Ottawa, Mar 23 (IANS): The year of 2022 marked the first 12-month period in Canada's history where population grew by more than 1 million people, and the highest annual population growth rate of 2.7 per cent since 1957, Statistics Canada said.

Canada's population was estimated at 39,566,248 on January 1, 2023, after a record population growth of 1,050,110 people from January 1, 2022, to January 1, 2023, the national statistical agency said on Wednesday, adding that international migration accounted for nearly all growth recorded, or 95.9 per cent.

According to the agency, Canada is by far leading the G7 countries for population growth in 2022, as it has been the case for many years. Moreover, Canada's population growth rate would put it among the top 20 in the world. Almost all countries with a higher pace of population growth were in Africa, Xinhua news agency reported.

If it stayed constant in years to come, such a rate of population growth would lead to the Canadian population doubling in about 26 years, the agency said.

The increase in international migration is related to efforts by the government to ease labour shortages in key sectors of the economy, Statistics Canada said.

High job vacancies and labour shortages are occurring in a context where population aging has accelerated and the unemployment rate remains near record low. A rise in the number of permanent and temporary immigrants could also represent additional challenges for some regions of the country related to housing, infrastructure and transportation, and service delivery to the population, the agency added.