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, Between 2011 and May 2016, Canada's population grew by 1.7 million people, with immigrants accounting for two-thirds of the increase. 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, and to a lesser extent, natural growth.
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 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.
Population
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 2023 put the total number of people in Canada at 40,097,761.
Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2022.
One birth every 1 minutes
One death every 2 minutes
One net migrant every 2 minutes
Net gain of one person every 1 minute
Death rate
8.12 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 81
Net migration rate
5.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 21st Urbanization urban population: 81.8% of total population (2022) rate of urbanization: 0.95% annual rate of change (2020–25 est.)
Provinces and territories
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Population distribution
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.
Sources: Statistics Canada
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.
Canada’s fertility rate hit a record low of 1.4 children born per woman in 2020, below the population replacement level, which stands at 2.1 births per woman. In 2020, Canada also experienced the country’s lowest number of births in 15 years, also seeing the largest annual drop in childbirths (-3.6%) in a quarter of a century. The total birth rate is 10.17 births/1,000 population in 2022.
Mother's mean age at first birth
Canada is among late-childbearing countries, with the average age of mothers at the first birth being 31.3 years in 2020.
Population projection
According to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)/World Bank, the population in Canada increased from 1990 to 2008 with 5.6 million and 20.4% growth in population, compared to 21.7% growth in the United States and 31.2% growth in Mexico. According to the OECD/World Bank population statistics, for the same period the world population growth was 27%, a total of 1,423 million people. However, over the same period, the population of France grew by 8.0%. And from 1991 to 2011, the population of the UK increased by 10.0%.
The current population growth rate for Canada in 2022 was 0.75%.
Life expectancy
Life expectancy in Canada has consistently risen since the country's formation.
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) total: 16 years male: 16 years female: 17 years (2016) Infant mortality rate total: 4.5 deaths/1,000 live births. Country comparison to the world: 180th male: 4.8 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2017 est.)
Age characteristics
Population by Sex and Age Group (Census 10.V.2016) (To ensure confidentiality, the values, including totals are randomly rounded either up or down to a multiple of '5' or '10.' As a result, when these data are summed or grouped, the total value may not match the individual values since totals and sub-totals are independently rounded. Similarly, percentages, which are calculated on rounded data, may not necessarily add up to 100%.):