Waterloo Region Demographics

The Waterloo Region has a young, growing, and diverse population:

Population - 507,000 people (Regional Municipality of Waterloo, 2006)

• Canada’s 10th largest and Ontario’s 4th largest urban population
• Total population within 50 km - 1.6 million
• Total population within 100 km - 6.6 million

Population growth (2001-2006) - 8.9%

• Between 2001 and 2006, growth in the Waterloo Region outpaced the Province of Ontario (6.6%) and Canada (5.4%). The Waterloo Region was the third fastest growing Census Metropolitan Area (Kitchener CMA), behind Oshawa (11.6%) and Toronto (9.2%).
• Projected population (2031) - 729,000 (source: Region of Waterloo Interim Population Forecasts)

Unemployment rate - 5.5%

Workforce - 272,530

Net Labour Force Inflow (2001-2006) - 23,010 people

Immigrants comprise 22% of the population

• Immigrant countries of origin are shifting from UK, Portugal, Germany and Poland to India, China, Pakistan and Romania

3rd youngest median age of major Canadian urban areas

(All figures are from Census Canada, 2006 unless otherwise indicated)

A full demographic profile of the Waterloo Region is available online at Statistics Canada, Census, 2006