The demographics of Metro Vancouver indicate a multicultural and multiracial region. Metro Vancouver is a metropolitan area, with its major urban centre being Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Vancouver census metropolitan area, as defined by Statistics Canada, encompasses roughly the same territory as the Metro Vancouver Regional District, a regional district in British Columbia. The regional district includes 23 local authorities. Figures provided here are for the Vancouver census metropolitan area and not for the City of Vancouver.

The following table shows the development of the number of inhabitants according to census data of Statistics Canada. The former municipalities of Point Grey and South Vancouver are not included in the data prior to 1931.^[1][a]

The Metro Vancouver Regional District comprises 23 member authorities — 21 municipalities, one electoral area, and one treaty First Nation.^[3]

Metro Vancouver member populations (edit)

Member	Census subdivision	Population (2021)	Population (2016)	% change (2016–2021)	2021 provincial rank
Anmore	Village	2,356	2,210	+6.6%	185th
Belcarra	Village	687	643	+6.8%	301st
Bowen Island	Island municipality	4,256	3,680	+15.7%	118th
Burnaby	City	249,125	232,755	+7.0%	3rd
Coquitlam	City	148,625	139,284	+6.7%	6th
Delta	City	108,455	102,238	+6.1%	10th
City of Langley	City	28,963	25,888	+11.9%	30th
Township of Langley	District municipality	132,603	117,285	+13.1%	8th
Lions Bay	Village	1,390	1,334	+4.2%	251st
Maple Ridge	City	90,990	82,256	+10.6%	15th
Metro Vancouver A	Regional district electoral area	18,612	16,133	+15.4%	39th
New Westminster	City	78,916	70,996	+11.2%	17th
City of North Vancouver	City	58,120	52,898	+9.9%	20th
District of North Vancouver	District municipality	88,168	85,649	+2.9%	16th
Pitt Meadows	City	19,146	18,573	+3.1%	37th
Port Coquitlam	City	61,498	58,612	+4.9%	19th
Port Moody	City	33,535	33,551	±0.0%	28th
Richmond	City	209,937	198,309	+5.9%	4th
Surrey	City	568,322	517,887	+9.7%	2nd
Tsawwassen	First Nation	2,256	816	+176.5%	191st
Vancouver	City	662,248	631,486	+4.9%	1st
West Vancouver	District municipality	44,122	42,473	+3.9%	23rd
White Rock	City	21,939	19,952	+10.0%	33rd
Metro Vancouver		2,642,825	2,463,431	+7.3%	–
Source: Statistics Canada[4]; Metro Vancouver Regional District[5]

The demographics of Metro Vancouver reveal a multi-ethnic society. There remains a small population, less than 2%, of Aboriginal peoples, who according to archeological and historical records, have inhabited this region for more than 3,000 years.^{[citation needed]}

From the time of the region's first non-indigenous settlement in the second half of the 19th century, people from Britain and Ireland were the largest group of immigrants and, collectively, remain the largest ethnic grouping in Vancouver to this day. The largest non British or Irish ethnic groups situated in Vancouver include Chinese, Indians and Germans.

The metropolitan area has one of the most diverse Chinese-speaking communities with several varieties of Chinese being represented. Metro Vancouver contains the second-largest Chinatown in North America (after San Francisco's), and many multicultural neighbourhoods such as the Punjabi Market, Greektown, and Japantown. Commercial Drive, the core of the historic Little Italy, which is also the main Portuguese area, has become an alternative-culture focus, though traditional Italian and Portuguese and other establishments and residents remain in the area. Bilingual street signs can be seen in Chinatown and the Punjabi Market, and commercial signs in a wide array of languages can be seen all over the metropolitan area.

