Canada - Population, total

The value for Population, total in Canada was 38,037,200 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 38,037,200 in 2020 and a minimum value of 17,909,010 in 1960.

Definition: Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.

Source: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2019 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Popu

See also:

Year Value
1960 17,909,010
1961 18,271,000
1962 18,614,000
1963 18,964,000
1964 19,325,000
1965 19,678,000
1966 20,048,000
1967 20,412,000
1968 20,744,000
1969 21,028,000
1970 21,324,000
1971 21,962,030
1972 22,218,460
1973 22,491,780
1974 22,807,970
1975 23,143,280
1976 23,449,810
1977 23,725,840
1978 23,963,200
1979 24,201,540
1980 24,515,670
1981 24,819,920
1982 25,116,940
1983 25,366,450
1984 25,607,050
1985 25,842,120
1986 26,100,280
1987 26,446,600
1988 26,791,750
1989 27,276,780
1990 27,691,140
1991 28,037,420
1992 28,371,260
1993 28,684,760
1994 29,000,660
1995 29,302,310
1996 29,610,220
1997 29,905,950
1998 30,155,170
1999 30,401,290
2000 30,685,730
2001 31,020,900
2002 31,360,080
2003 31,644,030
2004 31,940,660
2005 32,243,750
2006 32,571,170
2007 32,889,020
2008 33,247,120
2009 33,628,900
2010 34,004,890
2011 34,339,330
2012 34,714,220
2013 35,082,950
2014 35,437,440
2015 35,702,910
2016 36,109,490
2017 36,545,240
2018 37,065,080
2019 37,601,230
2020 38,037,200

Development Relevance: Increases in human population, whether as a result of immigration or more births than deaths, can impact natural resources and social infrastructure. This can place pressure on a country's sustainability. A significant growth in population will negatively impact the availability of land for agricultural production, and will aggravate demand for food, energy, water, social services, and infrastructure. On the other hand, decreasing population size - a result of fewer births than deaths, and people moving out of a country - can impact a government's commitment to maintain services and infrastructure.

Limitations and Exceptions: Current population estimates for developing countries that lack (i) reliable recent census data, and (ii) pre- and post-census estimates for countries with census data, are provided by the United Nations Population Division and other agencies. The cohort component method - a standard method for estimating and projecting population - requires fertility, mortality, and net migration data, often collected from sample surveys, which can be small or limited in coverage. Population estimates are from demographic modeling and so are susceptible to biases and errors from shortcomings in both the model and the data. In the UN estimates the five-year age group is the cohort unit and five-year period data are used; therefore interpolations to obtain annual data or single age structure may not reflect actual events or age composition. Because future trends cannot be known with certainty, population projections have a wide range of uncertainty.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Population estimates are usually based on national population censuses. Estimates for the years before and after the census are interpolations or extrapolations based on demographic models. Errors and undercounting occur even in high-income countries. In developing countries errors may be substantial because of limits in the transport, communications, and other resources required to conduct and analyze a full census. The quality and reliability of official demographic data are also affected by public trust in the government, government commitment to full and accurate enumeration, confidentiality and protection against misuse of census data, and census agencies' independence from political influence. Moreover, comparability of population indicators is limited by differences in the concepts, definitions, collection procedures, and estimation methods used by national statistical agencies and other organizations that collect the data. The currentness of a census and the availability of complementary data from surveys or registration systems are objective ways to judge demographic data quality. Some European countries' registration systems offer complete information on population in the absence of a census. The United Nations Statistics Division monitors the completeness of vital registration systems. Some developing countries have made progress over the last 60 years, but others still have deficiencies in civil registration systems. International migration is the only other factor besides birth and death rates that directly determines a country's population growth. Estimating migration is difficult. At any time many people are located outside their home country as tourists, workers, or refugees or for other reasons. Standards for the duration and purpose of international moves that qualify as migration vary, and estimates require information on flows into and out of countries that is difficult to collect. Population projections, starting from a base year are projected forward using assumptions of mortality, fertility, and migration by age and sex through 2050, based on the UN Population Division's World Population Prospects database medium variant.

Aggregation method: Sum

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: Relevance to gender indicator: disaggregating the population composition by gender will help a country in projecting its demand for social services on a gender basis.

Classification

Topic: Health Indicators

Sub-Topic: Population