Canada - World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe

Health systems in transition Canada 5
Table 1.3
Population indicators, 1980–2010 (selected years)
1980 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
Total population (millions) 24.6 27.8 29.4 30.8 32.3 34.1
Population, female (% of total) 50 50 51 50 50 50.4
Population aged 0–14 (% of total) 23 21 20 19 18 16.4
Population aged 65 and above (% of total) 9 11 12 13 13 14.1
Male population aged 80 and above (% of total) 1 2 2 2 2 3.0
Female population aged 80 and above
(% of total)
2 3 3 4 4 4.0
Population growth (average annual growth rate) 1.3 1.5 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1
Population density (people per sq km) 3 3 3 3 4 3.8
Fertility rate, total (births per woman) 2 2 2 1 2 1.7 a
Birth rate, crude (per 1 000 people) 15 15 13 11 11 11.2 a
Death rate, crude (per 1 000 people) 7 7 7 7 7 7.4 a
Age dependency ratio (ratio of population
0–14 and 65+ to population 15–64 years),
per 100 people
47 47 48 46 44 44.0
Rural population as % of total population 24 23 22 21 20 19.4
Sources: Statistics Canada (2011); World Bank (2011).
Note: a 2009 data.
Although the proportion of the population defined as rural has been
steadily falling since 1980, rural populations are very unevenly distributed
among Canadian provinces and territories. More than half the residents in
Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward, Newfoundland
and Labrador and the three territories live in rural regions far from metropolitan
centres. 2
As for population make-up, almost 20% of Canadian residents were born
outside the country. The 2006 census reported more than 200 different ethnic
origins and an estimated 41% of the population reported multiple ethnic
ancestries (Statistics Canada, 2008). Table 1.4 provides the number and
percentage of respondents in the census who reported single or multiple ethnic
ancestries. While the majority of Canadians have British, French or other
European ancestry, most recent immigrants come from outside Europe and
have neither English nor French as their first language. They are clustered in
Canada’s largest cities, putting pressure on health care facilities in large urban
centres to provide services in ways that can overcome cultural and linguistic
barriers to access.
2 These are classified as “rural non-metro-adjacent regions” and “rural northern and remote regions” by
Statistics Canada.