Quebec is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Central Canada, borders with Ontario to the southwest, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, and New Brunswick to the southeast, and the U.S. states of New York, Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire to the south. According to Statcan, Quebec population in 2024 is estimated to be 8.96 million, the second-largest by population in Canada and largest province by area being 1,542,056 sq. km (595,391 sq. mi). French is Quebec official language and 94.6% of the province's population reports knowledge of French. Quebec City is the capital of Quebec province, celebrated its 400th anniversary as a city in 2008. The location become Quebec City was officially discovered by the French explorer Jacques Cartier, built a fort there in 1535 and a permanent settlement in 1541. Located in the eastern part of Canada, and part of Central Canada, Quebec occupies a territory nearly three times the size of France or Texas, most of which is very sparsely populated. The French settlers who settled in New France came largely from the western and northern provinces of France.
West Central Asian and Middle Eastern origins; n.i.e.
2,465
South Asian origins
95,670
Bangladeshi
7,075
Bengali
4,125
Bhutanese
420
East Indian
51,650
Goan
210
Gujarati
420
Kashmiri
260
Nepali
930
Pakistani
13,535
Punjabi
2,970
Sinhalese
310
Sri Lankan
14,750
Tamil
3,100
South Asian origins; n.i.e.
2,135
East and Southeast Asian origins
229,985
Burmese
530
Cambodian (Khmer)
15,345
Chinese
121,445
Filipino
37,910
Hmong
35
Indonesian
1,320
Japanese
6,495
Karen
95
Korean
8,740
Laotian
7,625
Malaysian
645
Mongolian
960
Singaporean
105
Taiwanese
2,205
Thai
2,695
Tibetan
80
Vietnamese
43,080
East and Southeast Asian origins; n.i.e.
275
Other Asian origins
1,765
Other Asian origins; n.i.e.
1,770
Oceania origins
3,250
Australian
2,055
New Zealander
490
Pacific Islands origins
785
Fijian
70
Hawaiian
60
Maori
90
Polynesian; n.o.s.
290
Samoan
15
Pacific Islands origins; n.i.e.
295
Total Immigrant status and period of immigration for the population
Type immigrants
Population
Non-immigrants
6,788,085
Immigrants
1,091,310
Year
Population
Before 1981
238,655
1981 to 1990
127,340
1991 to 2000
187,860
2001 to 2010
322,280
2001 to 2005
140,170
2006 to 2010
182,115
2011 to 2016
215,170
Non-permanent residents
86,065
Age at immigration for the immigrant population in private households (25% sample data)
Age Group
Population
All ages
1,091,305
Under 5 years
112,930
5 to 14 years
174,020
15 to 24 years
215,350
25 to 44 years
515,770
45 years and over
73,230
Selected places of birth for the immigrant population in private households
Country
Population
Americas
247,505
Brazil
7,345
Colombia
25,580
El Salvador
11,120
Guyana
2,490
Haiti
80,965
Jamaica
4,665
Mexico
15,820
Peru
13,265
Trinidad and Tobago
4,075
United States
25,955
Other places of birth in Americas
56,235
Europe
311,090
Bosnia and Herzegovina
3,785
Croatia
2,140
France
81,225
Germany
9,750
Greece
18,420
Hungary
3,325
Ireland
820
Italy
51,025
Netherlands
1,990
Poland
10,735
Portugal
18,985
Romania
28,695
Russian Federation
11,355
Serbia
1,790
Ukraine
8,670
United Kingdom
12,905
Other places of birth in Europe
45,500
Africa
241,410
Algeria
59,465
Egypt
19,490
Ethiopia
995
Kenya
785
Morocco
60,700
Nigeria
1,340
Somalia
580
South Africa; Republic of
865
Other places of birth in Africa
97,200
Asia
289,825
Afghanistan
7,280
Bangladesh
7,940
China
49,555
Hong Kong
4,730
India
17,865
Iran
17,760
Iraq
3,735
Japan
1,725
Korea; South
4,230
Lebanon
39,135
Pakistan
10,010
Philippines
24,410
Sri Lanka
10,715
Syria
17,775
Taiwan
2,735
Viet Nam
25,440
Other places of birth in Asia
44,795
Oceania and other places of birth
1,480
Total
1,091,305
