The Israel birth rate is higher than most wealthy countries because family life is supported by strong communities, shared values, and cultural systems that make children a normal part of life. Jim Penman argues that money alone will not fix falling fertility if society keeps weakening the groups and values that support larger families. This article explains why Israel stands out, what role religious communities play, and what other societies can learn from it.
Watch the video above, or keep reading for the key lessons and insights.
Why Does Israel Birth Rate Stay Higher Than Other Wealthy Countries?
Jim Penman’s main point is direct: Israel is the only wealthy country he sees as getting birth rates close to right.
“Replacement fertility is 2.1,” he says. Much of the Western world sits around 1.6. Japan is at 1.1. Korea is at 0.7. Israel, by contrast, is about three.
That matters because it shows the problem is not just income, childcare, or government benefits. Israel is a modern, wealthy country facing many of the same pressures as other developed nations. Yet its fertility rate remains much stronger.
Jim’s view is that the difference sits inside the culture.
Israel has several groups with high birth rates, especially the ultra-Orthodox Haredi community. Jim says these families often have six and eight children. Israeli Arabs also have relatively high birth rates. But the point does not stop there. He says even secular Jews in Israel have a higher birth rate than secular Jews in other countries, with some not far off replacement level.
The reason, he argues, is community.
Israelis are described as highly communal. Jim points to youth associations, group loyalty, army service, Sabbath gatherings, family rituals, and a stronger sense of “us together” rather than “me against everybody else”.
“It is not me against everybody else. It is us together.”
That attitude changes what people see as normal. If many families around you have three, four, six, or eight children, then larger families stop looking strange. Jim calls this a “virtuous circle”. The more large families there are in an area, the more likely other families are to see larger families as possible, normal, and socially supported.
This is where the lesson becomes wider than Israel. Jim is not saying every society can copy Israel directly. He says it is very difficult. But he does argue that societies should protect the communities that already support family life.
That includes religious minorities, religious schools, and groups that maintain strong family-centred values.
For readers interested in how Jim Penman’s thinking connects to the broader Jim’s Group story, the article on how Jim’s Group grew from a one-man operation into a franchise network gives useful background.
What Can Other Countries Learn From Israel’s Family Culture?
The practical lesson is simple: do not weaken the communities that still make family life work.
Jim argues that religious and cultural communities often maintain fertility because they have clear values, close relationships, shared rituals, and strong boundaries. He uses the Amish as an example. He says the Amish are only a few hundred thousand people, but they are doubling every generation because about 85% continue in the community, while 15% leave.
Their strength, in Jim’s view, comes from separation. They run their own schools. They limit outside influence. They keep children inside a system that teaches group values, family duty, and religious practice.
Jim sees a similar pattern in ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities. Living close to synagogues, walking together, keeping Sabbath practices, and sending children to religious schools all help protect cultural continuity.
“If you could get close communities that were physically and culturally close and separate, you would have a lot better chance of maintaining fertility in these groups.”
For governments and wider society, Jim’s advice is not to force every group into the same mould. Allow religious schools. Support community cohesion. Let families live near each other where possible. Do not treat cultural differences as a problem that must be erased.
This idea also connects with how strong support networks work in business. A person looking to buy a Jim’s franchise in Australia is not only buying a brand name. They are joining a system with training, peer support, and practical guidance. Different context, same principle: people do better when they are not isolated.
For customers, the lesson is also relevant. Strong local communities depend on trust, reliability, and people doing practical work for each other. That is why many households still look for established providers through Jim’s wide range of home and business services.
The wider point is clear. Culture shapes behaviour. If a society celebrates individual choice but weakens family, community, and duty, birth rates will likely keep falling. If it protects groups that value family life, those groups may help carry the future.
Common Questions About Israel’s Birth Rate And Community Values
Jim Penman argues that Israel’s birth rate is higher because it has stronger family norms, religious communities, group loyalty, and social support for larger families.
Replacement fertility is 2.1 children per woman. Jim compares this with the Western world at about 1.6, Japan at 1.1, Korea at 0.7, and Israel at about three.
Jim’s view is that religious communities often have more children because they protect family values, maintain strong group identity, run their own schools, and make larger families normal.
Not directly. Jim says it is difficult, but other countries can learn from Israel by supporting cohesive communities, religious education, and family-centred cultural systems.
The risk is that groups with stronger family formation may be pulled into the same individualistic culture that has already lowered fertility across much of the developed world.
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