by Our Correspondent in Colombo
Sri Lanka’s migrant worker population in Israel has reached nearly 30,000 by the end of December 2025, according to latest available figures, with a total of 29,352 individuals recorded across multiple employment categories. The data shows that Sri Lankans are now deeply embedded in essential sectors of the Israeli economy, particularly construction, caregiving, agriculture, and hospitality, reflecting a sustained demand for foreign labour.
The largest share of workers is concentrated in construction, accounting for 12,353 individuals, followed by caregiving roles with 6,651 workers. Agriculture employs 2,819 Sri Lankans, while the hotel sector accounts for 1,600 workers. Additional employment is spread across restaurants, renovation work, and infrastructure projects, indicating a broad diversification of job roles. However, the figures also reveal that 3,593 individuals are classified under illegal status, pointing to ongoing concerns over irregular migration and overstaying within the labour system.
In 2025 alone, migration under bilateral agreements accounted for 8,693 workers, with agriculture, caregiving, construction, hospitality, and infrastructure forming the core recruitment areas. An additional 4,555 Sri Lankans reportedly entered the private sector framework during the same year, mainly in construction, industry, commerce, and service-related jobs. This brings the total documented new entries for 2025 to 13,248 workers, underscoring a significant annual inflow driven by labour demand agreements and private recruitment channels.
