Demographics of Alberta facts for kids

Alberta's population growth, 1901 to 2006

Alberta has experienced a relatively high rate of growth in recent years, due in large part to its economy. Between 2003 and 2004, the province saw high birthrates (on par with some larger provinces such as British Columbia), relatively high immigration, and a high rate of interprovincial migration when compared to other provinces. Approximately 81% of the population live in urban areas and only about 19% live in rural areas. The Calgary–Edmonton Corridor is the most urbanized area in Alberta and is one of Canada's four most urban regions. Many of Alberta's cities and towns have also experienced high rates of growth in recent history. From a population of 73,022 in 1901, Alberta has grown to 3,645,257 in 2011 and in the process has gone from less than 1.5% of Canada's population to 10.9%.

Population history

Year	Population	Five Year % change	Ten Year % change	Percentage of Canadian Pop.	Rank Among Provinces
1901	73,022	n/a	n/a	1.4	9
1911	374,295	n/a	412.6	5.2	7
1921	588,454	n/a	57.2	6.7	5
1931	731,605	n/a	24.3	7.0	4
1941	796,169	n/a	8.8	6.9	5
1951	939,501	n/a	18.0	6.7	4
1956	1,123,116	19.5	n/a	n/a	4
1961	1,331,944	18.6	41.8	7.3	4
1966	1,463,203	9.9	30.3	n/a	4
1971	1,627,875	11.3	22.2	7.5	4
1976	1,838,035	12.9	25.6	n/a	4
1981	2,237,724	21.7	37.5	9.2	4
1986	2,365,830	5.7	28.7	9.3	4
1991	2,545,553	7.6	13.8	9.3	4
1996	2,696,826	5.9	14.0	9.3	4
2001	2,974,807	10.3	16.9	9.9	4
2006	3,290,350	10.6	22.0	10.4	4
2011	3,645,257	10.8	22.5	10.9	4

Population geography

Alberta's census divisions by population

Census divisions

Main page: List of census divisions of Alberta

Census metropolitan areas

As of the 2011 census, Alberta had two census metropolitan areas (CMAs) recognized by Statistics Canada. The following is a list of the recent population history of the Calgary and Edmonton CMAs.

CMA name	2011	2006	2001	1996	Census division
Calgary	1,214,839	1,079,310	951,395	821,628	Division No. 6
Edmonton	1,159,869	1,034,945	937,845	862,597	Division No. 11

CMA notes:

Census agglomerations

Main page: List of census agglomerations in Alberta

Census subdivisions

Population growth of Alberta's census subdivisions between 2006 and 2011 censuses

As of the 2006 census, Alberta had 453 census subdivisions (municipalities and municipal equivalents) recognized by Statistics Canada. The following is a list of those census subdivisions with a population of 10,000 or greater.