Selected places of birth for the recent immigrant population in private households
Country
Population
Americas
47,710
Brazil
3,010
Colombia
7,540
Cuba
2,565
Haiti
16,880
Jamaica
190
Mexico
4,210
United States
3,990
Venezuela
1,955
Other places of birth in Americas
7,365
Europe
39,320
France
20,030
Germany
580
Ireland
135
Moldova
3,750
Romania
2,945
Russian Federation
1,970
Ukraine
2,460
United Kingdom
860
Other places of birth in Europe
6,590
Africa
74,200
Algeria
16,380
Cameroon
7,550
Congo; Democratic Republic of the
3,370
Côte d'Ivoire
5,070
Egypt
4,360
Eritrea
50
Ethiopia
125
Morocco
13,475
Nigeria
540
Somalia
95
South Africa; Republic of
175
Tunisia
5,855
Other places of birth in Africa
17,155
Asia
53,595
Afghanistan
1,555
Bangladesh
860
China
10,705
Hong Kong
120
India
2,960
Iran
7,505
Iraq
985
Israel
645
Japan
330
Korea; South
825
Lebanon
3,955
Nepal
360
Pakistan
1,815
Philippines
5,635
Saudi Arabia
435
Sri Lanka
860
Syria
7,455
Taiwan
170
Turkey
585
United Arab Emirates
300
Viet Nam
1,505
Other places of birth in Asia
4,025
Oceania and other
345
Australia
190
Other places of birth
155
Total
215,170
Generation status for the population in private households
Generation
Population
Total
7,965,450
First generation
1,204,895
Second generation
792,085
Third generation or more
5,968,475
Admission category and applicant type for the immigrant population in private households who landed between 1980 and 2016.
Immigrants Type
Population
Economic immigrants
469,015
Principal applicants
224,720
Secondary applicants
244,300
Immigrants sponsored by family
241,225
Refugees
146,295
Other immigrants
11150
Total
867,685
Languages in Quebec
Quebec province is different from other provinces in perspective of language, French is the only official language, while English predominates in the rest of Canada provinces. 3.5% of the population consider themselves to be bilingual in French and English and 0.9% speaks only other than English or French.
First official language spoken for the total population excluding institutional residents
Language
Population
Percent
English
964,120
12
French
6,750,945
83.7
English and French
278,710
3.5
Neither English nor French
72,775
0.9
Official language minority (number)
110,3480
12.7
In the 2016 census, 45,570 people declared having an aboriginal language as their mother tongue. For 38,995 of them, it was the language most frequently spoken at home. Additionally, 1,195 people who did not have an aboriginal language as their mother tongue reported using an aboriginal language most often at home. In Quebec, most indigenous languages are currently transmitted quite well from one generation to the next. Mother tongue for the total population excluding institutional residents and official languages.
According to the 2016 census, 1 million people declared they speak their mother tongue as language spoken at home in Quebec. They are migrated from other than British and French descendents. Total number of Non-Aboriginal language speaker are 1,015,260.
The most cited languages are Arabic (2.08%), Spanish (1.78%), Italian (1.28%), Chinese languages (0.94%), Indian (Asian) Languages (Aryan/Dravidian) (0.74%), Greek (0.47%), Portuguese (0.45%), Romanian (0.44%), Iranian languages (0.36%), Russian (0.35%), Persian (Farsi) (0.34%), Vietnamese (0.34%), Armenian (0.20%), Tagalog (Pilipino/Filipino) (0.19%), Polish (0.17%), German (0.17%) and Korean (0.06%). Indian (Asian) Languages (0.74%) out of these Tamil (0.17%), Punjabi (Panjabi) (0.15%), Bengali (0.13%), Gujarati (0.07%) and Hindi (0.04%).
Languages
Population
Non-Aboriginal languages
1,015,260
Afro-Asiatic languages
197,535
Berber languages
20,845
Kabyle
12,470
Berber languages; n.i.e.
8,375
Cushitic languages
1,125
Bilen
10
Oromo
15
Somali
1,075
Cushitic languages; n.i.e.
