Vancouver, a significant city in western Canada, is situated in the Lower Mainland of British
Columbia (/vaenkuvr/
van-KOO-vr). The city has 662,248 residents according to the 2021 Canadian census, an increase from
631,486 in 2016. It
was the province's most populous city. The Greater Vancouver region was the third-largest
metropolitan area in Canada in
2021 with a population of 2.6 million. The Lower Mainland, which includes Greater Vancouver and the
Fraser Valley, has a
population of more than 3 million people. With more than 5,700 inhabitants per square kilometer,
Vancouver has the
highest population density in Canada and the fourth-highest in North America (after New York City,
San Francisco, and
Mexico City).
Satellite image of Metro Vancouver (2018)
Vancouver is situated on the Burrard Peninsula and is bordered by the Burrard Inlet to the north,
the Fraser River to
the south, and is protected from the Pacific Ocean by Vancouver Island to the west. The city has a
total area of 115.18
km2 (44.47 sq mi) with a mixture of flat and hilly terrain, and it operates on Pacific Time Zone
(UTC−8) and is located
in the Pacific Maritime Ecozone.
"In the midst of the city, everyone is at times close to someone else." (2020)
According to the 2021 census, immigrants (those born outside of Canada) make up 274,365 people, or
42.2% of Vancouver's
total population. China (63,275 people, or 23.1% of the total immigrant population), the Philippines
(29,930 people, or
10.9%), Hong Kong (25,480 people, or 9.3%), India (14,640 people, or 5.3%), the United Kingdom
(12,895 people, or 4.7%),
Vietnam (12,120 people, or 4.4%), Taiwan (9,870 people, or 3.6%), the United States (9,790 people,
or 3.6%), Iran (8,775
people, or 3.2%)
Vancouver's pan-ethnic composition according to the census of 2021
| Ethnic Groups |
Percentage |
| European |
43.22% |
| East Asian |
29.26% |
| Southeast Asian |
9.1% |
| South Asian |
6.9% |
| Latin American |
2.78% |
| Middle Eastern |
2.44% |
| Indigenous |
2.25% |
| African |
1.31% |
| Other |
2.74% |
See also: