Immigration to Israel was up 5 percent year on year in 2018, thanks to a massive 45% increase in the number of people making aliyah from Russia, according to figures released Sunday by The Jewish Agency for Israel.

According to the figures, more than 29,600 people immigrated to Israel from around the world this year, compared with 28,220 new immigrants in 2017.

The country with the largest number of olim (immigrants to Israel) in 2018 was Russia, with  more than 10,500 immigrants, representing a 45-percent increase from last year. Also within the former Soviet Union, more than 6,500 people made Aliyah from Ukraine, a 9-percent decrease from 2017.

A total of 3,550 people immigrated to Israel from the United States and Canada, similar to last year’s figures

Aliyah from France slumped 25% to 2,660 people, while aliyah from Brazil and the United Kingdom were both down are 4 percent, at 660 and 330 respectively. More than 330 new immigrants arrived from Argentina in 2018, a 17-percent rise from last year, while immigration from South Africa was up 2 percent with 320 immigrants arriving.

“I welcome this year’s increase in the number of immigrants to Israel,” said Jewish Agency Chairman of the Executive Isaac Herzog. “Every Jew who comes to Israel and establishes a home here completes another piece of the wonderful mosaic of the Jewish people in their historic homeland. After 70 years of the state’s independence and the tremendous number of olim who have already made it to Israel, the potential for even greater aliyah remains significant, and The Jewish Agency will continue to work to achieve that goal.”