Strengthening rural Canada : Coming population and demographic challenges in rural Newfoundland & Labrador

Fewer & Older: The Coming Population and Demographic Challenges in Rural Newfoundland & Labrador 5 The province‟s share of the Canadian population declined from 2.58 percent in 1951 to 2.42 percent in 1971, 2.36 percent in 1981, 1.74 percent in 2001 and 1.53 percent in 2011. [...] Comparison of the average age of the immigrants who arrived in Newfoundland and Labrador during 1991-2001 with the present age distribution, the study concludes that the majority of the immigrants who out-migrate from the province are among the younger age categories. [...] Aging of the population is also reflected in the rising median age of the population from 21.6 years in 1951 to 30.8 years in 1991 and 44.0 years in 2011. [...] Figure 1.4: Aging of the Population in Newfoundland & Labrador The relationship between the working and non-working components of the population is usually captured by a dependency ratio. [...] In spite of the rise in the number and share of the Francophone population during 2001-2011, N. L. is Canada‟s most linguistically homogeneous province with more than 97.6 percent of the residents reporting English as their mother tongue in the 2011 census.