OECD country indicators, in a state of poverty. According to the report, the poverty line for a couple in the State of Israel stands at 7,095 NIS and the poverty line for a couple with 3 children stands at 13,303 NIS.

Children in Israel have suffered from a continuing trend of poverty in recent years. According to the 2024 Poverty Report, 28% of Israeli children are considered poor. One of the main implications of this is the ongoing damage to the human capital of Israeli children, damage to their educational achievements, health and future earning capacity.

In addition, according to the National Insurance Institute's 2024 Poverty Report, families with children were directly affected by the cost of the war – Absence of parents from the labor market due to reserve service duty, evacuation, layoffs, damage to small businesses and the livelihood of the self-employed. As part of the lessons of the Coronavirus period, the National Insurance Institute made transfer payments and grants that prevented a dramatic worsening of the situation - without state intervention, the incidence of poverty among Israelis would have jumped to 31.5%, and the incidence of poverty among families without government intervention would have reached 34.5%.

Among the elderly - According to the Poverty Report, approximately 158,700 poor elderly people live in Israel, which is a poverty expectancy above the average in OECD countries.

Despite the real increase in income and the poverty line that rose by NIS 229 to NIS 3,547 in 2024, the Poverty Report indicates that 28.1% of Israelis live in food insecurity due to economic reasons, including one million children. Approximately 26% of Israelis Unable to afford healthy food, a figure that indicates the depth of the hardship beyond the official definition of poverty, despite this, this is a decrease compared to 2023, when the rate was 33.4%.

Social gaps continue to deepen: 65.1% of the poor, according to the National Insurance Institute's Poverty Report, come from the periphery and disadvantaged populations, including Arab and Haredi families. This is a rate that is almost twice their share in the general population. Compared to 2023, the incidence of poverty decreased among Arab and Haredi families from 38.1% to 37.6% and from 33.0% to 32.8%, respectively.

According to the National Insurance Institute's poverty report for 2024, the dimensions of poverty in the Jerusalem, North and South districts are higher than average. The incidence of poverty among families reached 36.5%, 21.6% and 22.3%, respectively. In contrast, in the Tel Aviv and Central districts, the rates are below average.

According to the 2024 Poverty Report, 27.8% of households in Israel are unable to make ends meet and cover all expenses. 9% forgo medical care due to financial difficulties, 4.7% forgo a hot meal at least once every two days due to financial difficulties. When analyzed by different segments of the population, the numbers rise – about half of Arabs are unable to cover all monthly expenses and about 29% of Haredim, respectively.

The relative stability in the poverty incidence for 2024 encompassed many populations, with some increasing and others decreasing by up to 0.4%. The poverty incidence by economic income increased in all population groups, except for families headed by a senior citizen.