Ethnic origin	Population (2016)[6]	Percent of 2016 population (2,426,235)	Population (2006)[7]	Percent of 2006 population (2,097,960)
Cornish	245	0%	225	0.02%
English	470,340	19.4%	500,340	24.09%
Irish	275,355	11.3%	251,695	12.00%
Manx	770	0%	640	0.03%
Scottish	341,075	14.1%	337,230	16.07%
Welsh	44,935	1.9%	41,805	1.99%
British n.i.e.	55,695	2.3%	35,505	1.69%
Acadians	1,520	0.1%	1,280	0.06%
French	147,835	6.1%	137,270	6.54%
Inuit	600	0%	580	0.03%
Métis	24,505	1%	17,110	0.82%
North American Indian	52,305	2.2%	43,190	2.06%
American	32,115	1.3%	27,000	1.29%
Canadian	331,205	13.7%	278,350	13.27%
Newfoundlander	660	0%	390	0.02%
Nova Scotian	75	0%	120	0.01%
Ontarian	35	0%	20	less than 0.01%
Québécois	750	0%	350	0.02%
Other North American provincial or regional groups	170	0%	150	0.01%
Antiguan	130	0%	105	0.01%
Bahamian	160	0%	50	less than 0.01%
Barbadian	1,310	0.1%	925	0.04%
Bermudan	155	0%	100	less than 0.01%
Carib	60	0%	85	less than 0.01%
Cuban	870	0%	640	0.03%
Dominican n.o.s.	535	0%	295	0.01%
Grenadian	280	0%	175	0.01%
Guyanese	1,240	0.1%	825	0.04%
Haitian	635	0%	405	0.02%
Jamaican	6,455	0.3%	4,645	0.22%
Kittitian/Nevisian	95	0%	15	less than 0.01%
Martinican	20	0%	40	less than 0.01%
Montserratian	15	0%	20	less than 0.01%
Puerto Rican	280	0%	260	0.01%
St. Lucian	115	0%	80	less than 0.01%
Trinidadian/Tobagonian	3,120	0.1%	2,185	0.10%
Vincentian/Grenadinian	325	0%	120	0.01%
West Indian	1,440	0.1%	1,245	0.06%
Caribbean n.i.e.	1,485	0.1%	620	0.03%
Aboriginal from Central/South America	1,790	0.1%	830	0.04%
Argentines	1,360	0.1%	790	0.04%
Belizean	35	0%	160	less than 0.01%
Bolivian	185	0%	190	less than 0.01%
Brazilian	4,065	0.2%	1,115	0.05%
Chilean	3,840	0.2%	2,935	0.14%
Colombian	4,600	0.2%	2,125	0.10%
Costa Rican	460	0%	355	0.02%
Ecuadorian	740	0%	225	0.01%
Guatemalan	1,985	0.1%	1,405	0.07%
Hispanic	1,200	0%	555	0.03%
Honduran	1,120	0%	745	0.04%
Maya	620	0%	575	0.03%
Mexican	15,115	0.6%	7,680	0.37%
Nicaragua	1,060	0%	860	0.04%
Panamanian	195	0%	145	0.01%
Paraguayan	285	0%	170	0.01%
Peruvian	3,100	0.1%	1,910	0.09%
Salvadoran	5,310	0.2%	5,760	0.27%
Uruguayan	285	0%	60	less than 0.01%
Venezuelan	1,555	0.1%	535	0.03%
Latin, Central or South American n.i.e.	2,450	0.1%	1,225	0.06%
Austrian	21,260	0.9%	21,500	1.02%
Belgian	8,205	0.3%	6,555	0.31%
Dutch (Netherlands)	77,635	3.2%	71,710	3.42%
Flemish	955	0%	815	0.04%
Frisian	195	0%	155	0.01%
German	222,025	9.2%	203,715	9.71%
Luxembourger	330	0%	235	0.01%
Swiss	11,340	0.5%	10,130	0.48%
Finnish	14,085	0.6%	12,745	0.61%
Danish	23,025	0.9%	22,800	1.09%
Icelandic	11,055	0.5%	9,630	0.46%
Norwegian	49,335	2%	46,260	2.20%
Swedish	40,690	1.7%	39,920	1.90%
Northern European n.i.e.	5,320	0.2%	3,830	0.18%
Estonian	2,540	0.1%	2,590	0.12%
Latvian	2,455	0.1%	2,160	0.10%
Lithuanian	4,155	0.2%	3,100	0.15%
Belarusian	1,825	0.1%	820	0.04%
Czech	11,710	0.5%	10,385	0.50%
Czechoslovak	2,560	0.1%	2,810	0.13%
Slovak	6,345	0.3%	5,700	0.27%
Hungarian (Magyar)	25,860	1.1%	23,365	1.11%
Polish	70,590	2.9%	60,715	2.89%
Romanian	17,490	0.7%	14,055	0.67%
Russian	58,535	2.4%	47,935	2.28%
Ukrainian	94,400	3.9%	81,725	3.90%
Albanian	1,330	0.1%	650	0.03%
Bosnian	2,675	0.1%	2,535	0.12%
Bulgaria	2,940	0.1%	1,960	0.09%
Croatian	15,670	0.6%	12,475	0.59%
Cypriot	345	0%	270	0.01%
Greek	16,085	0.7%	15,025	0.72%
Italian	87,875	3.6%	76,345	3.64%
Kosovar	170	0%	85	less than 0.01%
Macedonian	865	0%	600	0.03%
Maltese	1,185	0%	990	0.05%
Montenegrin	600	0%	370	0.02%
Portuguese	24,575	1%	20,335	0.97%
Serbian	10,160	0.4%	7,690	0.37%
Sicilian	210	0%	180	0.01%
Slovenian	3,050	0.1%	2,475	0.12%
Spanish	43,990	1.8%	36,000	1.72%
Yugoslavs	3,275	0.1%	5,525	0.26%
Basque	475	0%	405	0.02%
Gypsy (Roma)	325	0%	250	0.01%
Jewish	11,230	0.5%	21,465	1.02%
misc. Slav (European)	505	0%	760	0.04%
Other European n.i.e.	6,470	0.3%	3,975	0.19%
Afrikaner	365	0%	290	0.01%
Akan	30	0%	25	less than 0.01%
Amhara	115	0%	65	less than 0.01%
Angolan	55	0%	70	less than 0.01%
Ashanti	65	0%	65	less than 0.01%
Bantu	235	0%	170	0.01%
Black	1,460	0.1%	3,005	0.14%
Burundian	195	0%	90	less than 0.01%
Congolese (Zairian) people	675	0%	75	less than 0.01%
Congolese n.o.s.	400	0%	85	less than 0.01%
Dinka	15	0%	25	less than 0.01%
East African people	1,390	0.1%	610	0.03%
Eritrean	950	0%	335	0.02%
Ethiopian	2,020	0.1%	1,625	0.08%
Gabonese	10	0%	10	less than 0.01%
Gambian	20	0%	15	less than 0.01%
Ghanaian	1,270	0.1%	1,100	less than 0.01%
Guinean n.o.s.	125	0%	95	less than 0.01%
Ibo	200	0%	15	less than 0.01%
Ivoirian	45	0%	15	less than 0.01%
Kenyan	1,170	0%	765	0.04%
Malagasay	80	0%	35	less than 0.01%
Mauritian	760	0%	325	0.02%
Nigerian	1,680	0.1%	880	0.04%
Oromo	120	0%	145	0.01%
Rwandan	305	0%	225	0.01%
Senegalese	45	0%	20	less than 0.01%
Seychellois	15	0%	20	less than 0.01%
Sierra Leonean	90	0%	115	0.01%
Somali	2,105	0.1%	1,320	0.06%
South African	6,485	0.3%	4,120	0.20%
Sudanese	940	0%	705	less than 0.01%
Tanzanian	425	0%	135	0.01%
Tigrian	180	0%	50	less than 0.01%
Togolese	80	0%	15	less than 0.01%
Ugandan	595	0%	360	0.02%
Yoruba	130	0%	80	less than 0.01%
Zambian	120	0%	40	less than 0.01%
Zimbabwean	565	0%	230	0.01%
Zulu	65	0%	70	less than 0.01%
African n.i.e.	10,325	0.4%	6,490	0.31%
Egyptian	3,405	0.1%	2,120	0.10%
Iraqi	5,205	0.2%	1,805	0.09%
Jordanian	585	0%	300	0.01%
Kuwaiti	100	0%	75	less than 0.01%
Lebanese	5,320	0.2%	6,175	0.29%
Libyan	210	0%	25	less than 0.01%
Algerian	615	0%	390	0.02%
Berber	185	0%	150	0.01%
Moroccan	1,480	0.1%	635	0.03%
Tunisian	380	0%	70	less than 0.01%
Maghrebi origins n.i.e.	170	0%	160	0.01%
Palestinian	2,245	0.1%	1,050	0.05%
Saudi Arabian	550	0%	255	0.01%
Syrian	2,780	0.1%	925	0.04%
Yemeni	255	0%	75	less than 0.01%
Arab n.i.e.	4,655	0.2%	3,075	0.15%
Afghan	7,500	0.3%	4,620	0.22%
Armenian	2,845	0.1%	2,700	0.15%
Assyrian	450	0%	355	0.02%
Azeribaijani	890	0%	405	0.02%
Georgian	550	0%	240	0.01%
Iranian	44,355	1.8%	27,155	1.29%
Israeli	2,075	0.1%	765	0.04%
Kurd	1,980	0.1%	1,145	0.05%
Pashtun	325	0%	170	0.01%
Tatar	650	0%	235	0.01%
Turk	5,185	0.2%	3,380	0.16%
West Asian n.i.e.	2,135	0.1%	1,350	0.06%
Bangladeshi	1,510	0.1%	785	0.04%
Bengali	755	0%	415	0.02%
Indian	243,135	10%	181,895	8.67%
Goan	320	0%	280	0.01%
Gujarati	615	0%	515	0.02%
Kashmiri	145	0%	70	less than 0.01%
Nepali	1,155	0%	460	0.02%
Pakistani	10,825	0.4%	6,875	0.33%
Punjabi	30,670	1.3%	13,735	0.65%
Sinhalese	530	0%	415	0.02%
Sri Lankan	5,065	0.2%	3,740	0.18%
Tamil	1,060	0%	740	0.04%
South Asian n.i.e.	7,200	0.3%	6,495	0.31%
Burmese	1,970	0.1%	865	0.04%
Cambodian	2,510	0.1%	1,525	0.07%
Chinese	499,175	20.6%	402,000	19.16%
Filipino	133,925	5.5%	83,760	3.99%
Hmong	115	0%	75	less than 0.01%
Indonesian	4,935	0.2%	3,140	0.15%
Japanese	37,630	1.6%	30,230	1.44%
Khmer	0	0%	135	0.01%
Korean	55,505	2.3%	46,040	2.19%
Laotian	1,775	0.1%	1,065	0.05%
Malaysian	4,230	0.2%	3,365	0.16%
Mongolian	1,000	0%	680	0.03%
Singaporean	895	0%	515	0.02%
Taiwanese	20,345	0.8%	9,810	0.47%
Thai	3,330	0.1%	1,565	0.07%
Tibetan	445	0%	100	Less than 0.01%
Vietnamese	34,915	1.4%	26,115	1.24%
East or Southeast Asian n.i.e.	630	0%	1,170	0.06%
Asian n.o.s.	1,805	0.1%	80	less than 0.01%
Australian	8,360	0.3%	5,525	0.26%
New Zealander	3,340	0.1%	2,390	0.11%
Fijian	13,085	0.5%	8,920	0.43%
Hawaiian	865	0%	660	0.03%
Māori	565	0%	375	0.02%
Polynesia	345	0%	265	0.01%
Samoan	245	0%	160	0.01%
Pacific Islander n.i.e.	680	210	0.01%	–
Note: Percentages total more than 100% due to multiple responses, e.g. German–East Indian, Norwegian–Irish–Polish

