Demographics of Alberta

File:Canada Alberta Density 2016 CB.svg

Population density of Alberta, 2016

Alberta has experienced a relatively high rate of growth in recent years, due in large part to its economy. Between 2003 and 2004, the province saw high birthrates (on par with some larger provinces such as British Columbia), relatively high immigration, and a high rate of interprovincial migration when compared to other provinces. Approximately 81% of the population live in urban areas and only about 19% live in rural areas. The Calgary–Edmonton Corridor is the most urbanized area in Alberta and is one of Canada's four most urban regions. Many of Alberta's cities and towns have also experienced high rates of growth in recent history. From a population of 73,022 in 1901, Alberta has grown to 4,262,635 in 2021 and in the process has gone from less than 1.5% of Canada's population to 11.5%. It is the fourth most populated province in Canada. Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, the Alberta population grew by 4.8%.

Population history

Year	Population	Five-year %change	Ten-year %change	Percentage of Canadian pop.	Rank among provinces
1901	73,022†	n/a	n/a	1.4	9
1911	374,295	n/a	412.6	5.2	7
1921	588,454	n/a	57.2	6.7	5
1931	731,605	n/a	24.3	7.0	4
1941	796,169	n/a	8.8	6.9	5
1951	939,501	n/a	18.0	6.7	4
1956	1,123,116	19.5	n/a	n/a	4
1961	1,331,944	18.6	41.8	7.3	4
1969	1,463,203	9.9	30.3	n/a	4
1971	1,627,875	11.3	22.2	7.5	4
1976	1,838,035	12.9	25.6	n/a	4
1981	2,237,724	21.7	37.5	9.2	4
1986	2,365,830	5.7	28.7	9.3	4
1991	2,545,553	7.6	13.8	9.3	4
1996	2,696,826	5.9	14.0	9.3	4
2001	2,974,807	10.3	16.9	9.9	4
2006	3,290,350	10.6	22.0	10.4	4
2011	3,645,257	10.8	22.5	10.9	4
2016	4,067,175	11.6	23.6	11.6	4
2021	4,262,635	4.8	16.9	11.5	4

† 1901 population for District of Alberta, part of the then-named North-West Territories.

Population geography

Census divisions

File:Alberta Census divisions - population density.svg

Alberta's census divisions by population

Census metropolitan areas

As of the 2011 census, Alberta had two census metropolitan areas (CMAs) recognized by Statistics Canada. A third one was added in the 2016 census.

The following is a list of the recent population history of the Calgary and Edmonton CMAs.

CMA name	2021	2016	2011	2006	2001	1996	Census division
Calgary	1,481,806	1,374,655	1,214,839	1,079,310	951,395	821,628	Division No. 6
Edmonton	1,418,118	1,297,280	1,159,869	1,034,945	937,845	862,597	Division No. 11

The third CMA added in 2016 is Lethbridge, and its population history is as follows:

CMA name	2021	2016	Census division
Lethbridge	123,847	113,920	Division No. 2

The fourth CMA added in 2021 is Red Deer, and its population history is as follows:

CMA name	2021	Census division
Red Deer	100,844	Division No. 8

CMA notes:

Census subdivisions

File:Alberta CSDs 2011 Census.png

Population growth of Alberta's census subdivisions between 2006 and 2011 censuses

As of the 2006 census, Alberta had 453 census subdivisions (municipalities and municipal equivalents) recognized by Statistics Canada. The following is a list of those census subdivisions with a population of 10,000 or greater.

