Demographics
According to the Statistics Canada 2001 census, the population estimates there were 96,288 people residing in Kelowna and 147,739 people residing in the Greater Kelowna Area. 48.4% of residents were male and 51.6% were female. Children under five accounted for approximately 4.8% of the resident population of Kelowna. This compares with 5.2% in British Columbia, and 5.6% for Canada overall.
In mid-2001, 18.4% of the resident population in Kelowna were of retirement age (65 and over for males and females) compared with 13.2% in Canada; the average age is 41.1 years of age, compared to an average age of 37.6 years in Canada.
In the five years between 1996 and 2001, the population of Kelowna grew by 7.7%, compared with an increase of 4.9% for British Columbia as a whole. Population density of Kelowna averaged 50.9 people per square kilometre, compared with Vancouver at 5335 people per square kilometre, and with all of British Columbia with an average of 4.2 people/km².
Visible minorities make up about 6.2% of the population of Kelowna. The largest group of visible minorities are South Asian (28.7%), Chinese (19.0%), Japanese (14.0%), Southeast Asian (9.0%), Filipino and other Asian (10.6%), Black (7.4%), multiple/other (4.1%), and Arab (0.8%)
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1905 | 600 | — |
| 1959 | 10,000 | +1566.7% |
| 1971 | 19,089 | +90.9% |
| 1978 | 51,955 | +172.2% |
| 1981 | 59,196 | +13.9% |
| 1986 | 61,213 | +3.4% |
| 1991 | 75,950 | +24.1% |
| 1993 | 85,564 | +12.7% |
| 1996 | 89,442 | +4.5% |
| 2001 | 96,288 | +7.7% |
| 2006 | 106,707 | +10.8% |
| 2011 | 117,312 | +9.9% |
| Canada 2006 Census | Population | % of Total Population | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visible minority group |
South Asian | 1,875 | 1.8 |
| Chinese | 1,235 | 1.2 | |
| Black | 485 | 0.5 | |
| Filipino | 380 | 0.4 | |
| Latin American | 420 | 0.4 | |
| Arab | 50 | 0 | |
| Southeast Asian | 620 | 0.6 | |
| West Asian | 100 | 0.1 | |
| Korean | 215 | 0.2 | |
| Japanese | 885 | 0.8 | |
| Other visible minority | 70 | 0.1 | |
| Mixed visible minority | 190 | 0.2 | |
| Total visible minority population | 6,520 | 6.2 | |
| Aboriginal group |
First Nations | 1,625 | 1.5 |
| Métis | 1,865 | 1.8 | |
| Inuit | 25 | 0 | |
| Total Aboriginal population | 3,600 | 3.4 | |
| White | 95,050 | 90.4 | |
| Total population | 105,170 | 100 | |
Religious groups
| Total | 94,760 | 100% |
|---|---|---|
| Catholic | 18,195 | 19.2% |
| Protestant | 38,215 | 40.3% |
| Christian Orthodox | 795 | 0.8% |
| Christian, n.i.e. | 5,735 | 6.1% |
| Muslim | 250 | 0.2% |
| Jewish | 215 | 0.2% |
| Buddhist | 505 | 0.5% |
| Hindu | 140 | 0.1% |
| Sikh | 855 | 0.9% |
| Eastern religions | 110 | 0.1% |
| Latter-day Saint | 305 | 0.3% |
| No religious affiliation | 29,435 | 31.1% |
Ethnic origin
| English | 20,665 | 48.1% |
|---|---|---|
| Scottish | 16,275 | 37.9% |
| German | 13,170 | 30.7% |
| Canadian | 12,410 | 28.9% |
| Irish | 12,265 | 28.5% |
| French | 7,455 | 17.4% |
| Ukrainian | 4,485 | 10.4% |
| Dutch | 2,915 | 6.8% |
| Polish | 2,815 | 6.6% |
| Norwegian | 2,765 | 6.4% |
| Swedish | 2,380 | 5.5% |
| Russian | 2,045 | 4.8% |
| Italian | 1,865 | 4.3% |
| Aboriginal people | 1,695 | 3.9% |
| Welsh | 1,390 | 3.2% |
Kelowna's population growth has been driven primarily by the movement of Canadians from BC and other provinces into this region, not by international immigration. Only 15.1% of the population is foreign born.
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