Focus on Geography Series, 2021 Census of Population
Canada
Immigrant Status
According to the 2021 Census, 8,361,505 people, that is, 23.0% of the population, were foreign-born (immigrants), 27,042,125 (74.4%) were Canadian-born (non-immigrants) and 924,850 (2.5%) were non-permanent residents.
Recent Immigrants
Among immigrants in 2021, 1,328,240 came between 2016 and 2021. These recent immigrants made up 15.9% of the immigrant population.
Place of birth
The top three places of birth among immigrants living in Canada in 2021 were India, the Philippines, and China. Among recent immigrants living in Canada, they were India, the Philippines, and China.
Number and percentage of the immigrant population, Canada, 1871 to 2021
Distribution (in percentage) of Canada's immigrant population in the provinces and territories, census years 1981 to 2021
Distribution (in percentage) of admission categories of immigrants by year of immigration, Canada, 1980 to 2021
Top places of birth of immigrants, Canada, 2016 and 2021
| 2016 | 2021 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Rank | Number | % | Rank | |
| Immigrant population | 7,540,830 | 100.0 | ... | 8,361,505 | 100.0 | ... |
| India | 668,565 | 8.9 | 1 | 898,045 | 10.7 | 1 |
| Philippines | 588,305 | 7.8 | 3 | 719,580 | 8.6 | 2 |
| China | 649,265 | 8.6 | 2 | 715,835 | 8.6 | 3 |
| United Kingdom | 499,120 | 6.6 | 4 | 464,135 | 5.6 | 4 |
| United States of America | 253,715 | 3.4 | 5 | 256,085 | 3.1 | 5 |
| Pakistan | 202,260 | 2.7 | 8 | 234,110 | 2.8 | 6 |
| Hong Kong | 208,940 | 2.8 | 7 | 213,855 | 2.6 | 7 |
| Italy | 236,635 | 3.1 | 6 | 204,065 | 2.4 | 8 |
| Iran | 154,425 | 2.0 | 10 | 182,940 | 2.2 | 9 |
| Viet Nam | 169,250 | 2.2 | 9 | 182,095 | 2.2 | 10 |
Top places of birth of recent immigrants, Canada, 2016 and 2021
| 2016 | 2021 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Rank | Number | % | Rank | |
| Recent immigrants (2016: 2011 to 2016 / 2021: 2016 to 2021) | 1,212,075 | 100.0 | ... | 1,328,240 | 100.0 | ... |
| India | 147,190 | 12.1 | 2 | 246,995 | 18.6 | 1 |
| Philippines | 188,805 | 15.6 | 1 | 151,490 | 11.4 | 2 |
| China | 129,020 | 10.6 | 3 | 118,035 | 8.9 | 3 |
| Syria | 29,945 | 2.5 | 7 | 63,135 | 4.8 | 4 |
| Nigeria | 17,285 | 1.4 | 14 | 40,355 | 3.0 | 5 |
| United States of America | 33,060 | 2.7 | 6 | 39,875 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Pakistan | 41,480 | 3.4 | 5 | 36,255 | 2.7 | 7 |
| France | 24,150 | 2.0 | 9 | 27,175 | 2.0 | 8 |
| Iran | 42,070 | 3.5 | 4 | 25,650 | 1.9 | 9 |
| United Kingdom | 24,445 | 2.0 | 8 | 22,755 | 1.7 | 10 |
Immigrant population by non-official language spoken most often at home,Footnote 1 Canada, 2021
| 2021 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Rank | |
| Immigrant population | 8,361,505 | 100.0 | ... |
| Mandarin | 454,675 | 5.4 | 1 |
| Punjabi (Panjabi) | 395,440 | 4.7 | 2 |
| Yue (Cantonese) | 378,710 | 4.5 | 3 |
| Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino) | 374,820 | 4.5 | 4 |
| Arabic | 323,025 | 3.9 | 5 |
| Spanish | 263,235 | 3.1 | 6 |
| Urdu | 176,135 | 2.1 | 7 |
| Russian | 122,930 | 1.5 | 8 |
| Iranian Persian | 113,805 | 1.4 | 9 |
| Tamil | 111,200 | 1.3 | 10 |