Panethnic groups in Metro Vancouver (1981–2021)

Panethnic group	2021[8][9]		2016[10][11]		2011[12][13]		2006[14]		2001[15]		1996[16][17][18]		1981[17][18][19]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
European[b][c]	1,124,475	43.13%	1,179,100	48.6%	1,197,985	52.53%	1,182,355	56.36%	1,204,970	61.24%	1,218,195	67.16%	1,066,460	85.28%
East Asian[d]	606,920	23.28%	557,745	22.99%	488,240	21.41%	451,790	21.53%	395,540	20.1%	318,005	17.53%	98,895	7.91%
South Asian	369,295	14.17%	291,005	11.99%	252,405	11.07%	207,165	9.87%	164,365	8.35%	120,140	6.62%	34,820	2.78%
Southeast Asian[e]	198,940	7.63%	168,075	6.93%	156,315	6.85%	112,365	5.36%	85,485	4.34%	61,085	3.37%	17,270	1.38%
Middle Eastern[f]	87,090	3.34%	62,440	2.57%	48,870	2.14%	35,590	1.7%	27,340	1.39%	18,155	1%	4,525	0.36%
Indigenous	63,345	2.43%	61,455	2.53%	52,375	2.3%	40,310	1.92%	36,855	1.87%	31,140	1.72%	10,850	0.87%
Latin American	51,500	1.98%	34,805	1.43%	29,125	1.28%	22,695	1.08%	18,715	0.95%	13,830	0.76%	3,025	0.24%
African	41,180	1.58%	29,830	1.23%	23,545	1.03%	20,670	0.99%	18,405	0.94%	16,400	0.9%	2,570	0.21%
Other/multiracial[g]	65,350	2.51%	41,780	1.72%	31,835	1.4%	25,035	1.19%	15,810	0.8%	16,990	0.94%	12,195	0.98%
Total visible minority	1,420,275	54.48%	1,185,680	48.87%	1,030,335	45.18%	875,310	41.72%	725,660	36.88%	564,600	31.13%	173,300	13.86%
Total responses	2,607,015	98.65%	2,426,235	98.49%	2,280,695	98.59%	2,097,965	99.12%	1,967,480	99.02%	1,813,935	99.03%	1,250,610	98.61%
Total population	2,642,825	100%	2,463,431	100%	2,313,328	100%	2,116,581	100%	1,986,965	100%	1,831,665	100%	1,268,183	100%
Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses

In the city of Vancouver and four adjacent municipalities (Surrey, Burnaby, Richmond, and Coquitlam), there is no visible majority. Hence, the term visible minority is used here in contrast to the overall Canadian population which remains predominantly of European descent. In Metro Vancouver, at the 2021 census, 54.5% of the population were members of non-European ethnic groups, 43.1% were members of European ethnic groups, and 2.4% of the population identified as Indigenous.

Greater Vancouver has more interracial couples than Canada's two largest cities, Toronto and Montreal. In 2011, 9.6% of married and common-law couples in Greater Vancouver are interracial; double the Canadian average of 4.6%,^[20] and higher than in the Toronto CMA (8.2%) and the Greater Montreal (5.2%). Vancouver has less residential segregation of its ethnic minorities compared to Canadian cities like Montreal.^[21] However, residential segregation in Greater Vancouver continues to persist in certain parts of the metropolitan area.

Population statistics for visible minorities in Greater Vancouver

Population group		2021[8][9]		1981[22][17]
		Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Total European population		1,124,475	43.1%	1,066,460	85.3%
Total Indigenous population		63,345	2.4%	10,850	0.9%
Visible minority group	Chinese	512,260	19.6%	83,845	6.7%
	South Asian	369,295	14.2%	34,820	2.8%
	Filipino	142,125	5.5%	12,830	1%
	Korean	63,465	2.4%	3,335	0.3%
	West Asian	64,645	2.5%	2,220	0.2%
	Southeast Asian	56,815	2.2%	4,440	0.4%
	Latin American	51,500	2%	3,025	0.2%
	Japanese	31,195	1.2%	11,715	0.9%
	Black	41,180	1.6%	2,570	0.2%
	Arab	22,445	0.9%	2,305	0.2%
	Visible minority, n.i.e.	14,745	0.6%	N/A	N/A
	Multiple visible minorities	50,605	1.9%	N/A	N/A
Total visible minority population		1,420,275	54.5%	173,300[19]	13.9%
Total responses		2,607,015	98.6%	1,250,610	98.6%
Total population		2,642,825	100%	1,268,183	100%
Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses.

