Age and sex

May 29, 2012 - Laurent Martel, Demography Expert, presents an overview of the age and sex data, 2011 Census, at the national level.

Length: 4:05 minutes

Transcript

May 29, 2012

Age and sex data
2011 Census

Laurent Martel
Demography Expert
Statistics Canada

The age and sex data from the 2011 Census were released today. These data show large-scale changes in the age distribution of Canada's population, mostly as a result of population aging. Let me give you a quick overview!

First, let's split the Canadian population in three broad age groups:

  • working-age Canadians, those aged 15 to 64,
  • children aged 14 and under, and finally
  • seniors, 65 and over.

Working-age Canadians make up the largest age group in the country, at close to 69% of the population. In fact, Canada has one of the highest proportions of working-age people of the G8 countries.

Children make up 17% of the population.

And seniors represent 15%, up slightly from 2006. However, the proportion of seniors in Canada is still among the lowest in the G8.

Children (0-14)

If you're 14 or under, or you have children in this age group, you will be interested to know that it has grown very slightly since 2006, to reach nearly six million children in Canada.

{Visual}: A bar graph grows while a counter advances from the year 2006 to the year 2011. +0.5% appears on top of the bar to indicate the growth percentage and 6 million appears beside it to show population.

However, the number of very young children, those aged four and under, has jumped 11% since 2006.

{Visual}: A bar graph demonstrates the growth.

This is the largest increase since the end of the baby boom period, which was between 1946 and 1965.

Working-age Canadians (15-64)

If you are between 15 and 64 years old, your age group has grown by 6% since 2006, to reach nearly 23 million.

{Visual}: A bar graph grows while a counter advances from the year 2006 to the year 2011. +6% appears on top of the bar to indicate the growth percentage and 23 million appears beside it to show population.

In this working-age category, the 60 to 64 year old group has increased 29%, making this the fastest growing group in Canada since 2006.

{Visual}: A bar graph demonstrates the growth.

This shows that population aging will accelerate in Canada in the coming years, as the large baby boom generation reaches 65 years old. Currently, close to three in ten Canadians are baby-boomers and they are aged between 46 and 65.

Seniors (65+)

If you are 65 or older, you are part of an age category that has increased by 14% since 2006, to reach nearly five million seniors in Canada.

{Visual}: A bar graph grows while a counter advances from the year 2006 to the year 2011. +14% appears on top of the bar to indicate the growth percentage and five million appears beside it to show population.

Among seniors, the centenarians - people aged 100 and over, are the fastest growing group. In fact, they are the second fastest growing group in the country after those aged between 60 and 64.

{Visual}: A bar graph demonstrates the growth.

There are close to six thousand centenarians in Canada, which is an increase of 26% since 2006.

{Visual}: A line graph appears, showing the number of centenarians in 2011 as 5,825.

Population projections indicate that the number of centenarians will likely continue to rise in the coming years.

{Visual}: The line on the line graph extends, showing that projections estimate the number of centenarians at approximately 18,000 in the year 2031 and approximately 80,000 in the year 2061.

Among centenarians, there are currently nearly five women for every man, mostly because women live on average longer than men.

Thanks for watching this very quick overview. You're welcome to visit the Statistics Canada website for a much more in-depth look at these data, and for more information on your municipality, province or territory.

If you have any questions, just ask me! I'll be taking part in a live chat session on Monday, June 4th, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time. Visit the website and click this icon to register.