The demographics of Quebec describes a province with a population estimated to be 9,058,297 (2025). In the 2021 census, Quebec's population was determined to be 8,501,833 living in 3,749,035 of its 4,050,164 total dwellings, a 4.1% change from its 2016 population of 8,164,361. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016. Quebec accounts for a little under 23% of the Canadian population. Quebec's demographic weight in Canada has been gradually decreasing since 1971 when it was 28% of the population. In 2023, Quebec's three most populated regions are Montreal (2,109,525), Montérégie (1,492,662) and Capitale-Nationale (793,001). Quebec's three least populated regions are Nord-du-Québec (46,650), Côte-Nord (89,914) and Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine (92,059).
Quebec is the only one of Canada's provinces to feature a Francophone (French-speaking) majority, and where anglophones (English-speakers) are an officially recognized minority group. According to the 2011 census, French is spoken by more than 85.5% of the population including 88% of children under 15 years old. According to the 2011 census, 95% of Quebec's people are able to converse in French, with fewer than 5% of the population not able to speak French.
Quebec is home to "one of the world's most valuable founder populations". Founder populations are valuable to genetic medical research as they feature low genetic variability that provides a useful research context for discovering gene-disease linkages. The Quebec founder population arose through the influx of people into Quebec from France in the 17th century to mid-18th century; a high proportion of the settlers either returned to France or died. Of the approximately 33,500 colonists who arrived to Canada, fewer than 10,000 remained. Approximately 8,500 colonists who settled from France and had at least one child in the colony. About seven million Canadians (along with several million French Americans in the United States) are descendants of these original 8,500 colonists.
As of the 2021 census, Quebec's population of 8,501,833, was a 4.1% increase from its 2016 population of 8,164,361. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016. Quebec accounted for a little under 23% of the Canadian population. The largest cities in Quebec are Montreal (1,762,976), Quebec City (538,738), Laval (431,208), and Gatineau (281,501).
In 2016, Quebec's median age was 41.2 years. As of 2020, 20.8% of the population was younger than 20, 59.5% was aged between 20 and 64, and 19.7% was 65 or older. In 2019, Quebec witnessed an increase in the number of births compared to the year before (84,200 vs 83,840) and had a total fertility rate of about 1.6 children born per woman. As of 2020, the average life expectancy was 82.3 years. Quebec in 2019 registered its highest rate of population growth since 1972, with an increase of 110,000 people, mostly because of the arrival of a high number of immigrants. As of 2019, most international immigrants were from China, India and France. In 2016, 30% of the population possessed a postsecondary degree or diploma. Most residents, particularly couples, are property owners. In 2016, 80% of both property owners and renters considered their housing to be "unaffordable". In the 2021 Canadian census, 29.3% of Quebec's population stated their ancestry was of Canadian origin and 21.1% stated their ancestry was of French origin. As of 2021, 18% of Quebec's population belonged to a visible minority group.
Vital statistics
While Quebec's fertility rate is higher than the Canadian average, it has been sharply decreasing in the past 15 years. At 1.38 children per woman in 2008, it is above the Canada-wide rate of 1.26, and is just above the historic low of 1.36 in 1987. This contrasts with its fertility rates before 1960, which were among the highest of any industrialized society. For example, between 1951 and 1961, the population grew nearly 30% with only small net migration (large number of international migrants had settled in Quebec in the preceding period but large numbers of Quebec residents had emigrated to other provinces as well as New England), a natural growth rate matched today only by some African countries.
Although Quebec is home to only 22.0% of the population of Canada, the number of international adoptions in Quebec is the highest of all provinces of Canada. In 2001, 42% of international adoptions in Canada were carried out in Quebec.
Population growth rate: 2.5% (2023)
Birth rate: 8.8‰ (2023)
Synthetic fertility index: 1.38 (2023)
Death rate: 7.0‰ (2023)
Permanent immigration rate: 6.0‰ (2003)
Infant mortality rate: 0.46% (2023)
Life expectancy: total: 82.8 years male: 80.9 years female: 84.7 years (2019)
Urbanisation: In 2001, 80.4% of Quebecers lived in urban areas.