Recent immigrants by non-official language spoken most often at home,Footnote 1 Canada, 2021
| 2021 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Rank | |
| Recent immigrants (2016 to 2021) | 1,328,240 | 100.0 | ... |
| Arabic | 111,825 | 8.4 | 1 |
| Mandarin | 92,450 | 7.0 | 2 |
| Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino) | 88,595 | 6.7 | 3 |
| Punjabi (Panjabi) | 76,485 | 5.8 | 4 |
| Spanish | 42,270 | 3.2 | 5 |
| Hindi | 39,075 | 2.9 | 6 |
| Urdu | 29,575 | 2.2 | 7 |
| Gujarati | 22,685 | 1.7 | 8 |
| Russian | 20,790 | 1.6 | 9 |
| Iranian Persian | 19,680 | 1.5 | 10 |
Population by generation status and median age, Canada, 2016 and 2021
| 2016 | 2021 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Median age | Number | % | Median age | |
| Total population in private households | 34,460,060 | 100.0 | 40.8 | 36,328,475 | 100.0 | 41.2 |
| First generation (born abroad) | 8,219,550 | 23.9 | 46.8 | 9,606,595 | 26.4 | 46.0 |
| Second generation (born in Canada with at least one parent born abroad) | 6,100,720 | 17.7 | 30.6 | 6,393,310 | 17.6 | 29.2 |
| Third generation or more (born in Canada with both parents born in Canada) | 20,139,790 | 58.4 | 40.0 | 20,328,565 | 56.0 | 41.6 |
Immigrant population by age groups at time of immigration, Canada, 2016 and 2021
| 2016 | 2021 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All immigrants | Recent immigrants (2011 to 2016) | All immigrants | Recent immigrants (2016 to 2021) | |||||
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
| Population in private households | 7,540,825 | 100.0 | 1,212,075 | 100.0 | 8,361,505 | 100.0 | 1,328,240 | 100.0 |
| Less than 15 years | 2,043,155 | 27.1 | 258,220 | 21.3 | 2,186,705 | 26.2 | 271,950 | 20.5 |
| 15 to 24 years | 1,604,430 | 21.3 | 160,720 | 13.3 | 1,594,290 | 19.1 | 155,890 | 11.7 |
| 25 to 64 years | 3,797,710 | 50.4 | 749,855 | 61.9 | 4,467,520 | 53.4 | 858,225 | 64.6 |
| 65 years and older | 95,530 | 1.3 | 43,275 | 3.6 | 112,990 | 1.4 | 42,175 | 3.2 |
Immigrant population by region of birth, Canada, 2016 and 2021 Footnote 2
| 2016 | 2021 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All immigrants | Recent immigrants (2011 to 2016) | All immigrants | Recent immigrants (2016 to 2021) | |||||
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
| Population in private households | 7,540,825 | ... | 1,212,075 | ... | 8,361,505 | ... | 1,328,240 | ... |
| Region of birth | 7,539,895 | 100.0 | 1,211,995 | 100.0 | 8,359,220 | 100.0 | 1,327,865 | 100.0 |
| Americas | 1,127,815 | 15.0 | 152,515 | 12.6 | 1,200,895 | 14.4 | 154,110 | 11.6 |
| Europe | 2,088,410 | 27.7 | 140,035 | 11.6 | 1,967,620 | 23.5 | 134,425 | 10.1 |
| Africa | 637,485 | 8.5 | 162,795 | 13.4 | 821,735 | 9.8 | 206,965 | 15.6 |
| Asia | 3,629,160 | 48.1 | 748,700 | 61.8 | 4,307,000 | 51.5 | 823,205 | 62.0 |
| Oceania | 56,925 | 0.8 | 7,950 | 0.7 | 61,900 | 0.7 | 9,160 | 0.7 |
Immigrant population by visible minority groupFootnote 3, Canada, 2016 and 2021
| 2016 | 2021 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All immigrants | Recent immigrants (2011 to 2016) | All immigrants | Recent immigrants (2016 to 2021) | |||||
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
