Demographics of British Columbia

British Columbia is a Canadian province with a population of about 5.7 million people. The province represents about 13.2% 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.

See also: Demographics of Canada

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

	Males		Females
Age group	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
0–4	111,015	2.22%	105,805	2.12%
5–9	125,810	2.52%	118,485	2.37%
10–14	132,425	2.65%	123,365	2.47%
15–19	131,245	2.62%	122,445	2.45%
20–24	151,505	3.03%	143,145	2.86%
25–29	170,500	3.41%	166,585	3.33%
30–34	178,925	3.58%	179,660	3.59%
35–39	175,175	3.5%	178,175	3.56%
40–44	156,480	3.13%	163,260	3.26%
45–49	149,520	2.99%	160,515	3.21%
50–54	158,540	3.17%	170,460	3.41%
55–59	172,520	3.45%	183,825	3.68%
60–64	170,210	3.40%	184,920	3.7%
65–69	152,705	3.05%	166,700	3.33%
70–74	130,370	2.61%	141,995	2.84%
75–79	86,060	1.72%	95,015	1.9%
80–84	55,285	1.11%	65,780	1.32%
85-89	32,315	0.65%	42,005	0.84%
90-94	13,715	0.27%	23,120	0.46%
95-99	2,865	0.06%	6,925	0.14%
100+	330	<0.01%	1,185	0.02%
Totals	2,457,515	49.14%	2,543,365	50.86%
Source: 2021 Census of Population[4]

Population history

Year	Population	Five year  % change	Ten year  % change	Rank among provinces
1851	55,000	n/a	n/a	n/a
1861	51,524	n/a	−6.3	n/a
1871	36,247	n/a	−29.7	7
1881	49,459	n/a	36.4	8
1891	98,173	n/a	98.5	8
1901	178,657	n/a	82.0	6
1911	392,480	n/a	119.7	6
1921	524,582	n/a	33.7	6
1931	694,263	n/a	32.3	6
1941	817,861	n/a	17.8	4
1951	1,165,210	n/a	42.5	3
1956	1,398,464	20.0	n/a	3
1961	1,629,082	16.5	39.8	3
1966	1,873,674	15.0	34.0	3
1971	2,184,620	16.6	34.1	3
1976	2,466,610	12.9	31.6	3
1981	2,744,467	11.3	25.6	3
1986	2,883,370	5.1	16.9	3
1991	3,282,061	13.8	19.6	3
1996	3,724,500	13.5	29.2	3
2001	3,907,738	4.9	19.1	3
2006	4,113,487	5.4	10.4	3
2011	4,400,057	7.0	12.6	3
2016	4,648,055	5.6	13.0	3
2021	5,000,879	7.6	13.7	3

Source: Statistics Canada^[5]

Ethnic origins

First-generation immigrants from the British Isles remain a strong component of local society despite the end of special immigration status for British subjects in the 1960s. Also present in large numbers relative to other Canadian cities (except Toronto) is a diverse background of European ethnicities, with many first- and second-generation immigrants, notably Germans, Ukrainians, Scandinavians, Yugoslavs and Italians. Third-generation Europeans are generally of mixed lineage, traditionally intermarrying with other ethnic groups more than in any other Canadian province.

In recent decades, the proportion of people with Chinese and Indian ethnicity has risen sharply, specifically in the Lower Mainland. This has led to an extremely diverse population compared to many other provinces, especially the neighbouring prairie provinces.

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%.

Ethnic groups in British Columbia (2006–2016)

