Ottawa’s population is Ottawa of 934,243 people. This means that it makes Ottawa the fourth-largest city in Canada and the second-largest town in Ontario as well as the thirty-third biggest town within North America.
Ottawa is known as the capital and the capital city of Canada It is located in Ontario just across Canada’s border Quebec. Just over from the Ottawa River lies the city of Gatineau which’s the population in 2016 was 276,245.
Together, these two cities form what is known as the National Capital Region of Canada which is known as Ottawa-Gatineau.
The most recent information available from Statistics Canada indicates that the population of the Ottawa-Gatineau metropolitan region has reached 1.3 million (1,323,783) people. which encompasses Ottawa, Gatineau, and some nearby regions. It is the fifth-largest Census Metropolitan area in Canada.
Ottawa is unique in that it is one of only one or two cities in Canada that are bilingual. This is because it’s situated at the border between Ontario along Quebec and also because it is Canada’s capital city, and draws people from all over the world.
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Ottawa Population Growth
Between the years 2011-2016, Ottawa’s population grew by 5.8 The population of Ottawa increased by 5.8 percent between 2011 and 2016. This is slightly greater than the population growth seen in the nearby city of Toronto.
The growth of population in Ottawa is the main result of the influx of immigrants. About three-quarters of the new residents living in Ottawa are immigrants from outside or immigrants from other regions of Canada. The remainder of the growth in Ottawa is caused by natural population growth.
This table shows how many people lived in Ottawa during each year of the census since 1901. The table uses the current city limits as an indicator and not the city’s historic boundaries.
| Census Year | Population | % Growth |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 101,102 | n/a |
| 1911 | 123,417 | 22.1% |
| 1921 | 152,868 | 23.9% |
| 1931 | 174,056 | 13.9% |
| 1941 | 206,367 | 18.6% |
| 1951 | 246,298 | 19.3% |
| 1961 | 358,410 | 24.8% |
| 1971 | 471,931 | 14.1% |
| 1981 | 546,849 | 5.1% |
| 1991 | 678,147 | 11.8% |
| 1996 | 721,136 | 6.3% |
| 2001 | 774,072 | 7.3% |
| 2006 | 812,129 | 4.9% |
| 2011 | 883,391 | 8.8% |
| 2016 | 934,243 | 5.8% |
The population of Ottawa is predicted to increase over the next several years. According to the Ontario provincial government estimates that in 2046, the city will be home to 1.5 million inhabitants. The city’s government also forecasts it is likely that the population in Ottawa Gatineau metro area will grow to 1.8 million.
Ottawa Population Density
The Ottawa city’s urban area is 2,778 square kilometers. Based on the population of the date of the census in 2016. Ottawa’s density of population is 334.8 people per sq km.
Ottawa Languages
As stated above Ottawa is an officially bilingual city. All official services are accessible in both English as well as French and 45.5 percent of the population reported having the ability to communicate in both English as well as French.
English is by far the most commonly used mother language that is spoken in Ottawa Gatineau. In 2011, English was the main language of more than half (49 percent) of the population. A third (31.4 percent) were fluent in French as their primary language and 16.7 percent of the population spoke a language that did not belong to English or French.
The most frequently spoken mother tongue which is not an official one in Canada is Arabic and can be found in 3.1 percent of the inhabitants of Ottawa. The next two languages are Spanish (1.3 percent) as well as Chinese (1.1 percent). Below is a table listing the top ten mother tongues spoken in Ottawa in 2011.
| Language | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| English | 599,300 | 49.0% |
| French | 384,160 | 31.4% |
| Arabic | 38,080 | 3.1% |
| Spanish | 16,260 | 1.3% |
| Chinese | 14,055 | 1.1% |
| Italian | 10,910 | 0.9% |
| Mandarin | 7,515 | 0.6% |
| German | 7,140 | 0.6% |
| Portuguese | 7.030 | 0.6% |
| Cantonese | 6,960 | 0.6% |
Ethnicity in Ottawa
Ottawa is among the cities with the lowest diversity of ethnicity in Canada. The census of 2011 showed that only 19.2 percent of the population in Ottawa identified as visible minorities (this is a term that is used in Statistics Canada). Black, Arab and Chinese were the three groups that were most frequently listed minorities.
It represents less than half of the visible minority population in Toronto (47 percent) as well as Vancouver (45.2 percent) However, they are roughly comparable to cities like Montreal (20.3 percent) in addition to Winnipeg (19.7 percent). This is nearly identical to the average for the nation across Canada is 19.1 percent.
The most recent data on ethnicity in Ottawa are from the census of 2006 which revealed five major ethnic groups of origin within the city. These are: Canadian (28.4%), English (24.3%), Irish (22.5%), French (21.5%) and Scottish (19.8 percentage).
Below is a table that lists each ethnicity in Ottawa which is reported by 2.5 percent or more of the population.
| Ethnic Origin | Population | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian | 227,490 | 28.4% |
| English | 194,845 | 24.3% |
| Irish | 180,525 | 22.5% |
| French | 172,165 | 21.5% |
| Scottish | 158,340 | 19.8% |
| German | 67,660 | 8.4% |
| Italian | 39,230 | 4.9% |
| Chinese | 34,435 | 4.3% |
| Polish | 25,685 | 3.2% |
| Dutch | 22,700 | 2.8% |
| First Nations | 21,600 | 2.7% |
Note: Users were able to choose more than one ethnicity and that’s why the percentages have amounted to more than 100 percent.
Religion in Ottawa
Christianity is the most popular sole religion found within Ottawa. The census in 2011 revealed that 65.4 percent of people living in Ottawa were of the Christian religion. Over a third of Ottawans (38.4 percent) are Roman Catholic, 6.5% were Anglicans and 6.2 percent of them were members of The United Church.
The second-highest percentage of respondents (22.8 percent) were those who said they had no religious affiliation.
Islam (6.7 7.7%) was the second-largest religion, then followed by Hinduism (1.4 percent), Buddhism (1.3%), and Judaism (1.2 percent).