LONDON (JTA) — Britain appears to be facing its own Jewish continuity crisis.

A recently released demographic study shows that Britain's Jewish population has dropped to less than 300,000 for the first time this century, and if current trends continue, the number of Jews is expected to fall to less than 200,000 within the next 25 years.

The study was conducted by the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the community's umbrella organization.

It shows there are now some 285,000 Jews in Britain, down from 308,000 a decade ago.

The largest erosion is caused by assimilation, with Jewish couples recording lower birth rates and the level of intermarriage now estimated to be running at some 44 percent.