Ethnic group	2016[6]		2006[7]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
English	1,203,540	26.39%	1,207,245	29.63%
Canadian	866,530	19%	720,200	17.67%
Scottish	860,775	18.88%	828,145	20.32%
Irish	675,135	14.80%	618,120	15.17%
German	603,265	13.23%	561,570	13.78%
Chinese	540,155	11.84%	432,435	10.60%
French	388,815	8.53%	361,215	8.86%
Indian	309,315	6.78%	232,370	5.70%
Ukrainian	229,205	5.03%	197,265	4.84%
Indigenous peoples of North America	220,245	4.83%	193,060	4.74%
Dutch (Netherlands)	213,670	4.69%	196,420	4.82%
Italian	166,095	3.64%	143,155	3.51%
Polish	149,635	3.28%	128,360	3.15%
Norwegian	138,430	3.04%	129,420	3.18%
Russian	131,060	2.87%	114,105	2.80%
Welsh	113,905	2.5%	104,275	2.56%
Swedish	110,030	2.41%	104,025	2.55%
Filipino	158,215	3.47%	94,255	2.3%
Métis	90,515	1.98%	62,570	1.5%
American (USA)	78,170	1.71%	66,765	1.6%
Spanish	64,470	1.41%	52,640	1.3%
Korean	63,300	1.39%	51,860	1.3%
Danish	58,205	1.28%	56,125	1.4%
Hungarian (Magyar)	56,535	1.24%	49,870	1.2%
Japanese	51,150	1.12%	41,585	1.0%
Austrian	48,510	1.06%	46,620	1.1%
Iranian	47,985	1.05%	29,265	0.7%
Portuguese	41,770	0.92%	34,660	0.9%
Vietnamese	41,435	0.91%	30,835	0.8%
Punjabi	38,725	0.85%	18,525	0.5%
Finnish	34,150	0.75%	29,875	0.7%
Swiss	31,390	0.69%	28,240	0.7%
Romanian	31,250	0.69%	25,670	0.6%
Icelandic	26,410	0.58%	22,110	0.5%
Greek	24,460	0.54%	21,770	0.5%
Croatian	23,845	0.52%	18,815	0.5%
Czech	23,375	0.51%	21,150	0.5%
Belgian	19,980	0.44%	17,510	0.4%
Jewish	17,580	0.39%	30,830	0.8%

Projections

Pan−ethnic origin projections (2031–2041)

	2031[8][9]		2036[8][9]		2041[8][9]
	Population	%	Population	%	Population	%
European[10]	3,145,000	51.46%	3,112,000	48.23%	3,060,000	45.37%
East Asian	977,000	15.99%	1,072,000	16.61%	1,160,000	17.2%
Chinese	789,000	12.91%	861,000	13.34%	927,000	13.75%
Korean	125,000	2.05%	143,000	2.22%	161,000	2.39%
Japanese	63,000	1.03%	68,000	1.05%	72,000	1.07%
South Asian	748,000	12.24%	860,000	13.33%	958,000	14.21%
Indigenous	399,000	6.53%	429,000	6.65%	456,000	6.76%
First Nations	246,000	4.03%	262,000	4.06%	278,000	4.12%
Metis	142,000	2.32%	155,000	2.4%	166,000	2.46%
Inuit	2,000	0.03%	2,000	0.03%	3,000	0.04%
Other Indigenous	9,000	0.15%	10,000	0.15%	10,000	0.15%
Southeast Asian	366,000	5.99%	421,000	6.52%	475,000	7.04%
Filipino	277,000	4.53%	323,000	5.01%	369,000	5.47%
Other Southeast Asian	89,000	1.46%	98,000	1.52%	106,000	1.57%
Middle Eastern	169,000	2.77%	199,000	3.08%	227,000	3.37%
Arab	55,000	0.9%	65,000	1.01%	74,000	1.1%
West Asian	114,000	1.87%	134,000	2.08%	153,000	2.27%
Latin American	108,000	1.77%	124,000	1.92%	139,000	2.06%
African	101,000	1.65%	118,000	1.83%	134,000	1.99%
Other	99,000	1.62%	117,000	1.81%	135,000	2%
Projected British Columbia population	6,111,000	100%	6,453,000	100%	6,744,000	100%

Indo-Canadians

Main article: Indo-Canadians in British Columbia

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]

1. European Canadian (59.7%)
2. Visible minority (34.4%)
3. Indigenous (5.9%)

Visible minority and Indigenous population (2021 Canadian census)[12]
Population group		Population	%
European[a]		2,936,245	59.7%
Visible minority group	South Asian	473,965	9.6%
	Chinese	550,590	11.2%
	Black	61,760	1.3%
	Filipino	174,280	3.5%
	Arab	28,010	0.6%
	Latin American	65,970	1.3%
	Southeast Asian	71,785	1.5%
	West Asian	69,270	1.4%
	Korean	72,815	1.5%
	Japanese	44,120	0.9%
	Visible minority, n.i.e.	18,080	0.4%
	Multiple visible minorities	58,840	1.2%
Total visible minority population		1,689,490	34.4%
Indigenous group	First Nations (North American Indian)	180,085	3.7%
	Métis	97,860	2.0%
	Inuk (Inuit)	1,720	0.0%
	Multiple Indigenous responses	5,980	0.1%
	Indigenous responses n.i.e.	4,560	0.1%
Total Indigenous population		290,210	5.9%
Total population		4,915,945	100.0%

