Demographics_of_British_Columbia

Demographics of British Columbia

Demographics of British Columbia

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British Columbia is a Canadian province with a population of about 5.6 million people. The province represents about 13.2% of the population of the Canadian population. Most of the population is between the ages of 15 and 49. About 60 percent of British Columbians have European descent with significant Asian and Aboriginal minorities. Just under 30% of British Columbians are immigrants. Over half of the population is irreligious, with Christianity and Sikhism being the most followed religions.

Canada British Columbia Density 2016

Vital statistics

2020[1]

Birth rate: 8.3 births per 1,000 (2021) (Canadian average = 9.9)[2]

Death rate: 8.3 deaths per 1,000 (2021)[2] (Canadian average = 8.3)

Infant mortality rate: 4.0 deaths per 1,000 live births[3]

Life expectancy at birth: 82.4 years

Total fertility rate: 1.17 children born per woman (Canadian average = 1.40)

Age structure

More information Males, Females ...

Population history

More information Year, Population ...
Source: Statistics Canada[5]

Ethnic origins

First-generation immigrants from the British Isles remain a strong component of local society despite limitations on immigration from Britain since the ending of special status for British subjects in the 1960s. Also present in large numbers relative to other cities in Canada (except Toronto), and also present in BC ever since the province was first settled (unlike Toronto), are many European ethnicities of the first and second generation, notably Germans, Ukrainians, Scandinavians, Yugoslavs and Italians; third-generation Europeans are generally of mixed lineage, and traditionally intermarried with other ethnic groups more than in any other Canadian province.

In recent decades, the proportion of those of Chinese and Indian ethnicity has risen sharply, though still outnumbered by the historically strong population of those of German ancestry. Visible minorities have become an important factor in ethnic-based politics, though most visible minorities are less numerous than the long-standing non-British European ethnicities making up BC's "invisible minorities".

Note: The following statistics represent both single (e.g., "German") and multiple (e.g., "part Chinese, part English") responses to the 2006 and 2016 Census, and thus add up to more than 100%.

More information Ethnic group, Pop. ...

Projections

More information Population, % ...

Indo-Canadians

Visible minorities and Indigenous peoples

Note: Statistics Canada defines visible minorities as defined in the Employment Equity Act which defines visible minorities as "persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour".

Population of British Columbia by visible minority and indigenous identity (2021):[11]

  European Canadian (59.7%)
  Visible minority (34.4%)
  Indigenous (5.9%)
More information Visible minority and Indigenous population (2021 Canadian census), Population group ...

Languages

Knowledge of languages

More information Knowledge of official languages of Canada in British Columbia (2016) ...

The question on knowledge of languages allows for multiple responses. The following figures are from the 2021 Canadian Census and the 2016 Canadian Census, and lists languages that were selected by at least one per cent of respondents.

More information Language, Pop. ...

Mother tongue

Figures shown are for the number of single language responses and the percentage of total single-language responses. Numerous other languages were also counted, but only languages with more than 2,000 native speakers are shown.

More information Language, 2016 Census ...

Religion

Religion in British Columbia (2021)[16]

  Irreligious (52.2%)
  Christian (34.4%)
  Sikh (5.9%)
  Muslim (2.6%)
  Buddhist (1.7%)
  Hindu (1.7%)
  Jewish (0.5%)
  Other (1.0%)

The largest denominations by number of adherents according to the 2021 census were Irreligion (atheist, agnostic, and so on.) with 2,559,250 (52.2%); Christianity with 1,684,870 (34.4%); Sikhism with 290,870 (5.9%); Islam with 125,915 (2.6%); Buddhism with 83,860 (1.7%); and Hinduism with 81,320 (1.7%).

More information Religious group, Pop. ...

Migration

Immigration

More information Year, Immigrant percentage ...

The 2021 census reported that immigrants (individuals born outside Canada) comprise 1,425,715 persons or 29.0 percent of the total population of British Columbia.[24]

More information Country of birth, 1921: 314–315 ...

Recent immigration

A large number of immigrants have lived in British Columbia for 30 years or less.[6]

The 2021 Canadian census counted a total of 197,420 people who immigrated to British Columbia between 2016 and 2021.[24]

More information Country of birth, Population ...

Interprovincial migration

Number of Years each Provinces and Territories had with positive interprovincial immigration since 1971

British Columbia has also traditionally been gaining from interprovincial migration. Over the last 50 years, British Columbia had 12 years of negative interprovincial immigration: the lowest in the country. The only time the province significantly lost population to this phenomenon was during the 1990s, when it had a negative interprovincial migration for 5 consecutive years.[34]

More information In-migrants, Out-migrants ...

Source: Statistics Canada[35]

See also

Demographics of Canada's provinces and territories

Notes

  1. Statistic includes all persons that did not make up part of a visible minority or an Indigenous identity.
  2. Includes Persian (Farsi) not otherwise specified
  3. Including Austria
  4. Including Galicia
  5. Including Lebanon

References

  1. "Crude birth rate, age-specific fertility rates and total fertility rate (live births)". Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  2. "25_imr.FH10" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-02-27. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
  3. "Population Projections, British Columbia and Sub-Provincial - BC Stats". Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved June 6, 2006.
  4. "2006 Canadian Census". Statistics Canada. Retrieved September 21, 2014.[permanent dead link]
  5. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2022-09-08). "Projected population by racialized group, generation status and other selected characteristics (x 1,000)". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-10-01.
  6. Statistic includes all persons that did not make up part of a visible minority or an aboriginal identity.
  7. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2022-10-26). "Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  8. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2022-10-26). "Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  9. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2022-08-17). "Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population Profile table British Columbia [Province]". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  10. "Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population". Statistics Canada. October 26, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  11. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2022-10-26). "Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
  12. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2015-11-27). "NHS Profile". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
  13. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2019-07-02). "2001 Community Profiles". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
  14. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2022-10-26). "Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  15. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2023-06-21). "Place of birth and period of immigration by gender and age: Province or territory". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  16. "Interprovincial Migration in Canada: Quebeckers Vote with Their Feet" (PDF). www.fraserinstitute.org. Retrieved 2018-12-26.

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