Demographics of Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province. According to the 2011 National Household Survey, the largest ethnic group consists of people of Scottish descent (39.2%), followed by English (31.1%), Irish (30.4%), French (21.1%), German (5.2%), and Dutch (3.1%) descent. Prince Edward Island is mostly a white community and there are few visible minorities. Chinese people are the largest visible minority group of Prince Edward Island, comprising 1.3% of the province's population. Almost half of respondents identified their ethnicity as "Canadian." Prince Edward Island is by a strong margin the most Celtic and specifically the most Scottish province in Canada and perhaps the most Scottish place (ethnically) in the world, outside Scotland. 38% of islanders claim Scottish ancestry, but this is an underestimate and it is thought that almost 50% of islanders have Scottish roots. When combined with Irish and Welsh, almost 80% of islanders are of some Celtic stock, albeit most families have resided in PEI for at least two centuries. Few places outside Europe can claim such a homogeneous Celtic ethnic background. The only other jurisdiction in North America with such a high percentage of British Isles heritage is Newfoundland.

BC

AB

SK

MB

ON

QC

NB

PE

NS

NL

YT

NT

NU

Demographics of Canada's provinces and territories

Canada Prince Edward Island Density 2016

Population history

Population of Prince Edward Island since 1851

Year	Population	Mean annual % change	5-year % change	10-year % change	Rank among provinces
1850	62,678	n/a	n/a	n/a	5
1861	80,857	2.6	n/a	29.0	5
1871	94,021	1.5	n/a	16.3	5
1881	108,891	1.5	n/a	15.8	5
1891	109,078	0.017	n/a	0.2	6
1901	103,259	−0.55	n/a	-5.3	7
1911	93,728	−0.96	n/a	-9.2	9
1921	88,615	−0.56	n/a	-5.4	9
1931	88,038	−0.065	n/a	-0.7	9
1941	95,047	0.77	n/a	8.0	9
1951	98,429	0.35	n/a	3.6	10
1956	99,285	0.17	0.9	n/a	10
1961	104,629	1.1	5.4	6.3	10
1966	108,535	0.74	3.7	9.3	10
1971	111,635	0.56	2.9	6.7	10
1976	118,225	1.2	5.9	8.9	10
1981	122,506	0.7	3.6	9.7	10
1986	126,640	0.67	3.4	7.1	10
1991	129,765	0.49	2.5	5.9	10
1996	134,557	0.73	3.7	6.3	10
2001	135,294	0.11	0.5	4.2	10
2006	138,581	0.47	2.4	2.9	10
2011	140,204	0.25	1.2	3.6	10
2016	142,907	n/a	1.9	3.1	10
2021	154,331	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

Source: Statistics Canada^[1][2]

Population geography

Census agglomerations

Source: Statistics Canada^[3][4]

City	2021	2016	2011	2006	Land Area (km2)	Density (/km2)
Charlottetown	78,858	71,821	64,487	59,325	1,112.43	70.9
Summerside	18,157	16,831	16,488	16,153	125.12	145.1

Cities and towns

All statistics according to 2016 Canadian census, unless otherwise specified

Town	Population	Population (2011)	Population ranking	Land Area (km2)	Area ranking	Density (/km2)	Density ranking
Alberton	1,145	1,135	7	4.52	6	253.5	8
Borden-Carleton	724	750	9	12.99	5	55.7	10
Charlottetown	36,094	34,562	1	44.34	1	814.1	1
Cornwall	5,348	5,162	4	28.19	3	189.7	9
Georgetown	555	675	10	1.59	10	348.1	6
Kensington	1,619	1,513	6	3.01	9	537.8	3
Montague	1,961	1,895	5	3.16	8	620.8	2
Souris	1,053	1,173	8	3.47	7	303.7	7
Stratford	9,706	8,574	3	22.53	4	430.8	5
Summerside	14,829	14,751	2	28.49	2	520.5	4

Ethnic origins

Ethnic origins in Canada, 2021.

Dominant self-identified ethnic origin of the population of Prince Edward Island

Ethnic origin	Population	Percent
Canadian	60,000	44.98%
Scottish	50,700	38.01%
English	38,330	28.74%
Irish	37,170	27.87%
French	28,410	21.30%
German	5,400	4.05%
Dutch (Netherlands)	4,130	3.10%
Acadian	3,020	2.26%
North American Indian	2,360	1.77%
Welsh	1,440	1.08%
American (USA)	640
Polish	615
Italian	605
Lebanese	525
Danish	420
Norwegian	325
Ukrainian	320
Swedish	315
Belgian	240
Métis	245
Chinese	225
Hungarian (Magyar)	225
British, not included elsewhere	210
Spanish	175
Jewish	165
Russian	160
Swiss	145
Finnish	135
Inuit	120

Information taken from the Canada 2001 Census..^[5]

* These percentages sum to more than 100% due to dual responses (e.g. "French-Canadian" generating an entry in both "French" and "Canadian" categories.) Groups with greater than 1,000 responses are included.