Languages

Knowledge of languages

Knowledge of official languages of Canada in British Columbia (2016)
Language			Percent
English only			89.77%
French only			0.04%
English and French			6.85%
Neither English nor French			3.35%

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.

Knowledge of languages in British Columbia

Language	2021[13]		2016
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
English	4,753,280	96.69%	4,560,235	96.60%
French	327,350	6.66%	314,225	6.89%
Punjabi	315,000	6.41%	244,485	5.36%
Mandarin	312,625	6.36%	265,635	5.83%
Cantonese	246,045	5.01%	234,445	5.14%
Spanish	143,900	2.93%	115,115	2.52%
Hindi	134,950	2.75%	81,330	1.78%
Tagalog	133,780	2.72%	113,265	2.48%
German	84,325	1.72%	95,005	2.08%
Korean	69,935	1.42%	57,490	1.26%
Iranian Persian[b]	61,525	1.25%	49,835	1.09%

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.

Language	2016 Census	%	2006 Census	%
English	3,170,110	70.5%	2,875,770	71.5%
Punjabi	198,805	4.4%	158,750	3.9%
Cantonese	193,530	4.3%	131,245	3.3%
Mandarin	186,325	4.1%	72,160	1.8%
Tagalog (Filipino)	78,770	1.8%	50,425	1.3%
German	66,885	1.5%	86,690	2.2%
French	55,325	1.2%	54,745	1.4%
Korean	52,160	1.2%	46,500	1.2%
Spanish	47,010	1.0%	34,075	0.9%
Persian	43,470	1.0%	28,150	0.7%
Vietnamese	27,150	0.6%	24,560	0.7%
Hindi	26,720	0.6%	23,240	0.6%
Russian	25,955	0.6%	19,320	0.5%
Italian	22,680	0.5%	27,020	0.7%
Japanese	21,350	0.5%	20,040	0.5%
Dutch	21,020	0.5%	26,355	0.7%
Arabic	17,480	0.4%	8,440	0.2%
Portuguese	17,450	0.4%	14,385	0.4%
Polish	16,910	0.4%	17,565	0.4%
Chinese, n.o.s.	10,050	0.2%	132,755	3.2%
Urdu	9,885	0.2%	7,025	0.2%
Hungarian	9,025	0.2%	10,670	0.3%
Romanian	8,730	0.2%	6,335	0.2%
Ukrainian	8,630	0.2%	12,285	0.3%
Croatian	7,475	0.2%	8,505	0.2%
Serbian	7,045	0.2%	6,180	0.2%
Gujarati	6,895	0.2%	6,565	0.2%
Greek	6,115	0.1%	6,620	0.2%
Czech	5,920	0.1%	6,000	0.1%
Ilocano	5,240	0.1%	3,100	0.1%
Danish	4,665	0.1%	6,720	0.2%
Malay	3,895	0.1%	3,100	0.1%
Finnish	3,760	0.1%	4,770	0.1%
Tamil	3,615	0.1%	3,200	0.1%
Slovak	3,400	0.1%	3,490	0.1%
Turkish	3,145	0.1%	2,255	0.1%
Swedish	2,520	0.1%	2,875	0.1%
Athabaskan languages	2,310	0.1%	3,500	0.1%
Salish languages	2,270	0.1%	3,190	0.1%
Norwegian	2,005	0.1%	3,275	0.1%
Source: Statistics Canada 2006 & 2016 Census[14][15]

Religion

Religion in British Columbia (2021)^[16]

1. Irreligious (52.2%)
2. Christian (34.4%)
3. Sikh (5.9%)
4. Muslim (2.6%)
5. Buddhist (1.7%)
6. Hindu (1.7%)
7. Jewish (0.5%)
8. Other (1%)

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%).

Religious groups in British Columbia (1981–2021)

Religious group	2021[17]		2011[18]		2001[19]		1991[20]		1981[21]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Irreligion	2,559,250	52.06%	1,908,285	44.13%	1,388,300	35.88%	987,990	30.42%	568,170	20.94%
Christianity	1,684,870	34.27%	1,930,415	44.64%	2,124,605	54.92%	2,073,095	63.84%	2,048,000	75.47%
Sikhism	290,870	5.92%	201,110	4.65%	135,310	3.5%	74,545	2.3%	40,940	1.51%
Islam	125,915	2.56%	79,310	1.83%	56,220	1.45%	24,925	0.77%	12,715	0.47%
Buddhism	83,860	1.71%	90,620	2.1%	85,540	2.21%	36,430	1.12%	11,190	0.41%
Hinduism	81,320	1.65%	45,795	1.06%	31,495	0.81%	18,140	0.56%	8,980	0.33%
Judaism	26,850	0.55%	23,130	0.53%	21,230	0.55%	16,565	0.51%	14,685	0.54%
Indigenous spirituality	11,570	0.24%	10,295	0.24%	—	—	—	—	—	—
Other	51,440	1.05%	35,500	0.82%	26,180	0.68%	15,825	0.49%	5,940	0.22%
Total responses	4,915,945	98.3%	4,324,455	98.28%	3,868,875	99.01%	3,247,505	98.95%	2,713,615	98.88%
Total population	5,000,879	100%	4,400,057	100%	3,907,738	100%	3,282,061	100%	2,744,467	100%

Migration

Immigration

British Columbia immigration^{[22]: 239 [23]: 108}

Year	Immigrant percentage	Immigrant population	Total population
1881	27.8%	13,751	49,459
1891	42%	41,210	98,173
1901	44.2%	79,045	178,657
1911	59.4%	233,158	392,480
1921	49.7%	260,536	524,582
1931	46%	319,529	694,263
1941	37.3%	304,729	817,861
1951	29.1%	339,197	1,165,210
1961	26%	423,132	1,629,082
1971	22.7%	496,660	2,184,620

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.^[4]