Name	Municipal status	2011	2006	2001	1996	Notes
Calgary	City	1,096,833	988,193	878,866	768,082
Edmonton	City	812,201	730,372	666,104	616,306
Strathcona County	Specialized municipality	92,490	82,511	71,986	64,176	Located within the Edmonton CMA
Red Deer	City	90,564	82,772	67,707	60,075
Lethbridge	City	83,517	74,637	67,374	63,053
Wood Buffalo	Specialized municipality	65,565	51,496	41,466	35,213
St. Albert	City	61,466	57,719	53,081	46,888	Located within the Edmonton CMA
Medicine Hat	City	60,005	56,997	51,249	46,783
Grande Prairie	City	55,032	47,076	36,983	31,140
Airdrie	City	42,564	28,927	20,382	15,946	Located within the Calgary CMA
Rocky View County	Municipal district	36,461	34,171	30,688	23,326	Located within the Calgary CMA
Parkland County	Municipal district	30,568	29,265	27,252	24,769	Located within the Edmonton CMA
Spruce Grove	City	26,171	19,496	15,983	14,271	Located within the Edmonton CMA
Okotoks	Town	24,511	17,145	11,664	8,510
Leduc	City	24,279	16,967	15,032	14,305	Located within the Edmonton CMA
Foothills No. 31	Municipal district	21,258	19,736	16,764	13,714
County of Grande Prairie No. 1	Municipal district	20,347	17,970	15,638	13,750
Sturgeon County	Municipal district	19,578	18,621	18,067	15,945	Located within the Edmonton CMA
Fort Saskatchewan	City	19,051	14,957	13,121	12,408	Located within the Edmonton CMA
Red Deer County	Municipal district	18,351	19,108	18,639	17,126
Lloydminster	City	18,032	15,910	13,148	11,317	Population totals do not include the part of the city located within Saskatchewan
Cochrane	Town	17,580	13,780	11,798	7,424	Located within Calgary CMA
Camrose	City	17,286	15,620	14,854	13,728
Stony Plain	Town	15,051	12,363	9,589	8,274	Located within the Edmonton CMA
Chestermere	Town	14,824	9,564	3,414	1,911
Beaumont	Town	13,284	8,961	7,006	5,810	Located within the Edmonton CMA
Cold Lake	City	13,839	11,991	11,520	4,089
Brooks	City	13,676	12,498	11,604	10,093
Leduc County	Municipal district	13,541	12,730	12,528	12,361	Located within the Edmonton CMA
High River	Town	12,920	10,716	9,345	7,359
Wetaskiwin	City	12,525	11,673	11,154	10,959
Mountain View County	Municipal district	12,359	12,391	12,134	11,277
Sylvan Lake	Town	12,327	10,208	7,493	5,178
Strathmore	Town	12,305	10,225	7,621	5,282
Canmore	Town	12,288	12,039	10,792	8,354
Clearwater County	Municipal district	12,278	11,826	11,505	10,915
Lacombe	City	11,707	10,742	9,384	8,018
Yellowhead County	Municipal district	11,469	10,045	9,881	9,352
Bonnyville No. 87	Municipal district	11,191	10,194	9,473	17,352
Mackenzie County	Specialized municipality	10,927	10,002	8,829	7,980
County of Wetaskiwin No. 10	Municipal district	10,866	10,535	10,695	10,467
Lacombe County	Municipal district	10,312	10,451	10,159	10,081
Lethbridge County	Municipal district	10,061	10,302	9,930	9,290

Ethnic origins

The ethnicities most commonly reported in the 2021 Census are shown in the table below. The percentages add up to more than 100% because of multiple responses.

Ethnic groups in Alberta (1941–2021)

