Number of live births in Canada
Canada: Number of live births was 351,880 births in 2023. ▲ Rising
Number of live births in Canada, 1921–2023
Source: Human Fertility Database (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in births.
Analysis
In 2023, number of live births in Canada stood at 351,880 births.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and down 7.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of live births in Canada peaked at 464,449 births in 1959 and was at its lowest, 154,861 births, in 1925.
Canada ranks 9th of 34 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 103 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 193,519 births | 154,861 births | 236,757 births | 9 |
| 1930s | 228,478 births | 220,235 births | 243,495 births | 10 |
| 1940s | 301,947 births | 244,316 births | 359,094 births | 10 |
| 1950s | 417,840 births | 357,907 births | 464,449 births | 10 |
| 1960s | 411,034 births | 351,490 births | 463,378 births | 10 |
| 1970s | 346,371 births | 331,467 births | 359,449 births | 10 |
| 1980s | 366,693 births | 360,377 births | 384,899 births | 10 |
| 1990s | 375,194 births | 337,825 births | 403,820 births | 10 |
| 2000s | 350,863 births | 328,595 births | 384,650 births | 10 |
| 2010s | 379,940 births | 372,980 births | 384,575 births | 10 |
| 2020s | 358,628 births | 351,675 births | 370,155 births | 4 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More population data for Canada
- Population growth rate, by level of development 0.3% (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 2.33 million people (2100)
- Population density 6.1 people per km² (2100)
- World population growth 0.3% (2100)
- Total fertility rate vs. wanted fertility rate 1.25 births per woman (2024)
- Refugees by country of asylum 269,496 people (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. unmet need for contraception 1.25 births per woman (2024)
- Total fertility rate vs. contraceptive prevalence 1.25 births per woman (2024)
- Natural population growth rate 0.1% (2023)
- Fertility rate: births per woman 1.35 live births per woman (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of live births in Canada?
- Number of live births in Canada was 351,880 births in 2023, according to Human Fertility Database (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of live births recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 464,449 births in 1959.
- What is the lowest number of live births recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 154,861 births in 1925.
- How does Canada rank for number of live births?
- Canada ranks 9th out of 34 countries with data for 2023.
- Is number of live births rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Canada data come from?
- The figures come from Human Fertility Database (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of live births. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 103 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The total number of live births recorded in a given year.