Direct answer: Before the Holocaust, the global Jewish population is generally estimated to have been about 16.5 to 16.6 million in 1939, with roughly 9.5 million living in Europe, which represented the majority of Jews at that time. The exact numbers vary slightly depending on the source and methodology, but the consensus places Europe at around 9.5 million Jews and the world total near 16.5–16.6 million just before World War II.
Context and nuances:
- Global total: Most reputable summaries place the pre-war world Jewish population in the mid-to-high 16 millions, with 16.5–16.6 million commonly cited for 1939.
- European share: Europe contained the largest regional Jewish population on the eve of the war, typically estimated at about 9.5 million Jews. This accounted for roughly the majority of world Jewry at that time.
- Variability by source: Some references quote 16.3 million or 16.6 million; others give close figures for Europe and the world. The differences arise from counting methodologies, including how communities in border areas or under varying status were recorded.
If you’d like, I can pull the most up-to-date, citable figures from specific sources and lay out a side-by-side comparison of estimates from major repositories (e.g., major encyclopedias, Holocaust memorial organizations, and scholarly compilations).
