EconomyCanada edition
Canada ageing population: over-65s pass 20% in 2025
The latest figures show that 20.26% of Canada's population was 65 or older in 2025, up from 19.8% in 2024. That is the first reading above 20% in the figures held here, which go back to 2016. Births per woman, a separate measure, fell each year to 1.25 in 2024.
The long view
- highest in 3 yrs
- 20.26% 2025
- lowest in 3 yrs
- 18.94% 2022
- 3-yr average
- 19.59%
- Readings below the latest figure
- 100%
Vernumo calculation
Canada Share of population aged 65+ →
One in five Canadians is now 65 or older
People aged 65 and over made up 20.26% of Canada's population in 2025, up from 19.8% in 2024. The 20% line is the turning point here. It was crossed for the first time in the figures held here, which go back to 2016. F3+1
A steady climb before the line was crossed
The share did not jump in 2025. It rose in every year shown, from 18.94% in 2022 to 19.36% in 2023 and then to 19.8% in 2024. Each step was less than half a percentage point, so 2025 continued the same gradual path. That path simply took the share past a round number. F1+3
Fewer births per woman each year to 2024
At the other end of the age range, Canada's fertility rate has fallen in every year shown. The rate counts the average number of births per woman, and it went from 1.44 in 2021 to 1.25 in 2024, which is the latest figure. It is a different statistic from the age share and covers different years, so the two should not be read as one series. F5+2
Taken together, the two series show an older population and a lower birth rate over the same few years. They do not show how much one has contributed to the other. The age share also depends on deaths, migration and the size of earlier generations, and none of these is measured here. F4+1
What a 20% share means for people in Canada
In plain terms, about one in five people living in Canada in 2025 was 65 or older, compared with 18.94% in 2022. For residents, that describes who lives in the country and how its age mix is changing. These figures do not show the effect on pensions, health services or the job market, because no fact here measures those. F4+1
Short series and mismatched years
The age-share figures held here go back only to 2016, so 'first time above 20%' applies to that period only. The fertility rate's latest reading is for 2024, a year behind the age share, so the 2025 crossing cannot be paired with a birth figure for the same year. F1+2
What to check next
- The 2026 share of residents aged 65 and over, to see whether the yearly rise stays near its recent pace
- The fertility rate for 2025, the first reading that matches the year the age share crossed 20%
Verified data used in this report
| Indicator | Value | Period | Sources | Accessed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Canada · Share of population aged 65+ | 18.94% | 2022 | World Bank | |
| F2 | Canada · Share of population aged 65+ | 19.36% | 2023 | World Bank | |
| F3 | Canada · Share of population aged 65+ | 19.8% | 2024 | World Bank | |
| F4 | Canada · Share of population aged 65+ | 20.26% | 2025 | World Bank | |
| F5 | Canada · Fertility rate | 1.44 | 2021 | World Bank | |
| F8 | Canada · Fertility rate | 1.25 | 2024 | World Bank |
Other background figures (24)
| Indicator | Value | Period | Sources | Accessed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F6 | Canada · Fertility rate | 1.34 | 2022 | World Bank | |
| F7 | Canada · Fertility rate | 1.27 | 2023 | World Bank | |
| C16 | Canada · Consumer price inflation | 3.09% | Sep 2026 | Statistics Canada | |
| C17 | Canada · Electricity price inflation | 3.6% | Sep 2026 | Statistics Canada | |
| C18 | Canada · Energy price inflation | 18.95% | Sep 2026 | Statistics Canada | |
| C19 | Canada · Food price inflation | 2.18% | Sep 2026 | Statistics Canada | |
| C20 | Canada · Fuel price inflation | 27.79% | Sep 2026 | Statistics Canada | |
| C21 | Canada · Gas price inflation | -6.78% | Sep 2026 | Statistics Canada | |
| C22 | Canada · New home prices | -2.04% | Sep 2026 | Statistics Canada | |
| C23 | Canada · Central bank policy rate | 2.5% | Oct 2026 | Bank of Canada | |
| C24 | Canada · Rent inflation | 2.8% | Sep 2026 | Statistics Canada | |
| C25 | Canada · Housing cost inflation | 1.75% | Sep 2026 | Statistics Canada | |
| C26 | Canada · Unemployment rate | 6.5% | Sep 2026 | Statistics Canada | |
| C27 | Canada · Wage growth | 3.68% | Aug 2026 | Statistics Canada | |
| C28 | Canada · GDP growth | 1.74% | 2025 | World Bank | |
| C29 | Canada · House prices | -3.5% | Q3 2026 | OECD | |
| C30 | Canada · Unemployment rate | 6.91% | 2025 | World Bank | |
| C33 | Canada · Population growth | 0.94% | 2025 | World Bank | |
| R85 | Canada position among OECD member countries by house price growth over 12 months, counted from the lowest (1 = lowest in the OECD) | 1 | Q2 2026 | OECD | |
| R86 | number of OECD member countries with house price growth over 12 months data for this period | 31 | Q2 2026 | OECD | |
| R87 | Canada house price growth over 12 months, OECD comparison measure (OECD nominal house price index, 12-month change; can differ from the national release) | -4.3% | Q2 2026 | OECD | |
| R262 | Canada position among OECD member countries by population growth, counted from the highest (1 = highest in the OECD) | 10 | 2025 | World Bank | |
| R263 | number of OECD member countries with population growth data for this period | 38 | 2025 | World Bank | |
| R264 | Canada population growth, OECD comparison measure (World Bank, population growth; can differ from the national release) | 0.94% | 2025 | World Bank |
Sources
How this report was checked
- Data: the newest reference period cited is Q3 2026.
- Figures were collected from the source on
- Written by an AI model (claude-opus-5-5) using only the official figures listed in this report.
- Automatic checks passed: every number matches a cited figure, every paragraph names its evidence, and there is no investment advice or copied source text.
- A separate quality-check model found no unsupported or speculative sentences.
- No person reviewed this report before publication. Automatic checks confirm the numbers, not every interpretation.
Update history
- 2026-11-05 12:02 UTC — created
- 2026-11-05 12:02 UTC — approved+published
This analysis was written by AI from official statistics and passed automated checks. Last checked: 2026-11-05