Panethnic origins by Metro Vancouver municipalities (2021 census)

Municipality	Total population	European[h]	East Asian[d]	South Asian	Southeast Asian[e]	Middle Eastern[f]	Indigenous	Latin American	African	Other[g]
Metro Vancouver	2,642,825	43.13%	23.28%	14.17%	7.63%	3.34%	2.43%	1.98%	1.58%	2.51%
Vancouver	662,248	43.22%	29.26%	6.90%	9.10%	2.44%	2.25%	2.78%	1.31%	2.74%
Surrey	568,322	30.78%	10.91%	37.81%	9.71%	2.24%	2.16%	1.57%	2.29%	2.53%
Burnaby	249,125	30.46%	38.62%	9.42%	8.37%	3.65%	1.70%	2.50%	2.03%	3.24%
Richmond	209,937	18.94%	57.09%	7.38%	8.85%	1.86%	0.74%	1.03%	0.85%	3.26%
Coquitlam[23]	148,625	41.51%	31.45%	5.02%	5.2%	8.19%	1.98%	2.27%	1.45%	2.92%
Langley Township[24]	132,603	69.53%	10.94%	6.66%	4.15%	1.10%	3.85%	1.31%	1.11%	1.35%
Delta[25]	108,455	51.71%	10.29%	26.09%	4.12%	0.83%	2.96%	0.96%	1.02%	1.99%
Maple Ridge[26]	90,990	73.70%	5.81%	4.72%	4.31%	2.52%	4.68%	1.46%	1.60%	1.20%
North Vancouver (district)[27]	88,168	69.11%	10.27%	3.18%	2.90%	9.04%	1.81%	1.44%	0.54%	1.72%
New Westminster[28]	78,916	50.07%	14.19%	10.38%	10.33%	2.27%	3.11%	3.28%	3.45%	2.91%
Port Coquitlam[29]	61,498	57.35%	16.16%	5.78%	6.52%	4.90%	2.97%	1.91%	2.05%	2.36%
North Vancouver (city)[30]	58,120	61.59%	9.03%	3.65%	7.34%	11.32%	2.14%	2.10%	0.96%	1.87%
West Vancouver	44,122	55.77%	23.03%	3.24%	1.77%	12.24%	0.98%	0.99%	0.43%	1.54%
Port Moody	33,535	64.25%	17.23%	3.00%	2.85%	4.74%	3.08%	1.73%	1.18%	1.96%
Langley City	28,963	69.60%	4.10%	6.99%	6.26%	2.09%	5.69%	1.82%	2.16%	1.27%

Panethnic groups in Coquitlam (2001–2021)

Panethnic group	2021[23]		2016[10][68]		2011[12][69]		2006[70]		2001[71]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
European[h]	61,220	41.51%	65,730	47.6%	67,655	54.12%	68,120	59.99%	71,755	64.4%
East Asian[d]	46,375	31.45%	40,400	29.26%	30,715	24.57%	26,710	23.52%	25,030	22.46%
Middle Eastern[f]	12,080	8.19%	9,140	6.62%	7,375	5.9%	4,885	4.3%	2,965	2.66%
Southeast Asian[e]	7,675	5.2%	7,205	5.22%	6,415	5.13%	4,110	3.62%	3,710	3.33%
South Asian	7,405	5.02%	6,220	4.5%	5,245	4.2%	4,185	3.69%	3,280	2.94%
Latin American	3,345	2.27%	2,190	1.59%	1,895	1.52%	1,530	1.35%	1,110	1%
Indigenous	2,915	1.98%	3,095	2.24%	2,610	2.09%	1,565	1.38%	1,480	1.33%
African	2,135	1.45%	1,515	1.1%	1,265	1.01%	1,005	0.88%	1,130	1.01%
Other/multiracial[g]	4,300	2.92%	2,590	1.88%	1,840	1.47%	1,455	1.28%	970	0.87%
Total responses	147,465	99.22%	138,095	99.15%	125,015	98.56%	113,560	99.12%	111,425	98.7%
Total population	148,625	100%	139,284	100%	126,840	100%	114,565	100%	112,890	100%

Panethnic groups in Langley Township (2001–2021)

Panethnic group	2021[24]		2016[10][72]		2011[12][73]		2006[74]		2001[75]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
European[h]	91,055	69.53%	89,920	77.63%	85,840	83.23%	81,310	87.39%	78,195	90.69%
East Asian[d]	14,330	10.94%	9,255	7.99%	6,470	6.27%	4,820	5.18%	3,000	3.48%
South Asian	8,720	6.66%	5,140	4.44%	2,765	2.68%	1,445	1.55%	1,485	1.72%
Southeast Asian[e]	5,435	4.15%	3,515	3.03%	2,455	2.38%	1,475	1.59%	905	1.05%
Indigenous	5,045	3.85%	4,310	3.72%	3,495	3.39%	2,450	2.63%	1,950	2.26%
Latin American	1,715	1.31%	1,100	0.95%	650	0.63%	395	0.42%	190	0.22%
African	1,450	1.11%	1,205	1.04%	470	0.46%	575	0.62%	275	0.32%
Middle Eastern[f]	1,440	1.1%	715	0.62%	410	0.4%	295	0.32%	60	0.07%
Other/multiracial[g]	1,770	1.35%	680	0.59%	600	0.58%	280	0.3%	170	0.2%
Total responses	130,960	98.76%	115,835	98.76%	103,140	99%	93,040	99.27%	86,220	99.22%
Total population	132,603	100%	117,285	100%	104,177	100%	93,726	100%	86,896	100%

Panethnic groups in Delta (2001–2021)

Panethnic group	2021[25]		2016[76]		2011[77]		2006[78]		2001[79]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
European[h]	55,465	51.71%	61,835	61.32%	66,630	67.48%	68,400	71.19%	72,375	75.1%
South Asian	27,990	26.09%	20,485	20.31%	17,030	17.25%	14,220	14.8%	12,035	12.49%
East Asian[d]	11,040	10.29%	9,320	9.24%	7,065	7.16%	7,280	7.58%	6,675	6.93%
Southeast Asian[e]	4,420	4.12%	3,240	3.21%	3,165	3.21%	2,280	2.37%	2,060	2.14%
Indigenous	3,180	2.96%	2,710	2.69%	2,290	2.32%	1,700	1.77%	1,495	1.55%
African	1,095	1.02%	795	0.79%	595	0.6%	495	0.52%	610	0.63%
Latin American	1,035	0.96%	815	0.81%	710	0.72%	710	0.74%	490	0.51%
Middle Eastern[f]	890	0.83%	515	0.51%	240	0.24%	280	0.29%	220	0.23%
Other/multiracial[g]	2,140	1.99%	1,120	1.11%	1,010	1.02%	715	0.74%	420	0.44%
Total responses	107,270	98.91%	100,845	98.64%	98,740	98.88%	96,075	99.33%	96,370	99.4%
Total population	108,455	100%	102,238	100%	99,863	100%	96,723	100%	96,950	100%

Panethnic groups in Maple Ridge (2001–2021)

Panethnic group	2021[26]		2016[80]		2011[81]		2006[82]		2001[83]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
European[h]	66,230	73.7%	65,040	80.33%	63,550	84.58%	58,970	86.52%	55,795	89.44%
East Asian[d]	5,225	5.81%	3,750	4.63%	2,800	3.73%	2,545	3.73%	1,760	2.82%
South Asian	4,245	4.72%	2,480	3.06%	1,785	2.38%	1,675	2.46%	1,375	2.2%
Indigenous	4,205	4.68%	3,815	4.71%	2,695	3.59%	1,870	2.74%	1,555	2.49%
Southeast Asian[e]	3,870	4.31%	2,515	3.11%	1,960	2.61%	1,365	2%	550	0.88%
Middle Eastern[f]	2,265	2.52%	900	1.11%	465	0.62%	360	0.53%	250	0.4%
African	1,440	1.6%	945	1.17%	940	1.25%	695	1.02%	635	1.02%
Latin American	1,310	1.46%	875	1.08%	480	0.64%	385	0.56%	200	0.32%
Other/multiracial[g]	1,075	1.2%	660	0.82%	470	0.63%	290	0.43%	255	0.41%
Total responses	89,860	98.76%	80,970	98.44%	75,140	98.8%	68,160	98.86%	62,380	98.75%
Total population	90,990	100%	82,256	100%	76,052	100%	68,949	100%	63,169	100%