Name	Municipal status	2011	2006	2001	1996	Notes
Calgary	City	1,096,833	988,193	878,866	768,082
Edmonton	City	812,201	730,372	666,104	616,306
Strathcona County	Specialized municipality	92,490	82,511	71,986	64,176	Located within the Edmonton CMA
Red Deer	City	90,564	82,772	67,707	60,075
Lethbridge	City	83,517	74,637	67,374	63,053
Wood Buffalo	Specialized municipality	65,565	51,496	41,466	35,213
St. Albert	City	61,466	57,719	53,081	46,888	Located within the Edmonton CMA
Medicine Hat	City	60,005	56,997	51,249	46,783
Grande Prairie	City	55,032	47,076	36,983	31,140
Airdrie	City	42,564	28,927	20,382	15,946	Located within the Calgary CMA
Rocky View County	Municipal district	36,461	34,171	30,688	23,326	Located within the Calgary CMA
Parkland County	Municipal district	30,568	29,265	27,252	24,769	Located within the Edmonton CMA
Spruce Grove	City	26,171	19,496	15,983	14,271	Located within the Edmonton CMA
Okotoks	Town	24,511	17,145	11,664	8,510
Leduc	City	24,279	16,967	15,032	14,305	Located within the Edmonton CMA
Foothills No. 31	Municipal district	21,258	19,736	16,764	13,714
County of Grande Prairie No. 1	Municipal district	20,347	17,970	15,638	13,750
Sturgeon County	Municipal district	19,578	18,621	18,067	15,945	Located within the Edmonton CMA
Fort Saskatchewan	City	19,051	14,957	13,121	12,408	Located within the Edmonton CMA
Red Deer County	Municipal district	18,351	19,108	18,639	17,126
Lloydminster	City	18,032	15,910	13,148	11,317	Population totals do not include the part of the city located within Saskatchewan
Cochrane	Town	17,580	13,780	11,798	7,424	Located within Calgary CMA
Camrose	City	17,286	15,620	14,854	13,728
Stony Plain	Town	15,051	12,363	9,589	8,274	Located within the Edmonton CMA
Chestermere	Town	14,824	9,564	3,414	1,911
Beaumont	Town	13,284	8,961	7,006	5,810	Located within the Edmonton CMA
Cold Lake	City	13,839	11,991	11,520	4,089
Brooks	City	13,676	12,498	11,604	10,093
Leduc County	Municipal district	13,541	12,730	12,528	12,361	Located within the Edmonton CMA
High River	Town	12,920	10,716	9,345	7,359
Wetaskiwin	City	12,525	11,673	11,154	10,959
Mountain View County	Municipal district	12,359	12,391	12,134	11,277
Sylvan Lake	Town	12,327	10,208	7,493	5,178
Strathmore	Town	12,305	10,225	7,621	5,282
Canmore	Town	12,288	12,039	10,792	8,354
Clearwater County	Municipal district	12,278	11,826	11,505	10,915
Lacombe	City	11,707	10,742	9,384	8,018
Yellowhead County	Municipal district	11,469	10,045	9,881	9,352
Bonnyville No. 87	Municipal district	11,191	10,194	9,473	17,352
Mackenzie County	Specialized municipality	10,927	10,002	8,829	7,980
County of Wetaskiwin No. 10	Municipal district	10,866	10,535	10,695	10,467
Lacombe County	Municipal district	10,312	10,451	10,159	10,081
Lethbridge County	Municipal district	10,061	10,302	9,930	9,290

Population centres

Main page: List of population centres in Alberta

Designated places

Main page: List of designated places in Alberta

Ethnic origins

The ethnicities most commonly reported in the 2011 Census are shown in the table below. The percentages add up to more than 100% because of dual responses (e.g. "Irish-Canadian" generates an entry in both the category "Irish" and the category "Canadian").

Ethnic Group	Total	Percentage
English	886,760	24.9%
Canadian	776,695	21.8%
German	683,835	19.2%
Scottish	670,950	18.8%
Irish	565,120	15.8%
French	396,230	11.1%
Ukrainian	345,405	9.7%
Dutch (Netherlands)	182,265	5.1%
First Nations	177,140	5.0%
Polish	174,380	4.8%
Chinese	155,965	4.4%
Norwegian	152,645	4.3%
Indian (South Asian)	125,105	3.5%
Filipino	113,210	3.2%
Russian	99,775	2.8%
Swedish	96,890	2.7%
Métis	94,615	2.7%
Italian	88,710	2.5%
British n.i.e.	79,300	2.2%
Welsh	75,870	2.1%

Other Ethnic Groups

In addition to the groups listed above, the next most commonly reported (counting both single and multiple responses) were:

71,430 American (USA) (2.0%);
59,060 Danish (1.7%);
52,020 Hungarian (Magyar) (1.5%);
39,320 Spanish (1.1%);
36,670 Austrian (1.0%);
32,510 Vietnamese (0.9%);
29,425 Romanian (0.8%);
25,960 Lebanese (0.7%);
23,020 Swiss (0.6%);
20,390 Belgian (0.6%);
18,910 Czech (0.5%);
18,775 Portuguese (0.5%);
17,825 Pakistani (0.5%);
17,075 Icelandic (0.5%);
16,940 Other African origins, n.i.e. (0.5%);
16,280 Finnish (0.5%);
15,865 Korean (0.4%);
15,815 Jewish (0.4%);
15,645 Japanese (0.4%);
14,465 Mexican (0.4%)