Visible minorities and Indigenous peoples

Visible minority and Indigenous population (Canada 2021 Census)[6]
Population group		Population	%
European[a]		132,790	88.2%
Visible minority group	South Asian	3,735	2.5%
	Chinese	3,335	2.2%
	Black	1,815	1.2%
	Filipino	1,760	1.2%
	Arab	1,125	0.7%
	Latin American	585	0.4%
	Southeast Asian	1,040	0.7%
	West Asian	295	0.2%
	Korean	120	0.1%
	Japanese	190	0.1%
	Visible minority, n.i.e.	125	0.1%
	Multiple visible minorities	170	0.1%
Total visible minority population		14,310	9.5%
Indigenous group	First Nations (North American Indian)	2,165	1.4%
	Métis	845	0.6%
	Inuk (Inuit)	180	0.1%
	Multiple Indigenous responses	30	0.0%
	Indigenous responses n.i.e.	165	0.1%
Total Indigenous population		3,385	2.2%
Total population		150,485	100.0%

Languages

Knowledge of languages

Knowledge of official languages of Canada in Prince Edward Island (2016)
Language			Percent
English only			86.38%
French only			0.08%
English and French			12.65%
Neither English nor French			0.89%

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 0.5 per cent of respondents.

Knowledge of languages in Prince Edward Island

Language	2021[7]		2016
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
English	149,525	99.36%	138,735	99.32%
French	19,445	12.92%	17,875	12.8%
Mandarin	2,940	1.95%	2,105	1.51%
Hindi	1,660	1.1%	165	0.12%
Tagalog	1,630	1.08%	615	0.44%
Punjabi	1,550	1.03%	185	0.13%
Spanish	1,425	0.95%	945	0.68%
Arabic	1,165	0.77%	650	0.47%
German	1,040	0.69%	570	0.41%
Vietnamese	785	0.52%	55	0.04%

Mother tongue

Mother tongue in Prince Edward Island (red: English, blue: French). The only part of the province to have a Francophone majority is the so-called Evangeline Region.

The 2006 Canadian census showed a population of 135,851. Of the 133,570 singular responses to the question concerning mother tongue the most commonly reported languages were:

Place	Language	Population	Percentage
1	English	125,260	93.78%
2	French	5,345	4.00%
3	Dutch	865	0.65%
4	German	275	0.21%
5	Spanish	220	0.16%
6	Chinese languages	190	0.14%
	Mandarin	45	0.03%
	Cantonese	15	0.01%
7	Arabic	150	0.11%
8	Hungarian	120	0.09%
9	Algonquian languages	95	0.07%
	Mi'kmaq	90	0.07%
10	Serbo-Croatian languages	85	0.07%
	Serbian	35	0.03%
	Croatian	20	0.01%
	Bosnian	15	0.01%
	Serbo-Croatian	15	0.01%
11	Japanese	80	0.06%
12	Bantu languages	70	0.05%
12	Polish	70	0.05%
14	Korean	65	0.05%
14	Scandinavian languages	65	0.05%
	Danish	40	0.03%
	Swedish	15	0.01%
	Icelandic	10	0.01%
16	Frisian	55	0.04%
16	Italian	55	0.04%
18	Flemish	40	0.03%
18	Hindi	40	0.03%
20	Creole	35	0.03%
20	Urdu	35	0.03%

There were also 30 single-language responses for Greek and Niger-Congo languages n.i.e.; 25 for Russian; 20 for Ukrainian; 15 for Finnish, Germanic languages n.i.e., Inuktitut, Maltese, Persian and Tagalog; and 10 for Czech, Estonian, Portuguese, Slovenian, Turkish and Vietnamese. In addition, there were also 105 responses of English and a non-official language; 25 of French and a non-official language; 495 of English and French; and 10 of English, French, and a non-official language. (Figures shown are for the number of single language responses and the percentage of total single-language responses.)^[8]

Religion

Religious groups in Prince Edward Island (1981−2021)

Religious group	2021[9]		2011[10]		2001[11]		1991[12]		1981[13]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Christianity	101,755	67.62%	115,620	84.16%	123,805	92.82%	122,750	95.82%	117,675	97.07%
Irreligion	42,830	28.46%	19,820	14.43%	8,945	6.71%	4,880	3.81%	3,240	2.67%
Islam	1,720	1.14%	660	0.48%	195	0.15%	60	0.05%	70	0.06%
Hinduism	1,245	0.83%	205	0.15%	30	0.02%	25	0.02%	75	0.06%
Sikhism	1,165	0.77%	10	0.01%	0	0%	65	0.05%	0	0%
Buddhism	755	0.5%	560	0.41%	135	0.1%	60	0.05%	50	0.04%
Judaism	165	0.11%	100	0.07%	55	0.04%	85	0.07%	80	0.07%
Indigenous spirituality	75	0.05%	55	0.04%	—	—	—	—	—	—
Other	765	0.51%	350	0.25%	210	0.16%	185	0.12%	30	0.02%
Total responses	150,480	97.5%	137,375	97.98%	133,385	98.59%	128,100	98.72%	121,225	98.95%
Total population	154,331	100%	140,204	100%	135,294	100%	129,765	100%	122,506	100%

