According to the 2011 Census of Population, more than six million Canadians were living in a rural area, that is, an area with a population under 1,000 and a population density below 400 inhabitants per square kilometre. The population living in rural regions in Canada thus accounted for slightly less than 20% of the Canadian population.
The proportion of people living in rural areas in Canada has steadily declined since 1851, when nearly 9 in 10 Canadians lived in a rural area. This decline is largely related to changes in the structure of the Canadian economy.