Visible minorities and Aboriginals

Visible minority and Aboriginal population (Canada 2011 Census)
Population group		Population	% of total population
White		2,690,955	75.4%
Visible minority group Source:	South Asian	156,665	4.4%
	Chinese	133,390	3.7%
	Black	74,435	2.1%
	Filipino	106,035	3%
	Latin American	41,305	1.2%
	Arab	34,920	1%
	Southeast Asian	41,025	1.1%
	West Asian	16,030	0.4%
	Korean	15,000	0.4%
	Japanese	12,415	0.3%
	Visible minority, n.i.e.	6,270	0.2%
	Multiple visible minority	18,840	0.5%
Total visible minority population		656,325	18.4%
Aboriginal group Source:	First Nations	116,670	3.3%
	Métis	96,870	2.7%
	Inuit	1,985	0.1%
	Aboriginal, n.i.e.	3,300	0.1%
	Multiple Aboriginal identity	1,870	0.1%
Total Aboriginal population		220,695	6.2%
Total population		3,567,975	100%

Languages

Of the 3,547,680 singular responses to the 2011 census question concerning mother tongue, the languages most commonly reported were:

		2011	%	2006	%	2001	%
1.	English	2,780,200	78.37%	2,576,670	79.99%	2,379,515	81.84%
2.	Chinese	105,470	2.97%	97,275	3.02%	78,205	2.69%
	Cantonese	34,985	0.99%	32,485	1.01%	26,255	0.90%
	Mandarin	19,325	0.54%	12,135	0.38%	5,580	0.19%
	Hakka	325	0.01%	425	0.01%	570	0.02%
	Fukien	445	0.01%	385	0.01%	N	N
	Taiwanese	340	0.01%	330	0.01%	N	N
3.	German	80,905	2.28%	84,505	2.62%	78,040	2.68%
4.	French	68,545	1.93%	61,225	1.90%	58,645	2.02%
5.	Tagalog (Filipino/Pilipino)	60,085	1.69%	29,740	0.92%	11,705	0.40%
6.	Panjabi (Punjabi)	49,940	1.41%	36,320	1.13%	22,535	0.78%
7.	Spanish	44,020	1.24%	29,125	0.90%	19,820	0.68%
8.	Arabic	28,000	0.79%	20,495	0.64%	15,390	0.53%
9.	Ukrainian	24,575	0.69%	29,455	0.91%	33,970	1.17%
10.	Selected Aboriginal languages	22,005	0.62%	20,890	0.65%	18,470	0.64%
	Cree	16,745	0.47%	17,215	0.53%	15,105	0.52%
	Blackfoot	3,035	0.09%	3,015	0.09%	2,630	0.09%
	Dene	1,680	0.05%	1,585	0.05%	1,495	0.05%
	Ojibway	455	0.01%	615	0.02%	645	0.02%
11.	Vietnamese	21,195	0.60%	19,350	0.60%	16,680	0.57%
12.	Urdu	19,900	0.56%	11,275	0.35%	4,910	0.17%
13.	Polish	19,890	0.56%	21,990	0.68%	20,635	0.71%