Marriages: In 2019, 22,250 marriages were celebrated, about 600 less than in 2017 and 2018. These numbers illustrate a continuing trend where marriages are becoming less numerous; in 1970, the number of marriages hit a peak with more than 50,000 celebrations and the number has been slowly decreasing ever since. The average age for marriage is now 33.5 for men and 32.1 for women, an increase of 8.0 and 8.5 years respectively since 1970. 72% of marriages occur on a Saturday. Half of all marriages unite a man and woman with an age gap of 3 years or less. Though they are still uncommon, civil unions are becoming more and more popular.
Demographic growth: In 2019, Quebec registered the highest rate of population growth since 1972 (when quality data began to be recorded), with an increase of 110,000 people, mostly because of the arrival of a high number of non-permanent residents. The number of non-permanent residents has recently sky-rocketed from a little over 100,000 in 2014 to 260,000 in 2019. Quebec's population growth is usually middle-of-the-pack compared to other provinces and very high compared to other developed countries (ex. United States, France, Germany, etc.) because of the federal government of Canada's aggressive immigration policies. Since the 1970s, Quebec has always had more immigrants than emigrants. This can be attributed to international immigration as the number of people moving to Quebec from another province is always lower than the other way around. As of 2019, most international immigrants come from China, India or France.
Education and work: In 2016, 3 out of 10 people in Quebec possessed a postsecondary degree or diploma. While women were more likely to have a university degree (33% vs 26%) or college degree (21% vs 11%), men were more numerous in having received vocational training. In Quebec, couples where both parents work are far more likely to have children than couples where only one parent works or none of them do.
Households: In Quebec, most people are owners of the property that they live in. The vast majority of couples with or without children are property owners. Most one-person households, however, are renters. Single-parent homes are equally divided between being property owners or renters. From 1996 to 2016, the number of people per household has decreased from an average of 2.5 to 2.25. In 2016, the vast majority of low income households were one-person households. In 2016, 80% of both property owners and renters considered their housing to be "unaffordable".
Population centres
+Ten most populated Quebec cities (2016)RankCityRegionPopulation1MontrealMontreal2QuebecCapitale-Nationale3LavalLaval4GatineauOutaouais5LongueuilMontérégie6SherbrookeEstrie7SaguenaySaguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean8LévisChaudière-Appalaches9Trois-RivièresMauricie10TerrebonneLanaudière
Age structure
Age structure: (2016 census) Age groupsTotal% of populationMaleFemale0–4 years 444,930 5.45%227,965 216,9705–9 years 469,165 5.75%240,225 228,94010–14 years 419,160 5.13%214,345204,81515–19 years 429,825 5.26%219,070 210,75520–24 years 500,100 6.13%252,600 247,50025–29 years 495,410 6.07%248,030 247,38030–34 years 515,5056.31%256,440259,07035–39 years 550,5406.74%274,595275,94540–44 years 506,525 6.20% 254,100 252,425 45–49 years 519,425 6.36% 260,410 259,015 50–54 years 619,435 7.59% 309,070 310,370 55–59 years 636,475 7.80% 314,190 322,28560–64 years 562,670 6.89% 276,140 286,535 65–69 years 488,175 5.98% 236,395 251,775 70–74 years 373,590 4.58% 176,905 196,690 75–79 years 256,905 3.15% 116,020 140,890 80–84 years 187,835 2.30% 78,390 109,450 85 years and over 188,685 2.31% 61,885 126,805 Total 8,164,360 100%4,016,760 4,147,605