Ethnic group	2021		2001		1941Template:Rp
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
English	766,070		753,190		191,934
German	641,025		576,350		77,721
Scottish	631,015		556,575		112,540
Irish	561,915		461,065		83,876
Canadian	484,655		813,485		—	—
Ukrainian	343,640		285,725		71,868
French	341,755		333,705		42,979
Filipino	203,955		36,235		—	—
First Nations	188,315		144,040		12,565
Chinese	177,990		108,050		3,122
Dutch	174,625		149,225		20,429
Polish	169,925		137,625		26,845
Indian	155,700		61,180		48
Norwegian	154,535		120,045		29,628
Métis	115,455		63,620		8,808
Italian	98,730		67,655		4,872
Russian	97,890		62,750		19,316
Swedish	92,970		78,565		20,505
Welsh	76,810		59,470		10,896
Danish	56,190		50,465		12,284
Hungarian	51,360		41,535		7,892
Spanish	40,170		19,295		135
Pakistani	39,535		5,450		—	—
Vietnamese	39,395		21,490		—	—
Punjabi	37,585		3,785		—	—
Austrian	36,220		27,910		7,513
African	34,225		7,115		926
Mennonite	31,565		—	—	—	—
Romanian	31,530		20,235		4,206
Sikh	28,860		—	—	—	—
Lebanese	28,480		17,660		—Template:Efn	—
Mexican	25,450		3,345		1
Korean	24,165		7,925		—	—
Swiss	22,450		17,460		—	—
Belgian	21,985		14,925		2,919
Portuguese	21,415		13,885		42
Hindu	20,535		—	—	—	—
Czech	19,730		15,765		8,177Template:Efn
Icelandic	19,720		13,065		1,077
Finnish	18,705		12,730		3,452
Japanese	18,605		11,945		578
Somali	16,310		1,385		—	—
Jamaican	15,620		7,925		—	—
Nigerian	14,600		1,245		—	—
Jewish	14,405		15,435		4,164
Greek	13,980		9,110		605
Croatian	13,720		8,565		1,704Template:Efn
Ethiopian	13,505		1,460		—	—
Muslim	12,420		—	—	—	—
Colombian	11,115		950		—	—
Eritrean	11,010		1,180		—	—
Iranian	10,545		3,130		—	—
Slovak	10,525		6,810		—Template:Efn	—
Afghan	10,380		1,805		—	—
Egyptian	9,585		2,290		—	—
Syrian	9,520		1,265		428Template:Efn
Total responses	4,177,720		2,941,150		796,169
Total population	4,262,635		2,974,807		796,169
Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses

Future projections

Panethnic origin projections in Alberta (2031–2041)

Panethnic group	2031		2036		2041
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
EuropeanTemplate:Efn	3,122,000		3,178,000		3,219,000
South Asian	533,000		649,000		763,000
Southeast AsianTemplate:Efn	441,000		528,000		619,000
Indigenous	404,000		442,000		480,000
African	331,000		406,000		480,000
East AsianTemplate:Efn	311,000		352,000		392,000
Middle EasternTemplate:Efn	188,000		233,000		280,000
Latin American	107,000		126,000		144,000
Other/multiracialTemplate:Efn	78,000		95,000		112,000
Projected Alberta population	5,516,000		6,009,000		6,490,000

Visible minorities and Indigenous peoples

File:Largest Panethnic Groups in Alberta, 2021 Census.jpg

Largest panethnic groups in Alberta by percentage of total population by census division, 2021 census

Visible minority and Indigenous population (2021 Canadian census)
Population group		Population	%
EuropeanTemplate:Efn		2,731,825	65.4%
Visible minority group	South Asian	297,650	7.1%
	Filipino	216,710	5.2%
	Black	177,940	4.3%
	Chinese	164,235	3.9%
	Arab	69,505	1.7%
	Latin American	66,520	1.6%
	Southeast Asian	54,005	1.3%
	West Asian	25,075	0.6%
	Korean	24,365	0.6%
	Japanese	13,560	0.3%
	Visible minority, n.i.e.	12,100	0.3%
	Multiple visible minorities	39,745	1.0%
Total visible minority population		1,161,420	27.8%
Indigenous group	First Nations (North American Indian)	145,640	3.5%
	Métis	127,470	3.1%
	Inuk (Inuit)	2,945	0.1%
	Multiple Indigenous responses	4,785	0.1%
	Indigenous responses n.i.e.	3,620	0.1%
Total Indigenous population		284,470	6.8%
Total population		4,177,715	100.0%

Languages

Knowledge of languages

Knowledge of official languages of Canada in Alberta (2016)
Language			Percent
English only			91.86%
French only			0.10%
English and French			6.57%
Neither English nor French			1.47%

The question on knowledge of languages allows for multiple responses. The following figures are from the 2021 Canadian Census and the 2016 Canadian Census, and lists languages that were selected by at least one per cent of respondents.