Panethnic groups in North Vancouver (District) (2001–2021)

Panethnic group	2021[27]		2016[84]		2011[85]		2006[86]		2001[87]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
European[h]	60,390	69.11%	61,770	72.77%	64,095	76.71%	62,950	76.85%	65,110	79.72%
East Asian[d]	8,975	10.27%	8,720	10.27%	7,555	9.04%	8,260	10.08%	7,450	9.12%
Middle Eastern[f]	7,900	9.04%	5,705	6.72%	4,680	5.6%	3,755	4.58%	3,505	4.29%
South Asian	2,780	3.18%	3,060	3.61%	2,245	2.69%	2,605	3.18%	2,310	2.83%
Southeast Asian[e]	2,530	2.9%	2,250	2.65%	2,285	2.73%	1,765	2.15%	1,165	1.43%
Indigenous	1,580	1.81%	1,360	1.6%	1,080	1.29%	755	0.92%	830	1.02%
Latin American	1,255	1.44%	780	0.92%	790	0.95%	740	0.9%	660	0.81%
African	475	0.54%	470	0.55%	235	0.28%	455	0.56%	295	0.36%
Other/multiracial[g]	1,505	1.72%	765	0.9%	595	0.71%	630	0.77%	355	0.43%
Total responses	87,385	99.11%	84,880	98.77%	83,555	98.98%	81,910	99.21%	81,675	99.23%
Total population	88,168	100%	85,935	100%	84,412	100%	82,562	100%	82,310	100%

Panethnic groups in Port Coquitlam (2001–2021)

Panethnic group	2021[29]		2016[92]		2011[93]		2006[94]		2001[95]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
European[h]	34,635	57.35%	37,125	64.12%	38,070	68.25%	37,900	72.56%	38,440	75.66%
East Asian[d]	9,760	16.16%	8,420	14.54%	7,250	13%	6,755	12.93%	5,635	11.09%
Southeast Asian[e]	3,940	6.52%	3,090	5.34%	2,345	4.2%	1,595	3.05%	1,245	2.45%
South Asian	3,490	5.78%	2,790	4.82%	2,815	5.05%	2,445	4.68%	2,285	4.5%
Middle Eastern[f]	2,960	4.9%	1,745	3.01%	1,155	2.07%	1,030	1.97%	830	1.63%
Indigenous	1,795	2.97%	1,985	3.43%	1,790	3.21%	905	1.73%	1,030	2.03%
African	1,235	2.05%	885	1.53%	845	1.51%	550	1.05%	710	1.4%
Latin American	1,155	1.91%	925	1.6%	955	1.71%	440	0.84%	285	0.56%
Other/multiracial[g]	1,425	2.36%	940	1.62%	560	1%	605	1.16%	330	0.65%
Total responses	60,390	98.2%	57,895	98.78%	55,780	99%	52,230	99.13%	50,805	99.12%
Total population	61,498	100%	58,612	100%	56,342	100%	52,687	100%	51,257	100%

Panethnic groups in North Vancouver (city) (2001–2021)

Panethnic group	2021[30]		2016[96]		2011[97]		2006[98]		2001[99]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
European[h]	35,420	61.59%	34,695	66.48%	32,800	68.78%	32,160	71.69%	32,960	75.03%
Middle Eastern[f]	6,510	11.32%	4,575	8.77%	3,655	7.66%	3,155	7.03%	3,015	6.86%
East Asian[d]	5,195	9.03%	4,260	8.16%	3,775	7.92%	3,995	8.91%	3,255	7.41%
Southeast Asian[e]	4,220	7.34%	3,715	7.12%	3,470	7.28%	2,150	4.79%	1,650	3.76%
South Asian	2,100	3.65%	1,840	3.53%	1,475	3.09%	1,340	2.99%	980	2.23%
Indigenous	1,230	2.14%	1,150	2.2%	970	2.03%	925	2.06%	1,015	2.31%
Latin American	1,210	2.1%	840	1.61%	585	1.23%	430	0.96%	470	1.07%
African	550	0.96%	485	0.93%	390	0.82%	315	0.7%	315	0.72%
Other/multiracial[g]	1,075	1.87%	630	1.21%	575	1.21%	385	0.86%	275	0.63%
Total responses	57,505	98.94%	52,185	98.65%	47,685	98.94%	44,860	99.32%	43,930	99.16%
Total population	58,120	100%	52,898	100%	48,196	100%	45,165	100%	44,303	100%

Panethnic origins by federal electoral districts in Metro Vancouver (2021 census)

Riding	Total population	European[h]	East Asian[d]	South Asian	Southeast Asian[e]	Middle Eastern[f]	Indigenous	Latin American	African	Other[g]
Langley—Aldergrove[100]	133,168	69.04%	10.04%	8.34%	3.73%	1.11%	3.93%	1.31%	1.16%	1.33%
Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam[101]	132,004	46.03%	27.02%	4.75%	5.17%	8.52%	2.21%	2.15%	1.47%	2.69%
Surrey Centre[102]	131,670	22.19%	7.45%	40.04%	14.46%	4.17%	2.82%	2.27%	3.5%	3.12%
Cloverdale—Langley City[103]	130,665	53.12%	6.48%	21.26%	7.97%	1.5%	3.66%	1.72%	2.15%	2.13%
Vancouver Centre[104]	126,995	56.77%	17.66%	5.04%	3.43%	6.79%	2.1%	4.54%	1.39%	2.27%
New Westminster—Burnaby[105]	125,253	40.74%	20.98%	11.34%	11.06%	3.48%	2.53%	2.92%	3.73%	3.2%
Fleetwood—Port Kells[106]	124,987	22.28%	17.97%	34.56%	14.97%	2.13%	1.59%	1.46%	1.96%	3.1%
North Vancouver[107]	123,025	64.42%	9.69%	3.46%	4.95%	11.04%	2.2%	1.77%	0.66%	1.81%
Surrey—Newton[108]	122,264	15.05%	2.97%	66.73%	5.85%	1.97%	1.63%	1.24%	2.3%	2.25%
Burnaby South[109]	120,305	25.18%	43.09%	10.66%	9.01%	3.12%	1.48%	2.65%	1.53%	3.29%
South Surrey—White Rock[110]	119,672	60.08%	18.65%	12.09%	2.69%	0.84%	2.12%	1.02%	1.14%	1.37%
Vancouver East[111]	118,675	51.5%	22.49%	3.38%	8.15%	1.5%	5.22%	2.93%	1.9%	2.92%
Port Moody—Coquitlam[112]	114,853	52.24%	23.73%	5.07%	5.17%	4.89%	2.65%	2.03%	1.64%	2.58%
Delta[113]	110,721	51.7%	10.46%	25.68%	4.13%	0.86%	3.15%	0.97%	1.02%	2.01%
Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge[114]	110,416	73.24%	5.92%	4.82%	4.51%	2.47%	4.76%	1.47%	1.48%	1.32%
Vancouver Granville[115]	109,799	46.17%	34.77%	4.6%	5.16%	1.81%	1.62%	2.22%	1.12%	2.52%
Vancouver South[116]	109,339	18.68%	38.14%	17.84%	16%	1%	1.41%	2.33%	1.25%	3.35%
Vancouver Quadra[117]	109,328	53.96%	31.58%	3.46%	2.37%	2.42%	1.87%	1.59%	0.8%	1.96%
Burnaby North—Seymour[118]	108,794	49.05%	29.13%	4.94%	4.69%	3.48%	2.51%	2.16%	1.42%	2.6%
Vancouver Kingsway[119]	108,054	27.58%	35.53%	7.29%	19.4%	0.99%	1.73%	2.69%	1.31%	3.46%
Richmond Centre[120]	107,707	17.2%	62.92%	4.91%	7.38%	1.83%	0.77%	1.08%	0.73%	3.17%
Steveston—Richmond East[121]	102,230	20.76%	50.98%	9.95%	10.38%	1.89%	0.71%	0.99%	0.98%	0.71%