14.	Dutch	17,950	0.51%	19,980	0.62%	19,575	0.67%
15.	Italian	11,960	0.34%	13,095	0.41%	13,935	0.48%
16.	Korean	13,885	0.39%	10,845	0.33%	6,330	0.22%
17.	Hindi	12,290	0.35%	8,985	0.28%	6,315	0.22%
18.	Persian	10,655	0.30%	7,700	0.24%	3,700	0.13%
19.	Serbo-Croatian (all)	10,195	0.29%	10,235	0.32%	9,500	0.33%
	Croatian	3,960	0.11%	4,150	0.13%	4,195	0.14%
	Serbian	3,560	0.10%	3,090	0.10%	2,125	0.07%
	Bosnian	1,745	0.05%	1,745	0.05%	N	N
	Serbo-Croatian	930	0.03%	1,250	0.04%	3,180	0.11%
20.	Gujarati	8,675	0.24%	6,280	0.19%	4,910	0.17%
21.	Portuguese	7,380	0.21%	7,205	0.22%	6,110	0.21%
22.	Hungarian	6,700	0.19%	6,770	0.21%	6,985	0.24%
23.	Romanian	6,550	0.18%	4,370	0.14%	2,890	0.10%
24.	Somali	5,515	0.16%	3,130	0.10%	810	0.03%
25.	Amharic	5,110	0.14%	2,785	0.09%	1,100	0.04%
26.	Bengali	5.030	0.14%	2,710	0.08%	1,190	0.04%
27.	Scandinavian languages	4,935	0.14%	6,045	0.19%	6,795	0.23%
	Danish	2,805	0.08%	3,510	0.11%	3,615	0.12%
	Norwegian	1,180	0.03%	1,245	0.04%	1,670	0.06%
	Swedish	950	0.03%	1,145	0.04%	1,345	0.05%
28.	Japanese	4,560	0.13%	4,555	0.14%	3,625	0.12%
29.	African languages n.i.e.	3,380	0.10%	2,525	0.08%	930	0.03%
30.	Bisayan languages	3,255	0.09%	1,370	0.04%	N	N
31.	Ilocano	3,010	0.08%	1,885	0.06%	N	N
32.	Greek	2,965	0.08%	3,305	0.10%	2,765	0.10%
33.	Czech	2,880	0.08%	3,100	0.08%	3,520	0.12%
34.	Malayalam	2,760	0.08%	1,550	0.05%	1,055	0.04%
35.	Tamil	2,645	0.07%	1,385	0.04%	1,110	0.04%
36.	Sindhi	2,560	0.07%	2,000	0.06%	1,990	0.07%
37.	Turkish	2,460	0.07%	1,605	0.05%	810	0.03%
38.	Afrikaans	2,420	0.07%	N	N	N	N
39.	Tigrigna	2,340	0.07%	1,170	0.04%	800	0.03%
40.	Slovak	2,145	0.06%	2,430	0.08%	1,605	0.06%
41	Niger-Congo languages, n.i.e.	2,075	0.06%	N	N	N	N
42	Sinhalese	1,940	0.05%	835	0.03%	N	N
43.	Pashto	1,850	0.05%	1,175	0.04%	275	0.01%
44.	Khmer (Cambodian)	1,745	0.05%	1,740	0.05%	1,450	0.05%
45.	Albanian	1,685	0.05%	N	N	N	N
46.	Nepali	1,605	0.05%	N	N	N	N
47.	Swahili	1,455	0.04%	850	0.03%	380	0.01%
48.	Oromo language	1,405	0.04%	N	N	N	N
49.	Thai	1,310	0.04%	N	N	85	0.003%
50.	Bulgarian	1,280	0.04%	1,020	0.03%	400	0.01%