Knowledge of languages in Alberta

Language	2021		2016
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
English	4,109,720		3,916,805	98.46%
French	260,415		264,720	6.65%
Tagalog	172,625		138,440	3.48%
Punjabi	126,385		90,485	2.27%
Spanish	116,070		104,445	2.63%
Hindi	94,015		61,290	1.54%
Mandarin	82,095		70,510	1.77%
Arabic	76,760		62,730	1.58%
Cantonese	74,960		74,770	1.88%
German	65,370Template:Efn	Template:Efn	83,010	2.09%
Urdu	51,545		41,235	1.04%

Mother tongue

Template:Pie chart Of the 4,221,835 singular responses to the 2021 census question concerning mother tongue, the languages most commonly reported were:

Mother tongue in Alberta

Language	2021		2016		2011		2006		2001
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
English	3,235,065	76.6%	2,972,670	74.71%	2,780,200	78.37%	2,576,670	79.99%	2,379,515	81.84%
Tagalog (Filipino/Pilipino)	138,160	3.27%	98,360	2.47%	60,085	1.69%	29,740	0.92%	11,705	0.40%
Chinese	128,160	3.04%	119,710	3.01%	105,470	2.97%	97,275	3.02%	78,205	2.69%
Cantonese	62,835	1.49%	59,580	1.50%	34,985	0.99%	32,485	1.01%	26,255	0.90%
Mandarin	58,535	1.39%	49,990	1.26%	19,325	0.54%	12,135	0.38%	5,580	0.19%
Min Nan languages (Teochow, Fukien, Taiwanese)	3,080	0.07%	3,075	0.08%	785	0.02%	400	0.01%	N	N
Hakka	1,075	0.03%	940	0.02%	325	0.01%	425	0.01%	570	0.02%
Chinese, n.o.s.	1,960	0.05%	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
Panjabi (Punjabi)	103,965	2.46%	68,315	1.72%	49,940	1.41%	36,320	1.13%	22,535	0.78%
French	88,010	2.08%	70,440	1.77%	68,545	1.93%	61,225	1.90%	58,645	2.02%
Spanish	67,865	1.61%	54,685	1.37%	44,020	1.24%	29,125	0.90%	19,820	0.68%
German	65,835	1.56%	63,570	1.60%	80,905	2.28%	84,505	2.62%	78,040	2.68%
Arabic	57,170	1.35%	40,695	1.02%	28,000	0.79%	20,495	0.64%	15,390	0.53%
Urdu	35,905	0.85%	26,860	0.68%	19,900	0.56%	11,275	0.35%	4,910	0.17%
Hindi	26,975	0.64%	16,495	0.41%	12,290	0.35%	8,985	0.28%	6,315	0.22%
Vietnamese	26,930	0.64%	23,015	0.58%	21,195	0.60%	19,350	0.60%	16,680	0.57%
Niger-Congo languages	25,230	0.60%	15,515	0.30%	N	N	N	N	N	N
Yoruba	5,565	0.13%	3,215	0.08%	N	N	N	N	N	N
Swahili	3,800	0.09%	2,390	0.06%	1,455	0.04%	850	0.03%	380	0.01%
Igbo	2,530	0.06%	1,160	0.03%	900	0.03%	N	N	N	N
Akan (Twi)	2,280	0.05%	1,765	0.04%	1,100	0.04%	345	0.01%	N	N
Kinyarwanda (Rwanda)	1,395	0.03%	770	0.02%	440	0.01%	60	0.01%	N	N
Rundi (Kirundi)	895	0.02%	570	0.01%	290	0.01%	50	0.01%	N	N
Selected Aboriginal languages	24,630	0.58%	22,970	0.58%	22,005	0.62%	20,890	0.65%	18,470	0.64%
Cree	16,445	0.41%	17,125	0.43%	16,745	0.47%	17,215	0.53%	15,105	0.52%
Blackfoot	4,800	0.11%	3,385	0.09%	3,035	0.09%	3,015	0.09%	2,630	0.09%
Dene	1,425	0.03%	1,570	0.04%	1,680	0.05%	1,585	0.05%	1,495	0.05%
