Nearly half of Britons want immigration from Israel reduced or stopped completely, with Israelis among the least welcome nationalities included in a major YouGov survey.
The polling reveals that 47% of Britons want fewer or no migrants from Israel, placing the country close to the bottom of a list of 22 nations and below most European and Western countries by a considerable margin.
The YouGov survey, conducted on June 8-9 2026, asked Britons whether people from different countries should be allowed to come and live in Britain in greater numbers, at current levels, in lower numbers, or not at all.
For Israel, just 5% said Britain should allow more migrants into the country, while 24% supported maintaining present numbers.
By contrast, 23% said fewer Israelis should be allowed into Britain and another 24% said people from Israel should not be allowed to migrate to Britain at all.
That gives Israel a combined negative figure of 47%, compared with only 29% who want Israeli immigration either increased or maintained at its current level.
Pakistan also deeply unpopular as source of immigration
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Pakistan fares even worse than Israel in the YouGov polling, emerging as the second least popular country in the entire survey as a source of immigration to Britain.
A majority of Britons — 52% — said immigration from Pakistan should either be reduced or stopped altogether.
Some 27% said Britain should allow fewer migrants from Pakistan, while a striking 25% — one in four respondents — said Britain should not allow any Pakistani migrants into the country at all.
By comparison, just 6% wanted Britain to accept more migrants from Pakistan, while 21% were content with present levels. Another 22% said they did not know.
That puts Pakistan second only to Russia in terms of overall opposition to immigration among the 22 countries surveyed. Russia recorded a combined negative figure of 58%, compared with Pakistan’s 52%, Nigeria’s 48% and Israel’s 47%.
Pakistan also fares worse than the other Muslim-majority countries included in the survey. Some 44% wanted Egyptian immigration reduced or stopped, while the figure for Turkey was 43%.
Support for immigration from majority-white nations
The YouGov polling reveals a clear divide between attitudes towards immigration from majority-white Western nations and countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Opposition to immigration from the United States stood at just 24%, falling to 19% for France, 16% for Germany and 13% for Sweden. Canada, Australia and Ireland were among the countries towards which respondents expressed the most positive attitudes.
Some 23% of Britons wanted more immigration from Ireland and Canada, while 22% wanted more migrants from Australia.
Russia the most unpopular
Russia recorded the highest combined opposition to immigration at 58%, followed by Pakistan at 52%, Nigeria at 48%, Israel at 47%, Egypt and India at 44%, and Turkey at 43%.
At the opposite end of the scale were countries such as Ireland, Canada and Australia, where large majorities were content either to increase immigration or maintain current numbers.
The findings come against the backdrop of the Gaza genocide and a dramatic deterioration in Israel’s international image.
However, the YouGov question did not ask respondents why they held their views, meaning the polling itself cannot establish whether attitudes towards Israeli migrants are driven by the Gaza war, wider perceptions of Israel, immigration concerns or other factors.
Nevertheless, the results demonstrate that Israel is now one of the least favoured countries of origin for potential migrants among the British public.