30
Semitic languages
175,215
Amharic
745
Arabic
169,890
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
150
Chaldean Neo-Aramaic
15
Hebrew
3,885
Maltese
25
Tigrigna
385
Semitic languages; n.i.e.
110
Afro-Asiatic languages; n.i.e.
355
Austro-Asiatic languages
36,305
Khmer (Cambodian)
8,855
Vietnamese
27,425
Austro-Asiatic languages; n.i.e
25
Austronesian languages
21,635
Bikol
115
Cebuano
885
Hiligaynon
410
Ilocano
2,060
Malagasy
1,250
Malay
705
Pampangan (Kapampangan; Pampango)
205
Pangasinan
95
Tagalog (Pilipino; Filipino)
15,545
Waray-Waray
50
Austronesian languages; n.i.e.
320
Creole languages
56,990
Haitian Creole
2,220
Creole; n.o.s.
53,785
Creole languages; n.i.e.
980
Indian (Asian) Languages (Aryan/Dravidian)
60,710
Kannada
240
Malayalam
440
Tamil
13,600
Telugu
570
Bengali
10,995
Gujarati
6,070
Hindi
3,030
Kashmiri
20
Konkani
110
Marathi
255
Nepali
1,505
Oriya (Odia)
35
Punjabi (Panjabi)
12,380
Sindhi
330
Sinhala (Sinhalese)
645
Urdu
10,470
Hmong-Mien languages
25
Indo-European languages
553,045
Albanian
2,795
Armenian
16,430
Balto-Slavic languages
68,155
Baltic languages
850
Latvian
290
Lithuanian
555
Slavic languages
67,310
Belarusan
80
Bosnian
1,620
Bulgarian
6,985
Croatian
2,330
Czech
1,465
Macedonian
205
Polish
13,935
Russian
28,565
Serbian
3,140
Serbo-Croatian
1,805
Slovak
1,040
Slovene (Slovenian)
755
Ukrainian
5,210
Slavic languages; n.i.e.
175
Celtic languages
155
Scottish Gaelic
20
Welsh
40
Celtic languages; n.i.e.
90
Germanic languages
27,540
Afrikaans
125
Danish
395
Dutch
2,825
Frisian
10
German
13,670
Icelandic
65
Norwegian
200
Swedish
555
Vlaams (Flemish)
540
Yiddish
8,985
Germanic languages; n.i.e.
175
Greek
38,635
Indo-Iranian languages
76,040
Iranian languages
29,760
Kurdish
985
Pashto
1,285
Persian (Farsi)
27,490
Indo-Iranian languages; n.i.e.
440
Italic (Romance) languages
323,290
Catalan
320
Italian
104,600
Portuguese
36,770
Romanian
35,840
Spanish
145,635
Italic (Romance) languages; n.i.e.
125
Japanese
2,525
Kartvelian languages(Georgian)
170
Korean
5,160
Mongolian
195
Niger-Congo languages
28,355
Akan (Twi)
1,050
Bamanankan
1,200
Edo
75
Ewe
730
Fulah (Pular; Pulaar; Fulfulde)
2,055
Ga
80
Ganda
35
Igbo
120
Lingala
2,465
Rundi (Kirundi)
3,345
Kinyarwanda (Rwanda)
2,500
Shona
85
Swahili
3,010
Wolof
3,230
Yoruba
255
Niger-Congo languages; n.i.e.
8,135
Nilo-Saharan & Dinka
345
Sign languages(Quebec Sign & American Sign)
1,330
Sino-Tibetan languages
76,840
Chinese languages
76,490
Cantonese
24,375
Hakka
470
Mandarin
43,700
Min Dong
20
Min Nan (Chaochow; Teochow; Fukien; Taiwanese)
3,225
Wu (Shanghainese)
1,075
Chinese; n.o.s.
3,535
Chinese languages; n.i.e.
90
Tibeto-Burman languages
345
Burmese
80
Karenic languages
70
Tibetan
110
Tibeto-Burman languages; n.i.e.
85
Tai-Kadai languages(Lao/Thai)
4,895
Lao
4,115
Thai
765
Tai-Kadai languages; n.i.e
10
Turkic languages
7,980
Azerbaijani
290
Turkish
7,155
Uyghur
205
Uzbek
145
Turkic languages; n.i.e.
