Demographics of Canada
Statistics Canada conducts a country-wide census that collects demographic data every five years on the first and sixth year of each decade. The 2021 Canadian census enumerated a total population of 36,991,981, an increase of around 5.2 percent over the 2016 figure. It is estimated that Canada's population surpassed 40 million in 2023 and 41 million in 2024. Between 1990 and 2008, the population increased by 5.6 million, equivalent to 20.4 percent overall growth. The main driver of population growth is immigration. Between 2011 and May 2016, Canada's population grew by 1.7 million people, with immigrants accounting for two-thirds of the increase.
| Demographics of Canada | |
|---|---|
Population pyramid of Canada in 2023 | |
| Population | 40,769,890 (2024 Q1 est.) |
| Growth rate | 0.85% (2022 est.) |
| Birth rate | 10.17 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) |
| Death rate | 8.12 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) |
| Life expectancy | 83.8 years |
| • male | 81.52 years |
| • female | 86.21 years (2022 est.) |
| Fertility rate | 1.33 children born/woman (2022 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate | 4.38 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Net migration rate | 5.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.) |
| Age structure | |
| 0–14 years | 15.99% |
| 65 and over | 18.98% |
| Sex ratio | |
| Total | 0.98 male(s)/female (2022 est.) |
| At birth | 1.05 male(s)/female |
| Under 15 | 1.06 male(s)/female |
| 65 and over | 0.75 male(s)/female |
| Nationality | |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Major ethnic | White (69.8%) |
| Minor ethnic | South Asian (7.1%) Indigenous (5%) Chinese (4.7%) Black (4.3%) Filipino (2.6%) Arab (1.9%) Latin American (1.6%) Southeast Asian (1.1%) West Asian (1%) Korean (0.6%) Japanese (0.3%) Multiracial/Other, excluding Métis (3.2%) |
| Language | |
| Official | English (55.97%) French (20.61%) |
| Spoken | Mandarin (1.7%) Cantonese (1.63%) Punjabi (1.44%) Spanish (1.32%) Tagalog (1.24%) Arabic (1.21%) German (1.1%) Italian (1.08%) Others (12.7%) |
| Language figures are from the 2016 Canadian census and based on total number of first language speakers (mother tongue), and not total number of individuals who may speak the language as a second (L2), third (L3), or more language. See knowledge of languages for this information. | |
Canada has one of the highest per-capita immigration rates in the world, driven mainly by economic policy and, to a lesser extent, family reunification. In 2021, a total of 405,330 immigrants were admitted to Canada, mainly from South Asia. New immigrants settle mostly in major urban areas such as Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. Canada also accepts large numbers of refugees, accounting for over 10 percent of annual global refugee resettlements.