Ojibway	485	0.01%	630	0.02%	455	0.01%	615	0.02%	645	0.02%
Korean	21,020	0.50%	17,400	0.44%	13,885	0.39%	10,845	0.33%	6,330	0.22%
Russian	20,280	0.48%	17,465	0.44%	13,840	0.38%	10,145	0.31%	6,980	0.29%
Ukrainian	19,885	0.47%	21,215	0.53%	24,575	0.69%	29,455	0.91%	33,970	1.17%
Polish	19,345	0.46%	19,780	0.50%	19,890	0.56%	21,990	0.68%	20,635	0.71%
Gujarati	18,675	0.44%	12,775	0.32%	8,675	0.24%	6,280	0.19%	4,910	0.17%
Persian	17,635	0.42%	14,835	0.37%	10,655	0.30%	7,700	0.24%	3,700	0.13%
Dutch	14,420	0.34%	16,005	0.40%	17,950	0.51%	19,980	0.62%	19,575	0.67%
Somali	12,310	0.29%	9,425	0.24%	5,515	0.16%	3,130	0.10%	810	0.03%
Tigrinya	11,510	0.27%	5,755	0.14%	2,460	0.07%	N	N	N	N
Italian	11,180	0.26%	11,475	0.29%	11,960	0.34%	13,095	0.41%	13,935	0.48%
Portuguese	11,090	0.26%	8,565	0.22%	7,380	0.21%	7,205	0.22%	6,110	0.21%
Malayalam	10,720	0.25%	6,230	0.16%	2,760	0.08%	1,550	0.05%	1,055	0.04%
Ilocano	9,765	0.23%	5,750	0.14%	3,010	0.08%	1,885	0.06%	N	N
Amharic	9,610	0.22%	7,015	0.18%	5,110	0.14%	2,785	0.09%	1,100	0.04%
Bengali	9,125	0.22%	6,940	0.17%	5.030	0.14%	2,710	0.08%	1,190	0.04%
Romanian	8,205	0.19%	8,255	0.21%	6,550	0.18%	4,370	0.14%	2,890	0.10%
Cebuano and other Bisayan languages	6,780	0.16%	5,025	0.13%	3,255	0.09%	1,370	0.04%	N	N
Nepali	6,645	0.16%	4,995	0.13%	1,605	0.05%	N	N	N	N
Tamil	6,450	0.15%	4,650	0.11%	2,645	0.07%	1,385	0.04%	1,110	0.04%
Hungarian	5,950	0.14%	6,505	0.16%	6,700	0.19%	6,770	0.21%	6,985	0.24%
Japanese	5,290	0.13%	4,575	0.11%	4,560	0.13%	4,555	0.14%	3,625	0.12%
Croatian	4,865	0.12%	4,425	0.11%	3,960	0.11%	4,150	0.13%	4,195	0.14%
Serbian	4,530	0.11%	4,115	0.10%	3,560	0.10%	3,090	0.10%	2,125	0.07%
Oromo language	4,030	0.10%	2,615	0.07%	1,405	0.04%	N	N	N	N
Turkish	3,860	0.09%	2,760	0.07%	2,460	0.07%	1,605	0.05%	810	0.03%
Afrikaans	3,730	0.09%	3,050	0.08%	2,420	0.07%	N	N	N	N
Telugu	3,550	0.08%	2,130	0.05%	1,245	0.03%	N	N	N	N
Scandinavian languages	3,535	0.08%	3,750	0.09%	4,935	0.14%	6,045	0.19%	6,795	0.23%
Danish	2,040	0.05%	2,225	0.06%	2,805	0.08%	3,510	0.11%	3,615	0.12%
Swedish	855	0.02%	785	0.02%	950	0.03%	1,145	0.04%	1,345	0.05%
Norwegian	640	0.02%	740	0.02%	1,180	0.03%	1,245	0.04%	1,670	0.06%
Pashto	3,435	0.08%	2,340	0.06%	1,850	0.05%	1,175	0.04%	275	0.01%
Greek	3,330	0.08%	3,285	0.08%	2,965	0.08%	3,305	0.10%	2,765	0.10%
Sindhi (includes Kacchi)	3,260	0.08%	2,835	0.07%	2,560	0.07%	2,000	0.06%	1,990	0.07%
Sinhalese	3,215	0.08%	2,935	0.07%	1,940	0.05%	835	0.03%	N	N
Hiligaynon	3,090	0.07%	1,160	0.03%	N	N	N	N	N	N
Czech	3,000	0.07%	2,715	0.07%	2,880	0.08%	3,100	0.08%	3,520	0.12%
Creole	2,770	0.07%	2,120	0.05%	1,560	0.05%	415	0.01%	250	0.01%
Albanian	2,625	0.06%	2,435	0.06%	1,685	0.05%	N	N	N	N
Thai	2,255	0.05%	1,700	0.04%	1,375	0.04%	190	0.01%	N	N