185
Uralic languages
6,400
Estonian
195
Finnish
360
Hungarian
5,835
Other languages; n.i.e.
685
Population projection
Year
Population
1980
6,505,997
1981
6,547,207
1982
6,580,631
1983
6,602,976
1984
6,631,220
1985
6,665,802
1986
6,708,170
1987
6,781,984
1988
6,837,077
1989
6,925,128
1990
6,996,986
1991
7,067,396
1992
7,110,010
1993
7,156,537
1994
7,192,403
1995
7,219,219
1996
7,246,897
1997
7,274,611
1998
7,295,935
1999
7,323,250
2000
7,356,951
2001
7,396,456
2002
7,441,656
2003
7,485,753
2004
7,535,590
2005
7,581,476
2006
7,631,966
2007
7,692,916
2008
7,761,725
2009
7,843,383
2010
7,929,222
2011
8,005,090
2012
8,061,101
2013
8,110,880
2014
8,150,183
2015
8,175,272
2016
8,225,950
2017
8,302,063
2018
8,401,738
2019
8,501,703
2020
8,574,571
Quebec population in 2023 is estimated to be 8.63 million, population in 2022 is estimated to be 8.56 million, Population of Quebec in 2021 is estimated to be 8.5 million.
Age Group
Total
Male
Female
All Ages
8,164,360
4,016,760
4,147,605
0 to 14 years
1333260
682535
650,720
0 to 4 years
444930
227965
216,970
5 to 9 years
469165
240225
228,940
10 to 14 years
419160
214345
204,815
15 to 64 years
5,335,910
2,664,630
2,671,280
15 to 19 years
429,825
219070
210755
20 to 24 years
500,100
252600
247500
25 to 29 years
495410
248030
247380
30 to 34 years
515505
256440
259070
35 to 39 years
550540
274595
275945
40 to 44 years
506525
254100
252425
45 to 49 years
519425
260410
259015
50 to 54 years
619435
309070
310370
55 to 59 years
636475
314190
322285
60 to 64 years
562670
276140
286535
65 years and over
1495195
669590
825605
65 to 69 years
488175
236395
251775
70 to 74 years
373590
176905
196690
75 to 79 years
256905
116020
140890
80 to 84 years
187835
78390
109450
85 years and over
188685
61885
126805
85 to 89 years
120635
43795
76840
90 to 94 years
53165
15155
38015
95 to 99 years
13035
2685
10350
100 years and over
1850
255
1600
Subdivisions of Quebec
In 2016, Quebec's 1,108 municipalities covered 37.7% of the province's land mass yet were home to 99.3% of its population. The Government of Quebec's Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Land Occupancy recognizes seven types of municipalities, cities, towns, villages, parishes, townships (cantons), united townships (cantons unis), and municipalities (municipalites). All municipalities (except cities), are functionally and legally identical.
Marital status for the population aged 15 years and over
Marital Status
Population
Married or living common law
56.3
Married
34.3
Living common law
22.0
Not married and not living common law
43.7
Never married
29.4
Separated
1.5
Divorced
7.1
Widowed
5.7
History
Between 1534 and 1763, Quebec was called Canada and it was the most developed colony in New France. Following the Seven Years' War, Quebec became a British colony in the British Empire. It remained as such from 1763 to 1867, first as the Province of Quebec (1763-1791), then as Lower Canada (1791-1841), before becoming Canada East (1841-1867) as a result of the Lower Canada Rebellion. It was, finally, confederated with Ontario, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in 1867, beginning the Confederation of Canada. Until the early 1960s, the Catholic Church played a large role in the development of social and cultural institutions in Quebec. However, in the 1960s, the Quiet Revolution increased the role of the Government of Quebec in controlling political, social and future developments of the state of Quebec, Of the total population of Quebec, nearly half are descendants of the 10,000 original French settlers. About one-tenth of Quebecers are Anglophones of British descent. Another tenth of the population is of neither French nor British descent and includes aboriginal peoples (Indian [First Nations] and Inuit), eastern Europeans, Portuguese, Greeks, Haitians, and Asians (notably from Southeast Asia). In 1974 French was made the official language of Quebec, and this was reaffirmed and strengthened in Bill 101, the Charter of the French Language, in 1977.