As of around 2009, 3% of residents of Vancouver state that they have at least some ancestry from the First Nations, and of that 3%, over half state that they also have non-First Nations ancestry. A person with some First Nations ancestry may not necessarily identify as someone who is First Nations.^[122]

There is a small community of aboriginal people in Vancouver as well as in the surrounding metropolitan region, with the result that Vancouver constitutes the largest native community in the province, albeit an unincorporated one (i.e. not as a band government).^{[citation needed]} There is an equally large or larger Métis contingent.

Indigenous peoples, who make up less than two percent of the city's population, are not considered a visible minority group by Statistics Canada.

Indigenous Population in Vancouver[123][124]
Aboriginal group	First Nations	7,865	1.3%	7,510	1.3%
	Métis	3,595	0.6%	3,235	0.6%
	Inuit	70	0%	45	0%
	Aboriginal, n.i.e.	305	0.1%	210	0%
	Multiple Aboriginal identities	100	0%	140	0%
Total Aboriginal population		11,945	2%	11,145	1.9%
Total population		590,210	100%	571,600	100%

Much of the ethnic white population consists of persons whose origins go back to Britain or Ireland and, until recently, British Columbians with British or Irish ancestry most likely came directly from those islands, rather than via Ontario or the Maritime Provinces. Until the 1960s, it was easier to purchase the Times of London and The Guardian in Vancouver than it was to find the Toronto Globe and Mail or Montreal Gazette.

Other large and historically important European ethnic groups consist of Germans, Dutch, French (of both European and Canadian origin), Ukrainians, Scandinavians, Finns, Italians, Croats, Hungarians, Greeks, and lately numerous Romanians, Russians, Portuguese, Serbs and Poles. Non-visible minorities such as newly arrived Eastern Europeans and the new wave of Latin Americans are also a feature of the city's ethnic landscape. Prior to the Hong Kong influx of the 1980s, the largest non-British Isles ethnic group in the city was German, followed by Ukrainian and the Scandinavian ethnicities. Most of these earlier East European immigrant are fully assimilated or intermarried with other groups, although a new generation of East Europeans form a distinct linguistic and social community.

The first Chinese immigrants to British Columbia were men who came to "the British Colonies of Canada," as they called British Columbia, for the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush of 1858 and a decade later to work on building the Canadian Pacific Railway.

As of 2014, there are about 70,000 ethnic Koreans in the Vancouver area.^[125]

An H-Mart and several Korean restaurants are located on Robson Street.^[126] As of 2008, there are many Korean national students at the university and primary/secondary levels studying English.^[127] Other areas with Korean businesses include Kingsway in Vancouver, Burnaby, Guildford in Surrey and New Westminster; other areas in Vancouver; North Road in Burnaby and Coquitlam, and areas of Port Coquitlam.^[128] As of 2011, Coquitlam is a popular area of settlement for Koreans.^[129]

Rimhak Ree (Yi Yimhak) came to Vancouver to study mathematics at the University of British Columbia in 1953, making him the first known ethnic Korean to live in the city.^[130] There were about 50 ethnic Koreans in Vancouver in the mid-1960s. The first Korean United Church congregation in the city opened in 1965. Numbers of Korean immigration to Canada increased due to more permissive immigration laws established in the 1960s as well as the home country's political conflict and poverty. There were 1,670 ethnic Koreans in Vancouver by 1975, making up 16% of all ethnic Koreans in Canada and a 3000% increase from the mid-1960s population.^[131] Korean immigration to Canada decreased after a more restrictive immigration law was enacted in 1978.^[132]

Christianity is a popular religion among ethnic Koreans. About 200 Korean churches are in the Vancouver area.^[125]

In 1986 Greater Vancouver had fewer than 5,000 ethnic Koreans. In 1991 the number had increased to 8,330. The number of ethnic Koreans in the Vancouver area increased by 69% in the period 1996 through 2001.^[133] The number of university students from Korea choosing to study in Vancouver had become most of the Korean students studying in Canada by the late 1990s.^[127] The first Korean grocery store in the North Road area opened in 2000.^[128] In 2001 28,850 ethnic Koreans live in Greater Vancouver, and this increased to 44,825 according to the 2006 census.^[133]

Canwest Global does a co-venture with the Canada Express, a Korean publication, to serve ethnic Koreans. It previously published a Korean edition of the Vancouver Sun but later stopped. Daniel Ahadi and Catherine A. Murray, authors of "Urban Mediascapes and Multicultural Flows: Assessing Vancouver's Communication Infrastructure," wrote that the Korean edition of the Vancouver Sun was "error-fraught".^[134]

Punjabi immigrants first arrived in Vancouver during the late 19th century.^[135] Most ethnic South Asians in the Lower Mainland are Punjabi Sikhs. Surrey has the largest ethnic South Asian population in Metro Vancouver, at 32.4%. The Newton neighbourhood in Surrey contains the highest percentage of ethnic Indians in a neighbourhood in Metro Vancouver.^[136]

Other significant Asian ethnic groups in Vancouver are Vietnamese, Filipino, Cambodian and Japanese. In Vancouver the term 'Asian' is normally used to refer only to East Asian and Southeast Asian peoples, while South Asians are usually referred to as Indo-Canadian or East Indians. Technically, though, the term 'Asian' may refer to either group, and also to the large Persian and other Middle Eastern populations as well as elements from Central Asia.

Panethnic origin projections (2041)

	2041[137][138][139][140]
	Population	%
European[h]	1,243,500	30.62%
East Asian[d]	1,054,000	25.95%
South Asian	757,000	18.64%
Southeast Asian[e]	385,000	9.48%
Middle Eastern[f]	202,000	4.97%
Latin American	112,000	2.76%
Indigenous	105,500	2.6%
African	90,000	2.22%
Other/multiracial	112,000	2.76%
Projected Metro Vancouver population	4,061,000	100%

The question on knowledge of languages allows for multiple responses. The following figures are from the 2021 Canadian census, and lists languages that were selected by at least 1,000 respondents.

