Asian Heritage Month... By the numbers

According to the 2021 Census of Population, about 7 million people reported an Asian ethnic or cultural origin, representing 19.3% of Canada's population and reflecting the significant presence of individuals with an Asian background in the country. Among those who reported an Asian ancestry in 2021, the vast majority (93.4%) also identified with a racialized group.^{Footnote 1} The most frequent racialized groups were South Asian (31.8%), Chinese (24.1%), Filipino (13.3%), Southeast Asian (5.3%), West Asian (4.9%) and Arab (4.2%).

Recognizing that these groups do not represent the Asian population in Canada exhaustively, each racialized group below consists of populations from various places of birth, with diverse immigration pathways, demographics, ethnocultural characteristics, and experiences in Canada.^{Footnote 2}

South Asian populations in Canada

In 2021, South Asian populations were the largest racialized group in Canada, numbering 2.6 million people and representing 7.1% of Canada's total population.
Nearly three in ten South Asians were Canadian-born, while the other most common countries of birth for South Asian populations were India (44%), Pakistan (9%), Sri Lanka (5%) and Bangladesh (3%).
Most South Asian immigrants who immigrated from 1980 to 2021 were economic immigrants (54%). This was also the case across many places of birth, including India (57%), Pakistan (56%) and Bangladesh (61%).
In 2021, 58% of South Asians aged 25 to 54 years had a bachelor's degree or higher. This proportion was higher among those born in Bangladesh (66%), India (63%), and Pakistan (61%) than that of those born in Sri Lanka (29%).

Chinese populations in Canada

With 1.7 million people in 2021, the Chinese populations were the second-largest racialized group in Canada, making up nearly 5% of the Canadian population.
Among the Chinese populations, about one-half (47.8%) were born in China, and 28.4% were born in Canada. The next most common places of birth were Hong Kong, (12.8%), Southeast Asia (4.1%), and Taiwan (4.1%).
Chinese immigrants admitted to Canada from 1980 to 2021 were mainly either economic immigrants (64.9%) or sponsored by family (28.7%).
More than eight in ten (84.5%) Chinese individuals were homeowners, a higher share than among the non-racialized non-Indigenous population (75.7%).

Filipino populations in Canada

In 2021, over 957,000 individuals reported being Filipino, representing 2.6% of the total population in Canada.
Most Filipinos were either born in the Philippines (73.9%) or in Canada (24.7%). Other places of birth included the United States of America, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Among immigrant Filipinos born in the Philippines and admitted between 1980 and 2021 under the economic category, most (58.5%) were women, reflecting the higher representation of Filipino women in some admission programs such as caregivers and in occupations in the health care sector.
Filipinos accounted for 22.0% of the total racialized population in the Prairies, and were the largest racialized group in the territories (34.7%) in 2021.

Southeast Asian populations in Canada

In 2021, 390,340 people reported being Southeast Asian and represented 1.1% of Canada's population.
More than seven in ten Southeast Asians were born in either Vietnam (38.6%) or Canada (34.0%). Other places of birth included Cambodia (4.5%), Thailand (4.5%), the Philippines (3.9%), Laos (2.9%), Indonesia (2.6%), Myanmar (1.7%) and Malaysia (1.5%).
The admission categories of Southeast Asian immigrants have changed over time, shifting from mainly refugees in the 1980s (76.4%) to a mix of economic immigrants (49.0%) and immigrants sponsored by family (44.0%) from 2011 to 2021.
Among Southeast Asians who immigrated before 2011, 24.1% had no certificate, diploma or degree, while 24.9% had a bachelor's degree or higher. In contrast, among those who immigrated from 2011 to 2021, 13.8% had no certificate, diploma or degree, and 45.6% had a bachelor's degree or higher.

West Asian populations in Canada

There were 385,650 West Asian people in Canada in 2021, constituting 1.1% of the country's population.
West Asians were mainly born in Iran (49.5%), Canada (21.2%), Afghanistan (14.6%) and Iraq (4.3%).
In 2021, just under half of West Asians born in Iran were Muslim (49.7%), while four in ten (40.0%) had no religious affiliation or had secular perspectives— a higher proportion than that of the total population of Canada (34.6%).
Among West Asian immigrants admitted from 1980 to 2021, economic immigrants made up most of those born in Iran (63.8%), while refugees represented most of those born in Afghanistan (77.5%) or Iraq (78.7%).

Arab populations in Canada

The Arab populations reached 795,665 people in 2021, their highest level ever recorded in the country, representing 2.2% of Canada's population. This racialized group has connections to Asia, Africa and other parts of the world.
In 2021, about three in ten Arabs were born in Canada (30.3%). The next most common places of birth included regions in Asia: Lebanon (10.3%), Syria (10.0%), Iraq (7.0%) and the Arabian Peninsula (6.8%).^{Footnote 3}
Just over half (51.3%) of Arabs who immigrated to Canada from 1980 to 2021 were economic immigrants. Refugees accounted for most of Arab immigrants born in Syria (78.3%) or Iraq (67.6%).
The most common ethnic or cultural origins reported by Arabs born in Iraq were Iraqi (49.6%) and Arab (33.2%), while the most common origins among West Asians born in Iraq were Assyrian (36.9%), Chaldean (26.1%) and Iraqi (26.1%). The racialized group(s) reported can be influenced by ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

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