Demographics of Canada - Languages

Languages

Languages in Canada
Language Percent
English   58%
French   22%
English and French   11%
others   9%

Language used most often at work:

  • English: 78.3%
  • French: 21.7%
  • Non-official languages: 2%

Languages by language used most often at home:

  • English: 67.1%
  • French: 21.5%
  • Non-official languages: 11.4%

Languages by mother tongue:

First language Population (2011) % of total population (2011) Population (2006) % of total population (2006) Increase (2006–2011) Notes
Single language responses 32,481,635 98.1% 30,848,270 98.7% 5.3%
Official languages 25,913,955 78.2% 24,700,425 79.1% 4.9%
English 18,858,980 56.9% 17,882,775 57.2% 5.5%
French 7,054,975 21.3% 6,817,650 21.8% 3.5%
Non-official languages 6,567,680 19.8% 6,147,840 19.7% 6.8%
Panjabi (Punjabi) 430,705 1.3% 367,505 1.2% 17.2%
Chinese, n.o.s. 425,210 1.3% 456,705 1.5% -6.9%
Spanish 410,670 1.2% 345,345 1.1% 18.9%
German 409,200 1.2% 450,570 1.4% -9.2%
Italian 407,485 1.2% 455,040 1.5% -10.5%
Cantonese 372,460 1.1% 361,450 1.2% 3%
Arabic 327,870 1% 261,640 0.8% 25.3%
Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino) 327,445 1% 235,615 0.8% 39%
Mandarin 248,705 0.8% 170,950 0.5% 45.5%
Portuguese 211,335 0.6% 219,275 0.7% -3.6%
Polish 191,645 0.6% 211,175 0.7% -9.2%
Urdu 172,800 0.5% 145,805 0.5% 18.5%
Persian (Farsi) 170,045 0.5% 134,080 0.4% 26.8%
Russian 164,330 0.5% 133,580 0.4% 23%
Vietnamese 144,880 0.4% 141,625 0.5% 2.3%
Korean 137,925 0.4% 125,570 0.4% 9.8%
Tamil 131,265 0.4% 115,880 0.4% 13.3%
Ukrainian 111,540 0.3% 134,500 0.4% -17.1%
Dutch 110,490 0.3% 128,900 0.4% -14.3%
Greek 108,925 0.3% 117,285 0.4% -7.1%
Gujarati 91,450 0.3% 81,465 0.3% 12.3%
Hindi 90,545 0.3% 78,240 0.3% 15.7%
Romanian 90,300 0.3% 78,495 0.3% 15%
Cree, n.o.s. 77,900 0.2% 78,855 0.3% -1.2% In the 2006 Census, this language was referred to simply as 'Cree'.
Hungarian 67,920 0.2% 73,335 0.2% -7.4%
Creoles 61,725 0.2% 53,515 0.2% 15.3%
Bengali 59,370 0.2% 45,685 0.1% 30%
Serbian 56,420 0.2% 51,665 0.2% 9.2%
Croatian 49,730 0.2% 55,330 0.2% -10.1%
Japanese 39,985 0.1% 40,200 0.1% -0.5%
Inuktitut 33,500 0.1% 32,015 0.1% 4.6% In the 2006 Census, this language was referred to as 'Inuktitut, n.i.e.'.
Somali 31,380 0.09% 27,320 0.09% 14.9%
Armenian 29,795 0.09% 30,130 0.1% -1.1%
Turkish 29,640 0.09% 24,745 0.08% 19.8%
Albanian 23,820 0.07% N/A N/A N/A
Czech 23,585 0.07% 24,450 0.08% -3.5%
Khmer (Cambodian) 19,440 0.06% 19,105 0.06% 1.8%
Bulgarian 19,050 0.06% 16,790 0.05% 13.5%
Hebrew 18,450 0.06% 17,635 0.06% 4.6%
Amharic 18,020 0.05% 14,555 0.05% 23.8%
Ilocano 17,915 0.05% 13,450 0.04% 33.2%
Ojibway 17,625 0.05% 24,190 0.08% -27.1%
Slovak 17,580 0.05% 18,820 0.06% -6.6%
Finnish 17,415 0.05% 21,030 0.07% -17.2%
Macedonian 17,245 0.05% 18,435 0.06% -6.5%
Semitic languages, n.i.e. 16,970 0.05% N/A N/A N/A
Bisayan languages 16,240 0.05% 11,240 0.04% 44.5%
Malayalam 16,080 0.05% 11,925 0.04% 34.8%
Yiddish 15,205 0.05% 16,295 0.05% -6.7%
Sinhala (Sinhalese) 14,185 0.04% 10,180 0.03% 39.3%
Danish 14,145 0.04% 18,735 0.06% -24.5%
Niger–Congo languages, n.i.e. 14,075 0.04% N/A N/A N/A
Lao 12,970 0.04% 13,940 0.04% -7%
Akan (Twi) 12,680 0.04% 12,780 0.04% -0.8%
Pashto 12,465 0.04% 9,025 0.03% 38.1%
Bosnian 11,685 0.04% 12,790 0.04% -8.6%
Sindhi 11,330 0.03% 10,355 0.03% 9.4%
Dene 11,215 0.03% 9,745 0.03% 15.1%
Oromo 11,140 0.03% N/A N/A N/A
Malay 10,910 0.03% 9,490 0.03% 15%
Innu/Montagnais 10,785 0.03% 10,975 0.04% -1.7% In the 2006 Census, this language was referred to as 'Montagnais-Naskapi'.