Knowledge of Languages in Metro Vancouver

Language	2021[141]
	Pop.	%
English	2,465,855	94.59%
Mandarin	292,725	11.23%
Punjabi	239,205	9.18%
Cantonese	233,745	8.97%
French	171,640	6.58%
Hindi	110,490	4.24%
Tagalog	109,935	4.22%
Spanish	94,555	3.63%
Korean	61,165	2.35%
Iranian Persian	52,290	2.01%
German	35,110	1.35%
Vietnamese	34,655	1.33%
Japanese	31,765	1.22%
Russian	29,885	1.15%
Arabic	28,450	1.09%
Italian	24,325	0.93%
Portuguese	23,835	0.91%
Min Nan	22,615	0.87%
Urdu	21,970	0.84%
Serbo-Croatian	17,080	0.66%
Polish	13,165	0.5%
Gujarati	12,615	0.48%
Ilocano	9,645	0.37%
Romanian	8,735	0.34%
Tamil	8,440	0.32%
Dutch	8,285	0.32%
Dari	7,840	0.3%
Turkish	7,840	0.3%
Ukrainian	7,515	0.29%
Greek	7,010	0.27%
Indonesian	5,895	0.23%
Hebrew	5,655	0.22%
Bengali	5,330	0.2%
Hungarian	5,250	0.2%
Czech	4,785	0.18%
Afrikaans	4,765	0.18%
Malayalam	4,615	0.18%
Wu Chinese	4,550	0.17%
Cebuano	4,315	0.17%
Telugu	3,940	0.15%
Swahili	3,930	0.15%
Kurdish	3,720	0.14%
Thai	3,500	0.13%
Hakka	3,385	0.13%
Tigrigna	3,095	0.12%
Sinhala	3,045	0.12%
Malay	2,955	0.11%
Marathi	2,935	0.11%
Slovak	2,835	0.11%
Kacchi	2,750	0.11%
Hiligaynon	2,655	0.1%
Amharic	2,590	0.1%
Swedish	2,540	0.1%
Pashto	2,445	0.09%
Danish	2,255	0.09%
Aramaic	2,125	0.08%
Somali	1,970	0.08%
Bulgarian	1,960	0.08%
Finnish	1,695	0.07%
Khmer language	1,690	0.06%
Nepali	1,640	0.06%
Albanian	1,585	0.06%
Burmese	1,560	0.06%
Azerbaijani	1,475	0.06%
Norwegian	1,440	0.06%
Kannada	1,430	0.05%
Armenian	1,385	0.05%
Irish	1,360	0.05%
Pampangan language	1,310	0.05%
Lao	1,175	0.05%
Bisayan languages	1,145	0.04%
Yoruba	1,130	0.04%
Akan language	1,015	0.04%
Total responses	2,607,010	98.64%
Total population	2,642,825	100%

The following figures come from the 2021 census profile for Vancouver, the census metropolitan area.^[142]

Population by mother tongue (Vancouver CMA)

Identified languages with 10,000+ speakers	Population	%
English	1,340,995	51.2
English + non-official language	117,335	4.5
Mandarin	191,475	7.3
Cantonese	182,910	7.0
Panjabi (Punjabi)	180,355	6.9
Tagalog (Filipino)	67,790	2.6
Persian (incl. Dari, Farsi)	54,350	2.0
Korean	52,525	2.0
Spanish	36,625	1.5
Hindi	27,990	1.0
Vietnamese	26,850	1.0
French	24,710	0.9
Russian	20,685	0.8
Portuguese	18,185	0.7
Arabic	18,130	0.7
German	18,090	0.7
Japanese	17,340	0.7
Serbo-Croatian (Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, Montenegrin)	13,295	0.5
Italian	13,285	0.5
Minnan Chinese (e.g. Hokkien, Teochew)	11,195	0.4
Polish	10,645	0.4
Urdu	10,495	0.4

Notes:

• The figures for Cantonese, Mandarin and Minnan do not include 1,125 speakers of "Chinese (not otherwise specified)", some of whom may speak Cantonese, Mandarin or Minnan. The total number of speakers of all varieties of Chinese is 393,030 (15.0% of the population).
• For the separate figures of Hindi and Urdu, see Hindi–Urdu controversy.
• The number of native speakers of both English and French only is 8,240, and with a non-official language too, 2,190. This means the self-identified mother-tongue speakers of both official languages amount to 10,430 (0.4% of the population).
• The 2021 census identified 1,800 individuals who had knowledge of an indigenous language of Canada.

Vancouver, like the rest of British Columbia, has a low rate of church attendance compared with the rest of the continent and the majority of the population does not practice religion.^[143][144] As of the 2021 Canadian census, 33.1 percent of Greater Vancouver is Christian, the largest percentage of any religion. 13.7 percent are Catholic, 8.7 percent are Christians of unspecified denomination, 7.2 percent are Protestant, 1.4 percent are Christian Orthodox, and 2.2 percent are other Christian or Christian-related traditions. Greater Vancouver has a notable Sikh (8.5 percent) and Buddhist (2.7 percent) population, mostly adherents of South Asian and East Asian ancestry.^[145] There is also a significant minority of Muslim residents (4.2 percent).

Religious groups in Metro Vancouver (1981–2021)

Religious group	2021[146]		2011[147]		2001[148]		1991[149][150]		1981[151][152]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Irreligion	1,227,760	47.09%	945,405	41.45%	692,765	35.21%	493,220	31.14%	283,965	22.71%
Christianity	863,055	33.11%	950,170	41.66%	992,115	50.43%	949,530	59.94%	899,615	71.93%
Sikhism	222,160	8.52%	155,945	6.84%	99,000	5.03%	49,625	3.13%	22,390	1.79%
Islam	110,645	4.24%	73,215	3.21%	52,590	2.67%	23,335	1.47%	10,885	0.87%
Buddhism	70,670	2.71%	78,465	3.44%	74,550	3.79%	31,645	2%	8,310	0.66%
Hinduism	66,530	2.55%	40,030	1.76%	27,410	1.39%	14,880	0.94%	6,865	0.55%
Judaism	20,125	0.77%	18,730	0.82%	17,270	0.88%	14,360	0.91%	12,865	1.03%
Indigenous spirituality	1,865	0.07%	1,550	0.07%	—	—	—	—	—	—
Other	24,205	0.93%	17,185	0.75%	11,775	0.6%	7,520	0.47%	2,950	0.24%
Total responses	2,607,010	98.64%	2,280,695	98.59%	1,967,480	99.02%	1,584,115	98.85%	1,250,605	98.61%
Total population	2,642,825	100%	2,313,328	100%	1,986,965	100%	1,602,502	100%	1,268,183	100%

The 2021 census reported that immigrants (individuals born outside Canada) comprise 1,089,185 persons or 41.8 percent of the total population of Metro Vancouver.^[153]

The 2021 Canadian census counted a total of 154,820 people who immigrated to Metro Vancouver between 2016 and 2021.^[153]