In addition to the table above, other mother tongues in Alberta include (including languages with more than 422 people, or 0.01 per cent of respondents): Template:Col div

• 2,120 Bosnian;
• 2,100 Slovak;
• 2,070 Khmer (Cambodian);
• 1,720 Pampangan;
• 1,655 Marathi;
• 1,495 Indonesian;
• 1,470 Kurdish;
• 1,435 Nilo-Saharan languages;
• 1,390 Bulgarian;
• 1,355 Sign languages;
• 1,155 Lao;
• 1,135 Hebrew;
• 1,020 Neo-Aramaic;
• 865 Kannada;
• 815 Finnish;
• 810 Karenic languages;
• 745 Tibetan;
• 730 Bilen;
• 715 Waray;
• 635 Mongolian;
• 635 Pangasinan;
• 625 Slovenian;
• 590 Armenian;
• 570 Lithuanian;
• 545 Burmese;
• 545 Malay;
• 425 Macedonian;

Template:Col div end In addition to the single-language responses detailed above, about 88,765 people reported having more than one mother tongue. There were 74,515 responses of both English and a non-official language; 2,785 of both French and a non-official language; 10,005 of both English and French; and 1,455 of English, French and a non-official language.

Religion

Just under 50 percent of Albertans identify as Christian, while over 40 percent of residents identify with no religion. The largest denominations are the Roman Catholic, United, Anglican, Lutheran, and Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches.

Just over 1 percent of Albertans are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, descended from pioneers who emigrated from Utah around the turn of the 20th century; there are three temples in the province. Alberta also has large numbers of Pentecostal, Presbyterians, and evangelical Christians.

There are significant numbers of Mennonites and Hutterites, which are communal Anabaptist sects. There are also many Jehovah's Witnesses and Reformed Christians, as well a significant population of Seventh-day Adventists in and around Lacombe where the Canadian University College is located.

Alberta is also home to several Eastern Rite Churches as part of the legacy of Eastern European immigrants, including the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Diocese of Edmonton and Western Canada. There are 500 Doukhobors living in their few communities across Southern Alberta.

Many people of the Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim faiths also make Alberta their home; one of the largest Sikh temples in Canada is located just outside Edmonton. Most of Alberta's Jewish population of 11,390 lives in Calgary and Edmonton.

Alberta's second largest religion, Islam, has roots that include Canada's first mosque, Al-Rashid Mosque, built in 1938 led by a Lebanese woman named Hilwie Hamdon.

Religion (2021) 1	Denomination	Congregation	Proportion
Christian		2,009,820	48.1%
	Anglican Church	95,560	2.3%
	Baptist	44,605	1.1%
	Catholic	833,025	19.9%
	Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox	63,775	1.5%
	Jehovah's Witnesses	18,185	0.4%
	Latter Day Saints	47,125	1.1%
	Lutheran	78,925	1.9%
	Methodist	9,640	0.2%
	Pentecostal	53,900	1.3%
	Presbyterian	22,850	0.5%
	Reformed	14,735	0.4%
	United Church	153,820	3.7%
	Other Christian	541,520	15.2%
Muslim		202,535	4.8%
Sikh		103,600	2.5%
Hindu		78,520	1.9%
Buddhist		42,830	1.0%
Jewish		11,390	0.3%
Other religions		33,220	0.8%
Aboriginal spirituality		19,755	0.5%
No religious affiliation		1,676,045	40.1%

^1 Statistics Canada. 2022. Alberta (table). National Household Survey (NHS) Profile. 2021 National Household Survey. Released October 26, 2022.

