Aging Vignette No. 1 A Quick Portrait of Canadian Seniors

How Many Seniors? Women Versus Men? How Old?

• In 1998, there were an estimated 3.7 million Canadians aged 65+
  By 2041, it is expected there will be almost 10 million Canadian seniors

• Seniors as a percentage of the total population in Canada:
• 1921 - 4.8%
• 1971 - 8.0%
• 1998 - 12.3%
• 2041 - 22.6%

• In 1996, there were a total of 337,000 Canadians aged 85+
• 228,000 were aged 85-90
• 85,000 were aged 90-94
• 21,000 were aged 95-99
• 3,000 were aged 100+

• Between 1991 and 1996,
• the number of Canadians aged 65-84 rose 10.5%
• the number of Canadians aged 85+ rose 19.6%

• In 1996, one in 10 seniors was aged 85+, compared with one in 20 in 1961

• In 1998, women made up
• 57% of all seniors aged 65+
• 70% of all seniors aged 85+

• In 1998, there was
• 1.4 women for every man in the 65+ age group
• 2.3 women for every man in the 85+ age group

Source:
Statistics Canada. 1996 Census of Canada; and Demography Division.

© National Advisory Council on Aging, 1999

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