Slovenian 10,775 0.03% 13,135 0.04% -18%
Tigrigna 10,220 0.03% 7,105 0.02% 43.8%
Serbo-Croatian 10,155 0.03% 12,510 0.04% -18.8%
Swahili 10,090 0.03% 7,935 0.03% 27.2%
Oji-Cree 9,835 0.03% 11,690 0.04% -15.9%
Kurdish 9,805 0.03% 7,660 0.02% 28%
Taiwanese 9,635 0.03% 9,620 0.03% 0.2%
Telugu 9,315 0.03% 6,625 0.02% 40.6%
African languages, n.i.e. 9,125 0.03% N/A N/A N/A
Afrikaans 8,770 0.03% N/A N/A N/A
Nepali 8,480 0.03% N/A N/A N/A
Thai 7,935 0.02% N/A N/A N/A
Mi'kmaq 7,635 0.02% 7,365 0.02% 3.7%
Swedish 7,350 0.02% 8,220 0.03% -10.6%
Lithuanian 7,245 0.02% 8,335 0.03% -13.1%
Bantu languages, n.i.e. 7,150 0.02% N/A N/A N/A
Estonian 6,385 0.02% 8,240 0.03% -22.5%
Maltese 6,220 0.02% 6,405 0.02% -2.9%
Latvian 6,200 0.02% 7,000 0.02% -11.4%
Fukien 5,925 0.02% N/A N/A N/A
Berber languages (Kabyle) 5,855 0.02% N/A N/A N/A
Marathi 5,830 0.02% N/A N/A N/A
Atikamekw 5,820 0.02% 5,250 0.02% 10.9%
Norwegian 5,800 0.02% 7,225 0.02% -19.7%
Indo-Iranian languages, n.i.e. 5,255 0.02% N/A N/A N/A
Hakka 5,115 0.02% N/A N/A N/A
Flemish 4,690 0.01% 5,660 0.02% -17.1%
Tibetan languages 4,640 0.01% N/A N/A N/A
Sino-Tibetan languages, n.i.e. 4,360 0.01% N/A N/A N/A
Rundi (Kirundi) 3,975 0.01% N/A N/A N/A
Rwanda (Kinyarwanda) 3,895 0.01% N/A N/A N/A
Sign languages, n.i.e. 3,815 0.01% N/A N/A N/A
Slavic languages, n.i.e. 3,630 0.01% N/A N/A N/A
Lingala 3,085 0.009% N/A N/A N/A
Stoney 3,050 0.009% N/A N/A N/A
Burmese 2,985 0.009% N/A N/A N/A
Shanghainese 2,920 0.009% N/A N/A N/A
Siouan languages (Dakota/Sioux) N/A N/A 5,585 0.02% N/A
Blackfoot N/A N/A 3,085 0.01% N/A
Frisian N/A N/A 2,890 0.009% N/A
Dogrib N/A N/A 2,020 0.006% N/A
Algonquin N/A N/A 1,920 0.006% N/A
South Slave N/A N/A 1,605 0.005% N/A
Carrier N/A N/A 1,560 0.005% N/A
Gitksan N/A N/A 1,180 0.004% N/A
Chilcotin N/A N/A 1,070 0.003% N/A
North Slave (Hare) N/A N/A 1,065 0.003% N/A
Shuswap N/A N/A 935 0.003% N/A
Nisga’a N/A N/A 680 0.002% N/A
Malecite N/A N/A 535 0.002% N/A
Chipewyan N/A N/A 525 0.002% N/A
Inuinnaqtun N/A N/A 365 0.001% N/A
Kutchin-Gwich’in (Loucheux) N/A N/A 360 0.001% N/A
Mohawk N/A N/A 290 0.0009% N/A
Tlingit N/A N/A 80 0.0003% N/A
Other languages 77,890 0.2% 172,650 0.6% -54.9%
Multiple language responses 639,540 1.9% 392,760 1.3% 62.8%
English and French 144,685 0.4% 98,630 0.3% 46.7%
English and a non-official language 396,330 1.2% 240,005 0.8% 65.1%
French and a non-official language 74,430 0.2% 43,335 0.1% 71.8%
English, French, and a non-official language 24,095 0.07% 10,790 0.03% 123.3%
Total 33,121,175 100% 31,241,030 100% 6%

n.i.e. = not included elsewhere
n.o.s. = not otherwise specified

Read more about this topic:  Demographics Of Canada

Famous quotes containing the word languages:

    “People in places many of us never heard of, whose names we can’t pronounce or even spell, are speaking up for themselves. They speak in languages we once classified as “exotic” but whose mastery is now essential for our diplomats and businessmen. But what they say is very much the same the world over. They want a decent standard of living. They want human dignity and a voice in their own futures. They want their children to grow up strong and healthy and free.”
    —Hubert H. Humphrey (1911–1978)

    “The very natural tendency to use terms derived from traditional grammar like verb, noun, adjective, passive voice, in describing languages outside of Indo-European is fraught with grave possibilities of misunderstanding.”
    —Benjamin Lee Whorf (1897–1934)