Demographics
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1841 | 1,000 | — |
| 1871 | 3,185 | +218.5% |
| 1881 | 3,992 | +25.3% |
| 1891 | 4,063 | +1.8% |
| 1901 | 4,394 | +8.1% |
| 1911 | 7,436 | +69.2% |
| 1921 | 11,940 | +60.6% |
| 1931 | 23,439 | +96.3% |
| 1941 | 26,610 | +13.5% |
| 1951 | 41,545 | +56.1% |
| 1961 | 62,415 | +50.2% |
| 1971 | 91,587 | +46.7% |
| 1981 | 117,519 | +28.3% |
| 1991 | 129,344 | +10.1% |
| 1996 | 134,364 | +3.9% |
| 2001 | 139,051 | +3.5% |
| 2006 | 141,590 | +1.8% |
| 2011 | 149,607 | +5.7% |
| Visible minorities and Aboriginal population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada 2006 Census | Population | % of Total Population | |
| Visible minority group |
South Asian | 1,905 | 1.4 |
| Chinese | 1,330 | 0.9 | |
| Black | 4,260 | 3 | |
| Filipino | 755 | 0.5 | |
| Latin American | 710 | 0.5 | |
| Southeast Asian | 280 | 0.2 | |
| Arab | 255 | 0.2 | |
| West Asian | 505 | 0.4 | |
| Korean | 215 | 0.2 | |
| Japanese | 205 | 0.1 | |
| Mixed visible minority | 520 | 0.4 | |
| Other visible minority | 425 | 0.3 | |
| Total visible minority population | 11,370 | 8.1 | |
| Aboriginal group |
First Nations | 1,525 | 1.1 |
| Métis | 775 | 0.6 | |
| Inuit | 20 | 0 | |
| Total Aboriginal population | 2,515 | 1.8 | |
| White | 126,355 | 90.1 | |
| Total population | 140,240 | 100 | |
| Ethnic origin (multiple responses included) |
Population | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian | 117,010 | 39.86% |
| English | 97,125 | 33.09% |
| Scottish | 63,380 | 21.59% |
| Irish | 59,740 | 20.35% |
| French | 32,085 | 10.93% |
| German | 22,380 | 7.62% |
| Dutch (Netherlands) | 15,085 | 5.14% |
| Italian | 13,985 | 4.76% |
| Polish | 11,490 | 3.91% |
| Ukrainian | 11,035 | 3.76% |
According to the 2011 census, the population of Oshawa is 149,607, up from 141,590 (5.7%) in the 2006 census. In 2001, 49.3% of the population was male and 50.7% female. Children under five accounted for approximately 6.5% of the resident population of Oshawa. This compares with 5.8% in Ontario, and almost 5.6% for Canada overall.
In mid-2001, 10.4% of the resident population in Oshawa were of retirement age (65 and over for males and females) compared with 13.2% in Canada, therefore, the average age is 35.8 years of age comparing to 37.6 years of age for all of Canada.
In the five years between 1996 and 2001, the population of Oshawa grew by 10.2%, compared with an increase of 6.1% for Ontario as a whole. Population density of Oshawa averaged 328.0 people per square kilometre, compared with an average of 12.6, for Ontario altogether.
According to the 2006 census, the Oshawa Census Metropolitan Area, which includes neighbouring Whitby and Clarington, has a population of 330,594.
The information regarding ethnicities at the left is from the 2001 Canadian Census. The percentages add to more than 100% because of dual responses (e.g. "French-Canadian" generates an entry in both the category "French" and the category "Canadian".) Groups with greater than 10,000 responses are included.
In 2006, 8.1% of the residents were visible minorities, 37.4% of whom were Black Canadians.
Religious profile
- Protestant: 44.7%
- Roman Catholic: 30.8%
- Other Christian: 3.3%
- Muslim: 0.9%
- Hindu: 0.4%
Oshawa is also home to the Canadian headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist church, who for many years maintained a college here, and currently operate a high school and elementary school.
According to the 2011 Census English is the mother tongue of 86.7% of the residents of Oshawa. 2.2% of the population have French as their mother tongue, which is one of the highest proportions within the GTA. Polish is the mother tongue of 1.3% of the population, with Italian trailing at 1.0%.
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