Canada Global(Web News) Urduworld Canada (Web News) British Columbia’s population is predicted to reach 7.9 million by 2046, according to new data released by the provincial government on Tuesday.
Statistics BC expects a 44 per cent increase over the next 23 years from the current population of 5.5 million.
A Statistics BC report found that population growth is due to higher federal immigration targets.
Statistics BC predicts the majority of growth in the coming decades will be concentrated in the Lower Mainland/Southwest region of the province.
The region’s population is projected to more than double to 4.9 million by 2046. Between 2016 and 2021, 78 percent of new immigrants to BC settled in Metro Vancouver.
The report found that BC’s population grew by 3 per cent between July 1, 2022 and July 1, 2023 – the highest annual growth rate since 1974.
BC sees an influx of approximately 150,800 immigrants to the province in 2022, of which approximately 52,000 are permanent immigrants.
The report also found that BC’s population was older on average than other populations and the province had a lower fertility rate.
According to the agency, the number of births in BC has been lower than the number of deaths since 2021, the first time the natural population change in the province has been in the negative while the birth rate has been stable since 2000, according to Statistics BC, population age. The annual death toll is increasing.