Immigrants in British Columbia by country of birth

Country of birth	2021[24][4]		2016[25]		2011[26][27]		2006[28][29]		2001[30][31]		1921[32]: 314–315
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
China	217,975	15.3%	199,990	15.5%	167,530	14.1%	145,315	13%	107,450	10.6%	21,523	8.3%
India	197,115	13.8%	162,645	12.6%	143,340	12%	119,265	10.7%	92,430	9.2%	1,841	0.7%
Philippines	131,645	9.2%	112,100	8.7%	96,560	8.1%	69,200	6.2%	51,130	5.1%	—	—
United Kingdom	116,530	8.2%	123,810	9.6%	130,730	11%	137,460	12.3%	141,370	14%	142,968	54.9%
Hong Kong	78,855	5.5%	74,210	5.7%	74,635	6.3%	78,060	7%	88,720	8.8%	—	—
United States	59,920	4.2%	57,780	4.5%	57,975	4.9%	56,560	5.1%	54,410	5.4%	34,926	13.4%
South Korea	47,520	3.3%	41,515	3.2%	37,730	3.2%	34,395	3.1%	22,635	2.2%	—	—
Iran	45,975	3.2%	37,160	2.9%	30,050	2.5%	22,755	2%	18,450	1.8%	—	—
Taiwan	40,445	2.8%	38,900	3%	42,045	3.5%	42,195	3.8%	44,940	4.5%	—	—
Vietnam	32,390	2.3%	27,875	2.2%	25,845	2.2%	26,375	2.4%	25,675	2.5%	—	—
Germany	30,910	2.2%	35,050	2.7%	35,100	2.9%	40,695	3.6%	41,260	4.1%	2,952[c]	1.1%
Netherlands	16,070	1.1%	18,225	1.4%	20,645	1.7%	23,130	2.1%	24,055	2.4%	515	0.2%
South Africa	15,380	1.1%	13,380	1%	12,815	1.1%	12,090	1.1%	11,015	1.1%	573	0.2%
Japan	14,940	1%	13,360	1%	12,355	1%	10,945	1%	9,090	0.9%	10,934	4.2%
Poland	14,305	1%	15,115	1.2%	14,620	1.2%	16,165	1.4%	17,090	1.7%	874	0.3%
Italy	13,410	0.9%	15,405	1.2%	15,980	1.3%	19,215	1.7%	20,200	2%	4,847	1.9%
Mexico	13,385	0.9%	10,375	0.8%	8,775	0.7%	6,385	0.6%	5,135	0.5%	—	—
Pakistan	13,345	0.9%	10,665	0.8%	8,570	0.7%	8,195	0.7%	5,475	0.5%	—	—
Russia	12,170	0.9%	10,915	0.8%	8,795	0.7%	8,375	0.7%	6,285	0.6%	4,354	1.7%
Ukraine	9,450	0.7%	7,505	0.6%	7,060	0.6%	6,565	0.6%	5,605	0.6%	6,157[d]	2.4%
Romania	9,370	0.7%	9,000	0.7%	8,005	0.7%	7,360	0.7%	6,135	0.6%	306	0.1%
Malaysia	8,845	0.6%	8,435	0.7%	8,310	0.7%	8,290	0.7%	7,695	0.8%	—	—
Brazil	8,765	0.6%	3,800	0.3%	2,875	0.2%	2,055	0.2%	1,640	0.2%	—	—
Portugal	7,785	0.5%	8,215	0.6%	8,135	0.7%	9,365	0.8%	9,980	1%	—	—
Ireland	7,360	0.5%	5,885	0.5%	5,175	0.4%	4,195	0.4%	4,715	0.5%	10,823	4.2%
France	7,025	0.5%	5,705	0.4%	5,340	0.4%	4,760	0.4%	4,445	0.4%	1,389	0.5%
Iraq	7,000	0.5%	5,550	0.4%	3,430	0.3%	2,230	0.2%	1,540	0.2%	—	—
Syria	6,540	0.5%	2,845	0.2%	725	0.1%	585	0.1%	385	0%	107[e]	0%
Afghanistan	6,250	0.4%	5,040	0.4%	3,520	0.3%	3,615	0.3%	2,275	0.2%	—	—
El Salvador	5,775	0.4%	5,425	0.4%	5,635	0.5%	4,990	0.4%	5,100	0.5%	—	—
Total immigrants	1,425,715	29%	1,292,675	28.3%	1,191,875	27.6%	1,119,215	27.5%	1,009,815	26.1%	260,536	49.7%
Total responses	4,915,945	98.3%	4,560,240	98.1%	4,324,455	98.3%	4,074,385	99%	3,868,875	99%	524,582	100%
Total population	5,000,879	100%	4,648,055	100%	4,400,057	100%	4,113,487	100%	3,907,738	100%	524,582	100%

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.^[4]

Recent immigrants to British Columbia by country of birth (2016 to 2021)[4]
Country of birth	Population	% recent immigrants
India	39,390	20%
China	31,445	15.9%
Philippines	21,225	10.8%
United States	8,760	4.4%
United Kingdom	7,670	3.9%
South Korea	7,225	3.7%
Iran	5,850	3%
Brazil	5,125	2.6%
Syria	4,955	2.5%
Australia	3,280	1.7%
Total	197,420	100%

Interprovincial migration

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

Main article: Interprovincial migration in Canada

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.^[33]

Interprovincial migration in British Columbia

	In-migrants	Out-migrants	Net migration
2009–2010	49,469	40,741	8,728
2010–2011	47,854	44,433	3,421
2011–2012	48,593	51,304	−2,711
2012–2013	43,830	45,698	−1,868
2013–2014	52,281	42,806	9,475
2014–2015	61,026	40,647	20,379
2015–2016	63,788	37,215	26,573
2016–2017	57,210	38,376	18,834
2017–2018	55,300	41,311	13,989
2018–2019	55,612	49,501	6,111
2019–2020	71,180	61,122	10,058

Source: Statistics Canada^[34]

See also

BC

AB

SK

MB

ON

QC

NB

PE

NS

NL

YT

NT

NU

Demographics of Canada's provinces and territories

• Demographics of Canada
• Population of Canada by province and territory
• Demographics of Vancouver
• Demographics of Abbotsford, British Columbia
• 2013 Quick Wins ethnic outreach scandal

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