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlottetown comprises the entire Island and is the second oldest English diocese in Canada. The Archdiocese of Kingston is the oldest.

Migration

Immigration

Prince Edward Island immigration^{[14]: 8 [15]: 484 [16]: 239 [17]: 108}

Year	Immigrant percentage	Immigrant population	Total population
1861	22.3%	18,011	80,857
1871	14.6%	13,750	94,021
1881	8.7%	9,494	108,891
1891	5.9%	6,398	109,078
1901	4.1%	4,253	103,259
1911	2.7%	2,574	93,728
1921	2.7%	2,365	88,815
1931	3.2%	2,787	88,038
1941	2.6%	2,439	95,047
1951	2.6%	2,571	98,429
1961	2.9%	2,992	104,629
1971	3.3%	3,705	111,640

The 2021 census reported that immigrants (individuals born outside Canada) comprise 11,765 persons or 7.8 percent of the total population of Prince Edward Island.^[18]

Immigrants in Prince Edward Island by country of birth

Country of birth	2021[19][18]		2016[20]		2011[21][22]		2006[23][24]		2001[25][26]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
China	1,675	14.2%	1,830	20.5%	1,490	21%	60	1.3%	90	2.2%
United Kingdom	1,385	11.8%	1,375	15.4%	1,260	17.8%	1,165	24.4%	1,050	25.4%
United States	1,175	10%	1,205	13.5%	1,330	18.8%	1,255	26.3%	1,310	31.6%
Philippines	1,010	8.6%	480	5.4%	50	0.7%	20	0.4%	25	0.6%
India	840	7.1%	225	2.5%	85	1.2%	55	1.2%	30	0.7%
Vietnam	525	4.5%	55	0.6%	70	1%	15	0.3%	15	0.4%
Netherlands	430	3.7%	470	5.3%	450	6.4%	495	10.4%	415	10%
Syria	400	3.4%	205	2.3%	50	0.7%	40	0.8%	10	0.2%
Germany	185	1.6%	255	2.9%	195	2.8%	225	4.7%	155	3.7%
Iran	185	1.6%	230	2.6%	305	4.3%	15	0.3%	15	0.4%
Total immigrants	11,765	7.8%	8,940	6.4%	7,085	5.2%	4,780	3.6%	4,140	3.1%
Total responses	150,480	97.5%	139,685	97.7%	137,375	98%	134,205	96.8%	133,385	98.6%
Total population	154,331	100%	142,907	100%	140,204	100%	138,581	100%	135,294	100%

Recent immigration

The 2021 Canadian census counted a total of 4,860 people who immigrated to Prince Edward Island between 2016 and 2021.^[18]

Recent immigrants to Prince Edward Island by country of birth (2016 to 2021)[18]
Country of birth	Population	% recent immigrants
China	1,170	24.1%
India	665	13.7%
Philippines	630	13%
Vietnam	475	9.8%
Syria	220	4.5%
United States	140	2.9%
United Kingdom	130	2.7%
Jamaica	105	2.2%
Nigeria	85	1.7%
Hong Kong	65	1.3%
Total	4,860	100%

Interprovincial migration

Net cumulative interprovincial migration per Province from 1997 to 2017, as a share of population of each Provinces

Main article: Interprovincial migration in Canada

Since 1971, Prince Edward Island mostly had years of positive interprovincial migration. However, in the 2010s, it turned to the negative. This interprovincial migration exceeded all immigration to the province in 2015.^[27]

Interprovincial migration in Prince Edward Island

	In-migrants	Out-migrants	Net migration
2008–2009	2,522	3,058	−536
2009–2010	2,709	2,649	60
2010–2011	2,494	2,704	−210
2011–2012	2,620	3,238	−618
2012–2013	2,294	3,195	−901
2013–2014	2,198	3,139	−941
2014–2015	2,367	3,049	−682
2015–2016	2,874	2,844	30
2016–2017	3,124	2,680	444
2017–2018	3,193	3,016	177
2018–2019	3,922	3,793	129

Source: Statistics Canada

See also

• Demographics of Canada
• Population of Canada by province and territory

Notes

1. Statistic includes all persons that did not make up part of a visible minority or an indigenous identity.