Demographics of Canada

The 2021 Canadian census had a total population count of 36,991,981 individuals, making up approximately 0.5% of the world's total population. A population estimate for 2024 put the total number of people in Canada at 41,012,563. Provinces and territories The vast majority of Canadians are positioned in a discontinuous band within approximately 300 km of the southern border with the United States; the most populated province is Ontario, followed by Quebec and British Columbia. Cities Census metropolitan areas Fertility rate The total fertility rate is the number of children born in a specific year cohort to the total number of women who can give birth in the country. In 1971, the birth rate for the first time dipped below replacement and since then has not rebounded. In 2022, Canada also experienced the country's lowest absolute number of births in 17 years. From 2021 to 2022, Canada's TFR decreased by −7.4%, its largest drop in 50 years. The total birth rate is 10.17 births/1,000 population in 2022. Historical population Population projection by population growth rate (2016–2021). According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)/World Bank, the population of Canada increased from 1990 to 2008 by 5.6 million, a 20.4% growth in population, compared to 21.7% growth in the United States, 31.2% growth in Mexico, 8% in France and 27% or 1,423 million people globally. From 1991 to 2011, the population of the UK increased by 10%. The population growth rate for Canada in 2022 was 0.75%. Age structure :# Newfoundland and Labrador: 44.0 :# Nova Scotia: 43.7 :# New Brunswick: 43.7 :# Prince Edward Island: 42.8 :# Quebec: 41.9 :# British Columbia: 41.9 :# Ontario: 40.4 :# Yukon: 39.1 :# Manitoba: 38.4 :# Saskatchewan: 38.2 :# Alberta: 36.5 :# Northwest Territories: 32.3 :# Nunavut: 24.1 Sex ratio at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female 0–14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15–24 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 25–54 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 55–64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2022 est). Dependency ratios :total dependency ratio: 47.3 :youth dependency ratio: 23.5 :elderly dependency ratio: 23.8 :potential support ratio: 4.2 (2015 est.) == Vital statistics ==

Source: Notable events in Canadian demographics: • 1947–1966 – Mid-20th century baby boom In 2024, more than two in five newborns (42.3%) in Canada had a foreign-born mother (i.e., a mother who was born outside Canada). Current vital statistics Note: all numbers in this table are provisional. While data for at least two years ago may be final, newer data for recent days are subject to change in the future. For example, as of September 25, 2024, the numbers are final up to December 2021, updated from January 2022 to March 2024 and preliminary from April 2024. == Employment ==

Unemployment, youth ages 15–24 (2020 est.) :total: 20.2% :male: 20.9% :female: 19.4% == Ethnicity and visible minorities ==