Religious groups in Alberta (1981–2021)

Religious group	2021		2011		2001		1991		1981
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Christianity	2,009,820		2,152,200		2,099,435		1,928,745		1,903,205
Irreligion	1,676,045		1,126,130		694,840		496,150		260,015
Islam	202,535		113,445		49,045		31,000		16,865
Sikhism	103,600		52,335		23,470		13,550		5,985
Hinduism	78,520		36,845		15,965		10,770		7,360
Buddhism	42,830		44,410		33,410		20,745		6,200
Indigenous spirituality	19,755		15,100		—	—	—	—	—	—
Judaism	11,390		10,900		11,085		9,950		10,655
Other	33,220		16,605		13,900		8,270		2,355
Total responses	4,177,715		3,567,975		2,941,150		2,519,180		2,213,650
Total population	4,262,635		3,645,257		2,974,807		2,545,553		2,237,724

Migration

Immigration

Alberta immigration statisticsTemplate:RpTemplate:Rp

Year	Immigrant percentage	Immigrant population	Total population
1901		31,240	73,022
1911		212,426	374,295
1921		273,364	588,454
1931		305,738	731,605
1941		258,387	796,169
1951		240,016	939,501
1961		288,749	1,331,944
1971		282,260	1,627,870

The 2021 census reported that immigrants (individuals born outside Canada) comprise 970,975 persons or 23.2 percent of the total population of Alberta.

Immigrants in Alberta by country of birth

Country of birth	2021		2016		2011		2006		2001		1921Template:Rp
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Philippines	167,735		123,830		69,575		36,630		24,800		—	—
India	122,145		91,660		59,020		38,610		24,670		300
China	61,390		57,695		49,595		41,495		27,630		3,422
United Kingdom	56,675		59,215		58,245		60,210		59,510		90,131
Pakistan	30,815		28,080		19,110		12,095		5,415		—	—
United States	30,540		30,460		31,050		28,325		27,510		99,879
Vietnam	27,875		27,080		26,020		24,270		22,005		—	—
Nigeria	21,065		12,405		5,575		1,740		985		—	—
Hong Kong	18,725		19,115		17,300		17,455		18,600		—	—
Mexico	17,985		15,665		10,755		5,970		3,880		—	—
Germany	16,635		19,200		20,085		21,570		21,845		14,587Template:Efn
South Korea	16,180		13,850		9,575		8,120		5,290		—	—
Poland	15,595		16,930		16,335		19,165		19,680		2,959
Ethiopia	14,420		10,565		6,375		3,655		1,370		—	—
Netherlands	12,730		14,035		15,290		16,715		17,385		1,765
Colombia	10,385		9,535		6,860		3,155		945		—	—
Syria	9,975		4,800		1,185		975		610		109Template:Efn
Lebanon	9,960		10,390		8,390		7,530		6,870		—	—
Eritrea	9,720		4,815		2,805		965		845		—	—
South Africa	8,960		7,355		6,010		4,950		4,025		230
Ukraine	8,915		8,150		6,430		5,435		5,170		2,165
Iran	8,865		8,910		5,595		3,995		2,400		—	—
Jamaica	8,695		6,845		4,340		3,755		3,705		110Template:Efn
Somalia	8,545		7,060		3,395		2,120		795		—	—
Russia	7,470		7,260		5,900		4,850		3,635		11,572
Romania	7,190		7,725		6,235		5,165		3,920		3,073
Italy	6,990		8,115		8,050		8,705		9,830		2,486
El Salvador	6,940		7,255		5,535		5,475		4,695		—	—
Egypt	6,760		5,320		3,120		2,140		1,490		—	—
Afghanistan	6,585		5,190		4,345		3,305		1,695		—	—
Iraq	6,215		5,935		3,825		2,300		1,490		—	—
Kenya	6,070		5,120		4,005		3,425		2,875		—	—
Bangladesh	6,035		5,085		3,680		1,835		690		—	—
Nepal	4,970		3,915		1,260		490		115		—	—
Sri Lanka	4,930		4,835		3,295		1,600		1,330		—	—
Venezuela	4,800		4,335		1,930		1,350		500		—	—
Fiji	4,690		4,625		4,140		3,975		3,395		—	—
Tanzania	4,660		4,510		4,465		4,035		4,435		—	—
Bosnia and Herzegovina	4,335		4,555		3,720		3,505		3,065		282Template:Efn
Ireland	4,225		3,940		2,795		2,475		2,840		7,374
Chile	4,215		4,255		4,305		4,345		3,775		—	—
Sudan	4,145		2,580		4,625		3,400		1,055		—	—
Malaysia	3,990		4,260		3,500		3,215		2,855		—	—
Australia	3,690		3,360		2,745		2,480		2,370		251
Brazil	3,800		2,545		1,740		1,130		750		—	—
Japan	3,380		3,060		2,935		2,265		1,730		374
Total immigrants	970,975		845,215		644,115		527,030		438,335		273,364
Total responses	4,177,715		3,978,145		3,567,975		3,256,355		2,941,150		588,454
Total population	4,262,635		4,067,175		3,645,257		3,290,350		2,974,807		588,454

Recent immigration

The 2021 Canadian census counted a total of 193,170 people who immigrated to Alberta between 2016 and 2021.

Recent immigrants to Alberta by place of birth (2016 to 2021)
Rank	Country	Population	% of recent immigrants
1	Philippines	47,605
2	India	31,815
3	Nigeria	9,840
4	China	9,495
5	Syria	7,295
6	United States	5,175
7	Eritrea	5,120
8	Mexico	4,165
9	Pakistan	4,080
10	Ethiopia	3,960
11	United Kingdom	3,800
12	South Korea	3,430
13	Iran	3,260
14	Nepal	2,620
15	Jamaica	2,130

Interprovincial migration

File:Net cumulative interprovincial migration, 1997 to 2017, as a share of population, 2016.png

Net cumulative interprovincial migration per Province from 1997 to 2017, as a share of population of each Provinces

Over the past five decades, Alberta has had the highest net increase from interprovincial migration of any province. However, it typically experiences population decline during economic downturns, as it did during the 1980s. Oil is the main industry driving interprovincial migration to Alberta, as many Canadians move to Alberta to work on the oil fields. Interprovincial migration to Alberta rises and drops dependent of the price of oil. There was a dramatic reduction after the 2014 drop in oil prices.

Interprovincial migration in Alberta

	In-migrants	Out-migrants	Net migration
2009–10	Decrease 57,958	Template:DecreasePositive 61,229	Decrease −3,271
2010–11	Increase 63,975	Template:DecreasePositive 55,532	Increase 8,443
2011–12	Increase 80,837	Template:DecreasePositive 53,185	Increase 27,652
2012–13	Increase 84,602	Template:DecreasePositive 46,004	Increase 38,598
2013–14	Increase 87,307	Template:IncreaseNegative 51,925	Decrease 35,382
2014–15	Decrease 81,540	Template:IncreaseNegative 59,946	Decrease 21,594
2015–16	Decrease 56,978	Template:IncreaseNegative 72,086	Decrease −15,108
2016–17	Decrease 50,396	Template:DecreasePositive 65,955	Decrease −15,559
2017–18	Increase 55,147	Template:DecreasePositive 58,394	Increase −3,247
2018–19	Increase 65,778	Template:IncreaseNegative 60,236	Increase 5,542
2019–20	Increase 85,919	Template:IncreaseNegative 77,519	Increase 8,400

Source: Statistics Canada

See also

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BC

AB

SK

MB

ON

QC

NB

PE

NS

NL

YT

NT

NU

[[File:||Canadian Provinces and Territories]]

Demographics of Canada's provinces and territories

• Demographics of Calgary
• Demographics of Canada
• Demographics of Edmonton
• Population of Canada by province and territory