Jews living in Mandatory Palestine constituted only a tiny minority of the world’s Jews. At the beginning of the 20th century, less than 1 percent of the world’s Jews lived in Palestine and on the eve of World War II, the weight of Palestine in the world Jewish population was 2.84 percent.
Eastern and Central European Jews comprise the largest group of contemporary Jews, accounting for approximately 90% of over 13 million worldwide Jews. Eastern European Jews made up over 90% of European Jews before
World War II.