Note: "n.i.e.": not included elsewhere

Other Languages

In addition to the table above, other mother tongues include:

1,265 Bantu languages, n.i.e.;
1,230 Kurdish;
1,180 Creoles;
1,100 Akan (Twi);
1,070 Indo-Iranian languages, n.i.e.;
1,035 Lao;
895 Finnish;
850 Marathi;
780 Hebrew;
745 Slovenian;
680 Semitic languages, n.i.e.;
440 Rwanda (Kinyarwanda);
390 Armenian;
380 Lithuanian;

Mother tongues of more than 355 persons (0.01%) are listed.

In addition to the single-language responses detailed above, about 62,505 people reported having more than one mother tongue. There were 49,970 responses of both English and a non-official language; 2,945 of both French and a non-official language; 8,410 of both English and French; and 1,185 of English, French and a non-official language.

Migration

Immigration

The 2011 Canadian census counted a total of 644,115 immigrants living in Alberta, 257,230 of whom arrived after 2001.
The most common countries of birth for immigrants living in Alberta were:

Rank	Place of Origin	Total
1.	Philippines	69,575
2.	India	59,020
3.	United Kingdom	58,245
4.	China	49,595
5.	United States	31,050
6.	Vietnam	26,020
7.	Germany	20,085
8.	Pakistan	19,110
9.	Hong Kong	17,300
10.	Poland	16,335
11.	Netherlands	15,290
12.	Mexico	10,755
13.	South Korea	9,575
14.	Lebanon	8,390
15.	Italy	8,050
16.	Colombia	6,860
17.	Ukraine	6,430
18.	Ethiopia	6,375
19.	Romania	6,235
20.	South Africa	6,010

Other Places of Origin

In addition to the countries listed in the table above, there were also about:

5,900 from Russia;
5,595 from Iran;
5,575 from Nigeria;
5,535 from El Salvador;
4,345 from Afghanistan;
4,340 from Jamaica;
4,305 from Chile;
4,140 from Fiji;
4,005 from Kenya;
3,825 from Iraq;
3,720 from Bosnia and Herzegovina;
3,680 from Bangladesh;
3,620 from Hungary;
3,465 from Portugal;
3,295 from Sri Lanka;
3,120 from Egypt;
2,960 from Taiwan;
2,950 from Trinidad and Tobago;
2,935 from Japan;
2,795 from Ireland;
2,390 from France;
2,330 from Guyana;
1,865 from Serbia;

{Countries of birth for more than 1,784 persons (0.05%) are shown.}

Internal migration

A total of 469,095 people moved to Alberta from other parts of Canada between 1996 and 2006 while 261,500 people moved in the opposite direction. These movements resulted in a net influx of 51,235 people from British Columbia, 42,180 people from Saskatchewan, 31,425 people from Ontario, 23,875 people from Manitoba, 18,820 people from Newfoundland and Labrador, 11,925 people from Nova Scotia, 11,720 people from Quebec, and 8,410 people from New Brunswick. During this period there was a net influx of 2,710 francophones from Quebec, 1,545 francophones from Ontario, 1,355 francophones from New Brunswick, 775 francophones from Saskatchewan, 575 francophones from Manitoba, 500 francophones from British Columbia, 340 francophones from Nova Scotia, and 5,585 anglophones from Quebec. (All net inter-provincial movements of more than 5,000 persons and net official language minority movements of more than 100 persons are given.)

Religion

Over 60 percent of Albertans identify as Christian, while almost 32 percent of residents identify with no religion. The largest denominations are the Roman Catholic, United, Anglican, Lutheran, and Baptist Churches.

Almost 2 percent of Albertans are Mormons descended from pioneers who emigrated from Utah around the turn of the 20th century; there are three temples in the province. Alberta also has large numbers of Pentecostal, Presbyterians, and evangelical Christians.

There are significant numbers of Mennonites and Hutterites, which are communal Anabaptist sects. There are also many Jehovah's Witnesses and Reformed Christians, as well a significant population of Seventh-day Adventists in and around Lacombe where the Canadian University College is located.

Alberta is also home to several Eastern Rite Churches as part of the legacy of Eastern European immigrants, including the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Diocese of Edmonton and Western Canada. There are 500 Doukhobors living in their few communities across Southern Alberta.

Many people of the Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim faiths also make Alberta their home; one of the largest Sikh temples in Canada is located just outside Edmonton. Most of Alberta's Jewish population of 10,900 lives in Calgary and Edmonton.

Religion (2011)	Denomination	Congregation	Proportion
Christian		2,152,200	60.3%
	Catholic	866,305	24.3%
	United Church	268,275	7.5%
	Anglican Church	140,665	3.9%
	Lutheran	119,345	3.3%
	Baptist	66,635	1.9%
	Pentecostal	60,960	1.7%
	Christian Orthodox	51,340	1.4%
	Presbyterian	36,765	1.0%
	Other Christian	541,520	15.2%
Muslim		113,445	3.2%
Sikh		52,335	1.5%
Buddhist		44,410	1.2%
Hindu		36,845	1.0%
Jewish		10,900	0.3%
Other Religions		16,605	0.5%
Aboriginal spirituality		15,100	0.4%
No religious affiliation		1,126,130	23.62%

Statistics Canada. 2013. Alberta (Code 48) (table). National Household Survey (NHS) Profile. 2011 National Household Survey. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 99-004-XWE. Ottawa. Released September 11, 2013.