The number of Jews living in Europe has been in decline since the Second World War, reported the Pew Research Centre on Monday.

There are now 1.4 million Jews living in Europe, which is around 10 per cent of the world Jewish population. The most dramatic drop has been in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union.

The 1939 report showed 57 per cent of world Jewry lived in Europe, but by the end of the war this was down to 37 per cent. The new figures show a decline of over 50 per cent since 1960.

Community leaders often attribute the decline to rising antisemitism but the report says: “There are other possible factors in the decline of European Jewry, including intermarriage and cultural assimilation.”