About Iqaluit: Demographics

Statistics Canada figures show Nunavut's population at the time of its formation in 1999 was approximately 27,000. Unlike Yukon and NWT, a large proportion of the population does not reside in a single community (Table 1). The City of Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut, is the largest community with a population more than 7,250. Rankin Inlet is the second largest community with a population of approximately 2,200. Eight other communities have populations over 1,000 people including Cambridge Bay. Approximately half of the population resides in the Baffin region, with roughly 30 per cent residing in the Keewatin or Kivalliq region and 20 per cent residing in the Kitikmeot region.

Inuit represent approximately 85 per cent of the population, but for communities other than Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet and Cambridge Bay the percentage of Inuit is closer to 95 per cent. As such, the percentage of aboriginal peoples is higher in Nunavut than in Yukon (21 per cent), NWT (48 per cent) and Greenland (80 per cent). According to the 1996 Census, Inuktitut is the dominant language in Nunavut with 60 per cent speaking it at home compared with 35 per cent speaking English.

There are some important aspects about Nunavut's population that distinguish it from the population of other jurisdictions in Canada, and which will have implications for Nunavut's economic development. The first aspect pertains to the Territory's rapid growth in population over the past several decades. For example, Nunavut experienced an increase in population by 32 per cent between 1986 and 1996. Most of this growth is due to natural increase as high birth rates were accompanied with increased life expectancy rates due in part to improvements in health related services 35. Nunavut's population growth rate (16.4 per cent) was more than three times the national average (5.7 per cent) between 1991 and 1996. Nunavut's population is expected to reach over 32,000 by 2006 and over 43,000 by 2020 according to Nunavummit Kiglisiniartiit (Nunavut Bureau of Statistics). By 2010 it is expected that there will be more people residing in Nunavut than in Yukon. However, it should be noted that Nunavut's population growth rate growth has been slowing, as has its fertility rate due to Inuit women having fewer children.

The high population growth rate over the past several years has resulted in Nunavut having the youngest population in Canada (Table 2). Approximately 60 per cent of the population are under 25 years of age-92 per cent of whom are Inuit-and 41 per cent of the population are under 16 years. So, unlike most of Canada (Chart 1), Nunavut has a very large segment of the population that is quite young and that will likely dominate public policy in Nunavut for years to come (e.g., the need for increased demand for educational related services, youth employment opportunities) 36. The non-Inuit population in Nunavut is distributed similar to the overall Canadian distribution with the majority being between the ages of 25 and 60 years.

35 Jack Hicks and Graham White, "Nunavut: Inuit Self-Determination Through a Land Claim and Public Government?" Nunavut: Inuit Regain Control of Their Lands and Their Lives ed. J Dahl, J. Hicks and P. Jull (Copenhagen, Denmark: International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs, 2000), pg. 34-35.

36 Government of Northwest Territories, Towards Excellence: A Report on Education in the NWT 1996-97.