Appendix A: Glossary

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Age

1. Age as of July 1.

Ageing (of a population)

1. An increase in the number of old persons as a percentage of the total population.

Average age

1. The average age of a population is the average age of all its members.

Census coverage

1. Census net undercoverage: Difference between undercoverage and overcoverage.
2. Overcoverage: Number of persons who should not have been counted in the census or who were counted more than once.
3. Undercoverage: Number of persons who were intended to have been enumerated in a census but were not enumerated.

Cohort

1. Represents a group of persons who have experienced a specific demographic event during a given year. Thus, the married cohort of 2001 consists of the number of persons who got married in 2001. In the cast of births, persons born within a specified year are referred to as a generation.

Components of demographic growth

1. Any of the classes of events generating population movement variations. Births, deaths and migrations are the components responsible for the variation since they alter either the total population or the age and sex of the population.

Dependency ratio

1. The ratio of the combinedpopulation aged between 0 to 14 years old and the population aged 65 years and over to the population aged between 15 to 64 years old.

Emigrants

1. Canadian citizen or immigrant who has left Canada to establish a permanent residence in another country.

Error of closure

1. Difference between the postcensal estimate for the same date as the census and the results of the census adjusted for census net undercoverage (including adjustment for incompletely enumerated Indian reserves).

Generation

1. Unless otherwise specified, refers here to a group of persons born within a given period. The 2001 generation represents people born during the year 2001.

Immigrant

1. Within the framework of this publication, the term immigrant refers to landed immigrant. A landed immigrant is a person who does not have Canadian citizenship but was granted the right by immigration authorities to live in Canada on a permanent basis.

International migration

1. International migration represents movement of population between Canada and a foreign country which involves a change in the usual place of residence. A distinction is made with regard to immigrants, emigrants, returning emigrants, net temporary emigrants and net non-permanent residents.

Interprovincial migration

1. Interprovincial migration represents movement from one province or territory involving a permanent change in residence. A person who takes up residence in another province or territory is an out-migrant with reference to the province or territory of origin and an in-migrant with reference to the province or territory of destination.

Median age

1. The median age is an age "x", such that exactly one half of the population is older than "x" and the other half is younger than "x".

Natural increase

1. Variation in population size over a given period as a result of the difference between the numbers of births and deaths.

Net international migration

1. Net international migration is obtained according to the following formula: Immigrants + returning emigrants + net non permanent residents– (emigrants + net temporary emigrants)

Net interprovincial migration

1. Net interprovincial migration represents the difference between in-migrants and out-migrants for a given province or territory.

Net non-permanent residents

1. Net non-permanent residents represent the variation in the number of non-permanent residents between two dates.

Non-permanent residents

A non permanent resident belongs to one of the five following groups:

1. persons residing in Canada claiming refugee status;
2. persons residing in Canada who hold a study permit;
3. persons residing in Canada who hold a work permit;
4. persons residing in Canada who hold a minister's permit;
5. all non-Canadian born dependants of persons claiming refugee status, or of persons holding study permits, work permits or minister's permits and living in Canada.

Net temporary emigration

1. Net temporary emigration represents the variation in the number of temporary emigrants between two dates. Temporary emigration includes Canadian citizens and immigrants living temporarily abroad who have not maintained a usual place of residence in Canada.

Population

1. Estimated population and population according to the census are both defined as being the number of Canadians whose usual place of residence is in that area, regardless of where they happened to be on Census Day. Also included are any Canadians staying in a dwelling in that area on Census Day and having no usual place of residence elsewhere in Canada, as well as those considered non-permanent residents.

Population estimate

1. postcensal: Population estimate produced by using data from the most recent available census adjusted for censusnet undercoverage (including adjustment for incompletely enumerated Indian reserves) and estimate of the components of demographic growth since that last census. This estimate can be preliminary, updated or final.
2. intercensal: Population estimate derived by using postcensal estimates and data adjusted for censusnet undercoverage (including adjustment for incompletely enumerated Indian reserves) of censuses preceding and following the year in question.

Population growth or total growth

1. Variation of population size between two dates. It can also be obtained by summing the natural increase, total net migration and if possible, substract residual deviation. It can be positive or negative.

Precocity error

1. Difference between preliminary and final estimate of a particular component in terms of its relative proportion of the total population for the relevant geographical area. It can be calculated for both population estimates and component of population growth.

Rate

1. Refers to the ratio of the number of events estimated in a year (t,t+1) to the average populations at the beginning and the end of the period. In this regard, birth, death, immigration rates, etc are calculated. Generally, the rate is expressed in per 1,000.
2. Demographic growth rate or population growth rate: Ratio of population growth between the year t and t+1, to the average population of both these years. The rate is generally expressed in per 1,000.
3. Overcoverage of population rate: The ratio of the number of persons who should not have been counted in the census or who were counted more than once to the total number of persons that should have been enumerated in the census. Generally, the rate is expressed in percentage.
4. Undercoverage of population rate:The ratio of the estimated number of persons not enumerated in the census (who were intended to have been enumerated) to the total number of persons that should have been enumerated in the census. Generally, the rate is expressed in percentage.
5. Census net undercoverage of population rate: The difference between the census undercoverage rate and the census ovecoverage rate.

Residual deviation

1. Difference between demographic population growth calculated using intercensal estimates of population between two dates and that obtained by the sum of the components for the same period. This deviation results from the distribution of the error of closure between years within the quinquennial period. This distribution is calculated by taking into account the number of days within each month.

Returning emigrants

1. Canadian citizen or immigrant having previously emigrated from Canada and subsequently returned to the country.

Sex ratio

1. The ratio of the number of men to the number of women. This is not to be confused with the sex ratio at birth, which is the ratio of the number of live-born boys to the number of live-born girls. This ratio is usually expressed as an index, with the number of females taken to be a base of 100.

Sprague coefficients

1. Series of factors which, when multiplied to a population distributed by multiples age groups, give a distribution of the same population by single years of age.

Total net migration

1. Sum of net international and net interprovincial migration.

Vital events

1. Includes all the demographic events (that is to say births, deaths, marriages and divorces) for which there exists a legal requirement to inform the Provincial or Territorial Registrar's Office.

Year

1. Unless otherwise specified, the term “year” refers to the period beginning July 1 of a given year and ending June 30 of the following year.

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