Demographics of Ottawa
Population pyramid of Ottawa in 2021
Population	1,017,449 (2021)

In 2021, the population of the city of Ottawa was 1,017,449.^[1] The population of the census metropolitan area, Ottawa-Gatineau, was 1,488,307.^[2]

Population history

Age and sex

In 2001, females made up 51.2% of the amalgamated Ottawa population, while the median age of the population was 36.7 years of age.^[21] Youths under 15 years of age comprised 18.9% of the total population, while those of retirement age (65 years and older) comprised 11.4%.^[21]

Migration and immigration

Between 1987 and 2002, 131,816 individuals relocated to the city, which represents 75% of the population growth for that period.^[22] Foreign immigration plays a significant role in Ottawa's population growth.^[23] Foreign born residents make up 23.4 percent of Ottawa's population, in which many come from the United Kingdom, China, India, the United States, Lebanon, Pakistan, Somalia, Iran, the Philippines, Vietnam, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Haiti.

Languages

The Algonquian languages have been spoken for centuries by the Indigenous peoples and subsequently by the coureurs des bois and voyageurs of the Ottawa valley during the 1600s and 1700s.^[24] Starting in the mid-1800s, Irish settlers of the Ottawa valley develop a distinct dialect referred to as "Ottawa Valley Twang".^[25] Traces of "Valley Twang" although rare, can still be heard in the valley's more isolated areas.^[26]

The city offers municipal services in both of Canada's official languages (Canadian English and Canadian French).^[27] 367,035 people, or 36.45% of Ottawa's population, can speak both languages.^[8] As such it is the largest city in Canada where municipal services are offered in both English and French.^[28] However, the city is not officially bilingual in law. Those who identify their mother tongue as English constitute 58.18 percent, while those with French as their mother tongue make up 12.52 percent of the population. In terms of respondents' knowledge of one or both official languages, 60.60 percent and 1.42 percent of the population have knowledge of English only and French only, respectively; while 37.2 percent have knowledge of both official languages. An additional 23.06 percent list languages other than English and French as their mother tongue. These include Arabic (4.33%), Chinese (3.32%), Spanish (1.4%), Italian (0.79%), and many others.^[29]

Canada Census Mother Tongue - Ottawa, Ontario [30]
Census		Total		French				English				French & English				Other
Year		Responses		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %
2021		1,006,965		126,030	-0.94%	12.52%		585,865	4.23%	58.18%		22,595	83.77%	2.24%		232,210	15.86%	23.06%
2016		934,391		127,225	2.66%	13.61%		562,070	3.31%	60.15%		12,295	14.31%	1.31%		200,420	12.52%	21.49%
2011		883 391		123,925	3.75%	14.02%		544,045	8.4%	61.58%		10,755	57.89%	1.2%		178,120	2.87%	20.16%
2006		801 275		119,445	3.67%	14.9%		501,870	3.3%	62.63%		6,815	8.46%	0.85%		173,145	11.51%	21.6%
2001		763 790		115,220	144.55%	15.08%		485,825	147%	63,6%		7,445	123.23%	0.97%		155,295	129.59%	20.33%
1996		318 990		47,115	n/a	14.77%		196,980	n/a	61.75%		3,335	n/a	1.04%		67,670	n/a	21.21%

Ethnicity

City of Ottawa

Members of visible minority groups (non-white/European) constitute 32.5 percent, while those of Indigenous origin make up 2.6% of the total population. The largest visible minority groups are: Black Canadians: 8.5%, Arab Canadians: 5.8%, South Asian Canadians: 5.8%, and Chinese Canadians: 4.6%. Smaller groups include Southeast Asians, Filipinos, Latin Americans, and West Asians.^[31]

Metro Ottawa

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