In 2016, Quebec's median age was 41.2 years old. According to Quebec's age pyramid, the most numerous generation is the baby-boomers that are between 54 and 74 years of age. There are a few other less pronounced peaks, namely in the 1980s, and the one around 2010. A noticeable crater can be observed around the year 2000 because of a record-low amount of births. In 2020, 20.8% of the population is less than 20 years old, 59.5% are aged between 20 and 64 years old, and 19.7% are 65 years old or older. In 2019, Quebec witnessed an increase in the number of births compared to the year before (84,200 vs 83,840) and had a replacement rate of about 1.6 per woman. Replacement rates being below 2.1 something that is the norm in industrialised regions like Quebec. Quebec has a higher replacement rate than the Canadian average (1,47). Quebec's rate can also be both higher (ex. Switzerland (1.48), Portugal (1.42), Japan (1.36), Italy (1.29), etc.) or lower (ex. United States (1.73), New Zealand (1.75), Sweden (1.70), England (1.65), etc.) than other industrialised regions'. In Quebec, a lowered rate of giving birth has been mostly observed in people in their 20s. From 30 years of age and onwards, the rate is either increasing or stable. This demonstrates a trend towards wanting to form a family later in life. As of 2020, the average lifespan is 82.3 years. Between 2010 and 2019, there were between 1000 and 1600 deaths every week, with deaths being at their highest levels in January and their lowest levels in July. In 2021, the region's life expectancy increased after a decline amid the pandemic, reaching 83 years.
Percentage surviving
The percentage surviving, is the percent of the population that would survive to certain age, if their life conditions in a given year, were extrapolated to their whole life. Data for 2019.
AgePercentage survivingmalefemale 1 99.5 99.7 1.00 5 99.4 99.6 1.00 10 99.4 99.6 1.00 15 99.4 99.6 1.00 20 99.2 99.5 1.00 25 98.9 99.4 1.00 30 98.6 99.3 1.01 35 98.3 99.1 1.01 40 97.9 98.9 1.01 45 97.4 98.6 1.01 50 96.5 97.9 1.01 55 95.1 97.0 1.02 60 92.9 95.4 1.03 65 89.4 93.0 1.04 70 83.9 89.1 1.06 75 75.4 82.9 1.10 80 63.0 73.3 1.16 85 46.0 58.8 1.28 90 26.3 39.3 1.49 95 9.6 18.5 1.92 100 1.802 4.874 2.70 105 0.144 0.577 4.01 110 0.005 0.027 5.40
Data source: Statistics Canada
Population history
YearPopulationFive-year % changeTen-year % change% Canada1822 427,465 n/a n/a n/a1831 553,134 n/a 29.4 n/a1841 650,000 n/a 17.5 60.071851 892,061 n/a 37.0 48.321861 1,111,566 n/a 24.9 44.421871 1,191,516 n/a 7.9 32.31881 1,359,027 n/a 14.1 31.41891 1,488,535 n/a 9.5 30.81901 1,648,898 n/a 10.8 30.71911 2,005,776 n/a 21.6 27.81921 2,360,665 n/a 17.8 26.91931 2,874,255 n/a 21.8 27.71941 3,331,882 n/a 15.9 29.01951 4,055,681 n/a 21.8 28.91956 4,628,378 14.1 n/a 28.81961 5,259,211 13.6 29.7 28.81966 5,780,845 9.9 24.9 28.81971 6,027,765 4.3 14.6 27.91976 6,234,445 3.4 7.8 27.11981 6,438,403 3.3 6.8 26.41986 6,532,460 1.5 4.8 25.81991 6,895,963 5.6 7.1 25.21996 7,138,795 3.5 9.3 24.52001 7,237,479 1.4 5.0 23.82006 7,546,131 4.3 5.7 23.42011 7,903,001 4.7 9.2 23.1 2012 8,085,900 n/a n/a 23.3 2013 8,155,500 n/a n/a 23.2 2014 8,214,500 n/a n/a 23.1 2015 8,259,500 n/a n/a 23.0 2016 8,326,100 5.3 16.6 23.0 2017 8,398,200 3.8 n/a 22.0 Source: Statistics Canada % Province of Canada population
Ethnic origin