JERUSALEM - The Israeli emigration hit its lowest since 1973 with the rate going down 0.7 every 100 citizens, according to figures released by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) on Tuesday.

In 2010, the figures reveal, around 15,600 Israelis left their country to live abroad, compared with about 15,900 in 2009. The numbers also show that since 2001, there has been a continuous decline in emigration.

Most of the Israeli emigrants moved either to North America or Europe, they figures show.

According to CBS experts, the global economic crisis is the main reason behind the overall slowdown in the emigration figures.

Since the state of Israel was established in 1948, some 684,000 Israelis have moved out of the country. Currently, there are about 570,000 Israelis living abroad.

The figures do not include the children of Israeli couples or those of Israeli emigrants married to other nationalities.

The statistics also show that about 25 percent of Israel emigrants choose to return to their home country within several months up to a year.