Population

The Canadian population has grown relatively steadily over the past two decades, averaging 2.0% annual change since the year 2000. Although the country's population is growing slowly, its growth rate is higher than that of most industrialized countries. Nevertheless, the population growth of Canada has slowed in recent years in comparison with decades past. One of the reasons for this is a decline in the total fertility rate, with women having fewer children now on average than in years past. Canada also has a relatively significant immigration rate. Nearly a quarter of a million people immigrate to Canada. Between 2001 and 2011, nearly 2.5 million immigrants entered Canada while fewer than half a million emigrated from the country. This encouraged steady growth for Canada's population, which has continued to increase steadily into the current period. Overall, population in Canada is forecast to increase an annualized 1.7% over the five years to 2025.