| Population in private households | 7,540,825 | 100.0 | 1,212,075 | 100.0 | 8,361,505 | 100.0 | 1,328,240 | 100.0 |
| Visible minority population | 4,864,520 | 64.5 | 990,205 | 81.7 | 5,794,900 | 69.3 | 1,102,075 | 83.0 |
| South Asian | 1,249,935 | 25.7 | 237,375 | 24.0 | 1,524,310 | 26.3 | 326,385 | 29.6 |
| Chinese | 1,029,730 | 21.2 | 142,110 | 14.4 | 1,088,615 | 18.8 | 131,435 | 11.9 |
| Black | 623,190 | 12.8 | 141,735 | 14.3 | 787,600 | 13.6 | 186,615 | 16.9 |
| Filipino | 562,150 | 11.6 | 182,890 | 18.5 | 684,570 | 11.8 | 144,945 | 13.2 |
| Latin American | 319,310 | 6.6 | 57,240 | 5.8 | 371,970 | 6.4 | 57,250 | 5.2 |
| Arab | 352,420 | 7.2 | 103,445 | 10.4 | 452,640 | 7.8 | 128,225 | 11.6 |
| Southeast Asian | 193,345 | 4.0 | 21,750 | 2.2 | 226,745 | 3.9 | 27,115 | 2.5 |
| West Asian | 208,975 | 4.3 | 52,335 | 5.3 | 259,375 | 4.5 | 44,560 | 4.0 |
| Korean | 126,440 | 2.6 | 22,405 | 2.3 | 141,655 | 2.4 | 21,660 | 2.0 |
| Japanese | 26,515 | 0.5 | 4,960 | 0.5 | 29,930 | 0.5 | 4,605 | 0.4 |
| Visible minority, n.i.e. | 74,040 | 1.5 | 9,175 | 0.9 | 96,525 | 1.7 | 11,045 | 1.0 |
| Multiple visible minorities | 98,460 | 2.0 | 14,795 | 1.5 | 130,965 | 2.3 | 18,245 | 1.7 |
| Not a visible minority | 2,676,310 | 35.5 | 221,870 | 18.3 | 2,566,605 | 30.7 | 226,165 | 17.0 |
Immigrant population by religious affiliation, Canada, 2011 and 2021
| 2011 | 2021 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All immigrants | Recent immigrants (2006 to 2011) | All immigrants | Recent immigrants (2016 to 2021) | |||||
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
| Population in private households | 6,775,770 | 100.0 | 1,162,915 | 100.0 | 8,361,505 | 100.0 | 1,328,240 | 100.0 |
| Buddhist | 252,585 | 3.7 | 32,660 | 2.8 | 246,070 | 2.9 | 20,810 | 1.6 |
| Christian | 3,669,430 | 54.2 | 552,860 | 47.5 | 3,927,265 | 47.0 | 527,420 | 39.7 |
| Anglican | 211,225 | 3.1 | 12,770 | 1.1 | 145,070 | 1.7 | 6,570 | 0.5 |
| Baptist | 114,300 | 1.7 | 21,245 | 1.8 | 90,500 | 1.1 | 10,235 | 0.8 |
| Catholic | 1,928,125 | 28.5 | 288,800 | 24.8 | 1,972,125 | 23.6 | 244,830 | 18.4 |
| Christian Orthodox | 313,635 | 4.6 | 49,495 | 4.3 | 350,115 | 4.2 | 46,545 | 3.5 |
| Lutheran | 84,555 | 1.2 | 3,945 | 0.3 | 56,120 | 0.7 | 1,935 | 0.1 |
| Pentecostal and Other Charismatic | 118,115 | 1.7 | 25,555 | 2.2 | 128,525 | 1.5 | 27,140 | 2.0 |
| Presbyterian | 94,485 | 1.4 | 7,905 | 0.7 | 64,045 | 0.8 | 3,920 | 0.3 |
| United Church | 90,570 | 1.3 | 5,025 | 0.4 | 52,315 | 0.6 | 1,690 | 0.1 |
| Other Christian and Christian-related traditions | 714,410 | 10.5 | 138,125 | 11.9 | 1,068,455 | 12.8 | 184,565 | 13.9 |
| Hindu | 350,655 | 5.2 | 76,380 | 6.6 | 520,795 | 6.2 | 141,440 | 10.6 |
| Jewish | 99,255 | 1.5 | 10,785 | 0.9 | 91,085 | 1.1 | 7,135 | 0.5 |
| Muslim | 720,125 | 10.6 | 202,745 | 17.4 | 1,120,770 | 13.4 | 260,300 | 19.6 |
| Sikh | 284,610 | 4.2 | 55,385 | 4.8 | 415,465 | 5.0 | 80,245 | 6.0 |
| Traditional (North American Indigenous) spirituality | 800 | 0.0 | 190 | 0.0 | 840 | 0.0 | 80 | 0.0 |
| Other religions | 37,210 | 0.5 | 5,365 | 0.5 | 59,850 | 0.7 | 9,745 | 0.7 |
| No religion and secular perspectives | 1,361,095 | 20.1 | 226,540 | 19.5 | 1,979,360 | 23.7 | 281,065 | 21.2 |
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