South Asian populations in Canada grew to nearly 2.6 million people in 2021, making them the country’s largest racialized group and representing 7.1% of the total population, according to a new Statistics Canada report released today. The population nearly quadrupled from 669,060 people in 1996, when it made up 2.4% of the population.
The growth has significant implications for Canadian workplaces, as South Asian populations are projected to reach between 4.7 million and 6.5 million people by 2041, representing 11% to 12.5% of the total population.
Education levels exceed national average
In 2021, 58% of South Asians aged 25 to 54 held a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared with 32% of the non-racialized, non-Indigenous population. The proportion remained relatively consistent across most places of birth, including India (63%), Pakistan (61%), Europe (59%), Africa (58%) and Canada (56%).
South Asians born in the United States had the highest educational attainment at 73%, while those born in Sri Lanka (29%), the Caribbean and Central and South America (26%), Oceania (14%) and Bhutan (8%) had lower rates.
Canadian-born South Asians whose parents were both born in Sri Lanka had notably higher educational attainment (64%) than their immigrant counterparts from that country.
Employment patterns show gender gap
South Asian men had similar employment rates to their non-racialized, non-Indigenous counterparts in May 2021, at 85% and 84% respectively for those aged 25 to 54. South Asian women, however, had an employment rate of 69%, 10 percentage points lower than non-racialized, non-Indigenous women at 79%.
Labour Force Survey data from the second quarter of 2025 showed the pattern continued, with employment rates for South Asian men at 89% compared with 87% for men overall, while South Asian women were at 75% compared with 80% for women overall.
Birthplace influences employment outcomes
Employment rates varied significantly by place of birth. In May 2021, women born in Pakistan had an employment rate of 47%, those from Bangladesh 55%, and those from Sri Lanka 61%, all lower than the 73% rate for women born in India.
Men born in India had an employment rate of 89%, compared with 82% for those born in Pakistan, and 78% for those from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Unemployment rates followed similar patterns. South Asian men born in India had a 5% unemployment rate, while those from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka ranged from 10% to 12%. Women born in India had an 11% unemployment rate, while those from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka ranged from 15% to 21%.
Immigration patterns and family structures
Among South Asian immigrants who arrived between 1980 and 2021, 54% were economic immigrants. The proportion increased to 69% among those who immigrated between 2011 and 2021, compared with 36% for those who arrived between 1981 and 1990.
Economic immigrants made up the majority from India (57%), Pakistan (56%) and Bangladesh (61%), while those from Sri Lanka were primarily refugees (42%), family-sponsored immigrants (33%) and economic immigrants (21%).
In 2021, India was the most common place of birth for South Asians in Canada at 44%, followed by Pakistan (9%), Sri Lanka (5%) and Bangladesh (3%). About 60% were born in Southern Asia, 30% in Canada, and 10% in other regions.
The most common household types among South Asian populations were two-parent families with children (45%) and multigenerational families (20%). The share living in multigenerational families was more than twice the rate of the overall Canadian population (7%).
The analytical portrait is the third in a Statistics Canada series on racialized groups in Canada, developed to support Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy. The report used data from the 2021 Census of Population, earlier censuses, the Labour Force Survey and the 2023 Canadian Income Survey.