Recent immigrants to Metro Vancouver by country of birth (2016 to 2021)[153]
Country of birth	Population	% recent immigrants
India	30,545	19.7%
China	28,970	18.7%
Philippines	15,090	9.7%
South Korea	6,125	4%
Iran	5,615	3.6%
United States	5,460	3.5%
Brazil	4,625	3%
United Kingdom	4,555	2.9%
Syria	3,380	2.2%
Mexico	2,460	1.6%
Hong Kong	2,385	1.5%
Vietnam	2,275	1.5%
Ireland	2,105	1.4%
Pakistan	1,850	1.2%
Russia	1,740	1.1%
Taiwan	1,650	1.1%
Japan	1,610	1%
Ukraine	1,585	1%
Iraq	1,435	0.9%
Eritrea	1,415	0.9%
Total	154,820	100%

The 2011 Metro Vancouver Homeless Count revealed that there were at least 2,650 people found to be homeless in Metro Vancouver.^[168] This particular homeless count is and continues to be conducted once every three years, taking place over a brief 24-hour period. The report published on these results stated, "It is important to note that all Homeless Counts are inherently undercounts and that the 2011 Metro Vancouver Count was no exception."^[168] Nonetheless, these counts can be used as indicators to determine homelessness trends within Metro Vancouver. Between 2002 and 2005, "the count revealed that homelessness in the region nearly doubled from 1121 to 2174 persons".^[169] From 2005 to 2008, the count revealed a much smaller increase in homelessness, from 2174 to 2660 persons. Thus, the count conducted in 2011 implies that the homeless population has remained relatively stable between 2008 and 2011.

Of the homeless people surveyed in 2011, "71% were sheltered in either an emergency shelter, safe house, transition house or temporary facility such as a hospital, jail or detoxification centre...while 29% slept in outdoor locations or at someone else's place".^[168] 74 of the 2,650 homeless persons counted were children – those under the age of 19 – who accompanied a parent who was also homeless. Furthermore, of the homeless youth surveyed, 102 individuals were under the age of 19, 221 between the ages of 19 and 24, and 74 whose ages could not be identified, for a total of 397 homeless. Adults constituted the largest cohort of homeless in Metro Vancouver with 275 individuals between the ages of 25 and 34, 328 between the ages of 35 and 44, and 397 between the ages of 45 and 54, for a total of 1,000 homeless. Lastly, seniors – those above the age of 55 – constituted 268 homeless people. Of the 2,650 people identified in the count, ages for 985 people could not be provided.

Homelessness doesn't occur suddenly, rather it is a progression wherein an individual becomes part of the group of 'at risk' individuals, remains in this group for some time, and then, finally, becomes homeless due to economic hardships and social dislocation.^[170] "Contemporary definitions split homelessness into two broad groups: 'absolute' homelessness, which refers to persons or households literally without physical shelter, and 'relative' homelessness, which includes a range of housing situations characterized as being at-risk of homelessness."^[169] Indeed, being classified as at-risk of homelessness does not imply that an individual or household will become homeless in the future, only that various pre-conditions exist that may lead to this.^[171] These pre-conditions include, but are not restricted to the following: people living in SROs (Single Room Occupancy), people living in rooming houses, and people paying more than 50% of their net income towards housing costs.^[170] "Two-thirds of responses from homeless individuals enumerated in a recent homeless count in Greater Vancouver cited economic reasons for their being homeless – with lack of income and cost of housing accounting for 44% and 22% of responses respectively."^[171]

Housing affordability has and continues to be the top priority housing issue Vancouverites must resolve. In 1996, a study published by BC Housing revealed that 25% of renter households in Vancouver pay 50% or more of their incomes to rent.^[170] The core housing need model, developed by the CMHC, uses a threshold of households spending at least 30% of their income on shelter costs to illuminate households experiencing acute housing affordability needs. "Moving from the 30% shelter cost-to-income ratio (STIR) used in the core housing need model, to a 50% threshold, typically reduces the number of households identified by more than half."^[169] In 2001, Statistics Canada published a study using both the 30% and 50% thresholds to identify renters and homeowners facing unaffordable housing costs in Metro Vancouver. This study revealed that 8.1% of homeowners and 27.8% of renters exceeded the 30% threshold, while 4.0% of homeowners and 10.8% of renters exceeded the 50% threshold. More in depth still, this study also found that 18.5% of immigrants living in Vancouver exceeded the 30% threshold and 8.0% exceed the 50% threshold. Only 11.3% and 4.8% of Canadian born households exceeded the 30% and 50% thresholds, respectively.

Heather Smith and David Ley found that in Canada's gateway cities, "the appreciable growth of the low-income population during the 1990s was almost entirely attributable to the growing poverty of recent immigrants".^[172] They go on to state, "adult immigrants who had landed in the previous decade endured a poverty rate of...37 percent in Vancouver".^[172] Immigrants, recent and old, therefore constitute a large proportion of households in Metro Vancouver considered to be at-risk of homelessness. Analysis conducted by Robert Fiedler revealed that, in 2001, "29.1% of persons in households...in Greater Vancouver are below more than one CMHC housing standard, indicating that...some households not only must spend an unsustainably high proportion of their income on shelter costs, but must also live in overcrowded and/or substandard conditions to access housing".^[171] Although many new immigrants to Canada come from educated backgrounds, many having bachelor's degrees, they are paid less on average than Canadian born individuals and "Over the past 25 years, the incomes of recent immigrants to Canada have progressively declined relative to the native-born."^[173]

Recently, the City of Vancouver released a new strategy targeting homelessness and affordable housing. The strategy will be enacted in 2012 and will run until 2021, with the goal of ending street homelessness completely by 2015, as well as increasing affordable housing choices for all Vancouverites. The City of Vancouver indicates that from 2002 to 2011, "homelessness has increased nearly three-fold" from approximately 628 homeless in 2002, to 1,605 homeless in 2011.^[174] The strategy goes on to report that SRO rooms are increasingly being lost to conversions and rent increases even though SRO hotels constitute a majority of Vancouver's lowest income housing stock. As Robert Fiedler noted in 2006, "renters are disproportionately located in the City of Vancouver, which contains only 27.8% of the area's total population, but 40.2% of all renters".^[171] Furthermore, low vacancy rates in Vancouver's market rental stock, a decreasing new supply of apartments in recent decades, and a widening gap of household incomes and housing prices are just a few challenges that must be overcome. By 2021, the City of Vancouver hopes to enable 5,000 additional social housing units, 11,000 new market rental-housing units, and 20,000 market ownership units.^[174]

• Baker, Don. "Koreans in Vancouver: A Short History." Journal of the Canadian Historical Association, 2008, Vol.19(2), pp. 155–180

• Gumpp, Ruth. "Ethnicity and Assimilation: German Postwar Immigrants in Vancouver, 1945–1970" (MA thesis). University of British Columbia, 1989.
• Walhouse, Freda. 1961. The Influence of Minority Ethnic Groups on the Culture Geography of Vancouver (MA thesis), University of British Columbia.