Canadians as ethnic group by province All citizens of Canada are classified as "Canadians" as defined by Canada's nationality laws. "Canadian" as an ethnic group has since 1996 been added to census questionnaires for possible ancestral origin or descent. "Canadian" was included as an example on the English questionnaire and "Canadien" as an example on the French questionnaire. The majority of respondents to this selection are from the eastern part of the country that was first settled. Respondents generally are visibly European (Anglophones and Francophones) and no longer self-identify directly with their ethnic ancestral origins. This response is attributed to a multitude of reasons such as generational distance from ancestral lineage, intermarriage with a variety of ethnic groups, and loss of ancestral language. Ethnic origin According to the 2021 Canadian census, over 450 "ethnic or cultural origins" were self-reported by Canadians. Statistics Canada reports that 35.5% of the population reported multiple ethnic origins, thus the overall total is greater than 100%. Of the 36.3 million people enumerated in 2021 approximately 25.4 million reported being "White", representing 69.8 percent of the population. One out of every four Canadians or 26.5 percent of the population belonged to a non-White and non-Indigenous visible minority, As data is completely self-reported, and reporting individuals may have varying definitions of "Ethnic origin" (or may not know their ethnic origin), these figures should not be considered an exact record of the relative prevalence of different ethno-cultural ancestries but rather how Canadians self-identify. Data from this section from Statistics Canada, 2021. The most common ethnic origins per province are as follows in 2006 (total responses; only percentages 10% or higher shown; ordered by percentage of "Canadian"): • Quebec (7,723,525): Canadian (59.1%), French (29.1%) • New Brunswick (735,835): Canadian (50.3%), French (27.2%), English (25.9%), Irish (21.6%), Scottish (19.9%) • Newfoundland and Labrador (507,265): Canadian (49.0%), English (43.4%), Irish (21.8%) • Nova Scotia (906,170): Canadian (39.1%), Scottish (31.2%), English (30.8%), Irish (22.3%), French (17.0%), German (10.8%) • Prince Edward Island (137,375): Scottish (39.3%), Canadian (36.8%), English (31.1%), Irish (30.4%), French (21.1%) • Ontario (12,651,795): Canadian (23.3%), English (23.1%), Scottish (16.4%), Irish (16.4%), French (10.8%) • Alberta (3,567,980): English (24.9%), Canadian (21.8%), German (19.2%), Scottish (18.8%), Irish (15.8%), French (11.1%) • Manitoba (1,174,345): English (21.8%), German (18.6%), Canadian (18.5%), Scottish (18.0%), Ukrainian (14.9%), Irish (13.2%), French (12.6%), North American Indian (10.6%) • Saskatchewan (1,008,760): German (28.6%), English (24.9%), Scottish (18.9%), Canadian (18.8%), Irish (15.5%), Ukrainian (13.5%), French (12.2%), North American Indian (12.1%) • British Columbia (4,324,455): English (27.7%), Scottish (19.3%), Canadian (19.1%), German (13.1%), Chinese (10.7%) • Yukon (33,320): English (28.5%), Scottish (25.0%), Irish (22.0%), North American Indian (21.8%), Canadian (21.8%), German (15.6%), French (13.1%) • Northwest Territories (40,800): North American Indian (37.0%), Scottish (13.9%), English (13.7%), Canadian (12.8%), Irish (11.9%), Inuit (11.7%) • Nunavut (31,700): Inuit (85.4%) Italics indicates either that this response is dominant within this province, or that this province has the highest ratio (percentage) of this response among provinces. Visible minority population } ||align=center| ||align=center| ||align=center| ||align=center| ||align=center| ||align=center| ||align=center| Note: Indigenous population decline between 1991 and 1996 censuses attributed to change in criteria in census count; "the 1996 Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples used a more restrictive definition of Aboriginal". Indigenous population Note: Other Indigenous and mixed Indigenous groups are not listed as their own, but they are all accounted for in total Indigenous Future projections Statistics Canada projects that visible minorities will make up between 38.2% and 43.0% of the total Canadian population by 2041, Among the working-age population (15 to 64 years), meanwhile, visible minorities are projected to represent between 42.1% and 47.3% of Canada's total population, compared to 28.5% in 2021. ==Languages==

Knowledge of language The question on knowledge of languages allows for multiple responses, and first appeared on the 1991 Canadian census. The following figures are from the 1991 Canadian census, 2001 Canadian census, 2011 Canadian census, and the 2021 Canadian census. Mother tongue Work Home == Immigration ==

According to the 2021 Canadian census, immigrants in Canada number 8.3 million persons and make up approximately 23 percent of Canada's total population. Immigrants from specific countries are divided into several ethnic groups. For example, there are both Punjabis and Muhajirs from Pakistan, both Turks and Kurds from Turkey and both Sinhalese and Tamil from Sri Lanka. Immigrants from Iran are divided into Mazandaranians, Armenians, Azeris, Persians, Kurds, Gilaks and Lurs. Since confederation in 1867 through to the contemporary era, decadal and demi-decadal census reports have detailed immigration statistics. During this period, the highest annual immigration rate in Canada occurred in 1913, when 400,900 new immigrants accounted for 5.3 percent of the total population, while the greatest number of foreign-born individuals admitted to Canada in single year occurred in 2021, with 405,330 new immigrants accounting for 1.1 percent of the total population. Statistics Canada projects that immigrants will represent between 29.1% and 34.0% of Canada's population in 2041, compared with 23.0% in 2021, while the Canadian population with at least one foreign born parent (first and second generation persons) could rise to between 49.8% and 54.3%, up from 44.0% in 2021. Migration data ==Religion==

In 2021, 53.3% of Canadians were Christians, down from 67.3% in 2011. 29.9% were Catholic while 11.4% were Protestant (all other listed denominations excluding Christian Orthodox, Latter Day Saints and Jehovah's Witnesses). 7.6% were Christian not otherwise specified, 2.1% were "other Christian and Christian-related traditions", 1.7% were Christian Orthodox, 0.4% were Jehovah's Witnesses and 0.2% were Latter Day Saints adherents. 34.6% of Canadians were non-religious or secular, up from 23.9% in 2011. Of the non-Christian religions listed, 4.9% of Canadians were Muslim (3.2% in 2011), 2.3% were Hindu (1.5% in 2011), 2.1% were Sikh (1.4% in 2011), 1.0% were Buddhist (1.1% in 2011), 0.9% were Jewish (1.0% in 2011), 0.2% were believers of traditional (North American Indigenous) spirituality (same as 2011), and 0.6% were believers of other religions and spiritual traditions (0.4% in 2011). ==See also==