Harvard and TAU Study Shows 50% Drop in Return Rate of Skilled Israelis
A Harvard and Tel Aviv University study reveals that the return rate of skilled Israelis from abroad halved between 2022 and 2024, creating a widening net migration gap of 5,100 departures.
A new joint study by researchers from Harvard Business School and Tel Aviv University reveals that the rate of Israelis returning from abroad has halved between 2022 and 2024, driven by a sharp brain drain among tech workers, senior executives, and top researchers. The research, which analyzed employment and education data from LinkedIn for 1.16 million Israelis between 2015 and 2024, indicates that only about 2.5 out of 100 Israelis returned to the country in 2024, compared to roughly 5 out of 100 in 2022.
Who Is Staying Abroad?
The drop in return rates is particularly pronounced among high-skilled professionals. Among Israelis who completed a doctorate abroad, the return rate plummeted from 3.2% to 1.3%, marking the lowest rate among all groups examined. Similarly, high-tech senior executives saw their return rate drop from 3.9% to 1.6%. Tech employees and STEM graduates experienced a decline from about 3.5% down to 1.7%. While alumni of IDF Unit 8200 saw their return rate fall from 8.8% to 4.1%, they still retain the highest return rate of any group analyzed.
Widening Net Migration Gap
Alongside the declining return rates, researchers assessed the net migration gap by comparing departures for work or study abroad against those returning home. The data shows a net deficit of 5,100 more departures than returns in 2024, representing a 20% increase and an addition of 800 individuals compared to 2022 figures. Researchers attributed this widening gap primarily to the drop in returnees.
The net gap widened by 69% among STEM graduates and by 27% among high-tech workers, rising from 631 to 801 people. Furthermore, the study identified a sharp 20% surge in departures among the top 20% highest-earning high-tech employees, whose numbers climbed from 269 in 2021 to 328 in 2024. According to the researchers, while international mobility can benefit the local economy when skilled professionals return, the current trend shows that fewer experts are coming back, with the decline beginning prior to 2023 and accelerating amid domestic judicial reforms and the ongoing war.
