Afghan Canadians
Community of Canadians of Afghan descent or with Afghan citizenship
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Afghan Canadians are Canadians with ancestry from Afghanistan. They form the second largest Afghan community in North America after Afghan Americans. Their ethnic origin may come from any of the ethnic groups of Afghanistan, which include Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek, Hazara, Turkmen, etc. In the Canada 2016 Census about 83,995 Canadians were from Afghanistan.[4]
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 135,000[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Greater Toronto Area, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton | |
| Languages | |
| Canadian English, Canadian French, Dari, Pashto, Uzbek and other Afghan languages | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly: Islam (92.44%) Minorities: Irreligion (5.6%) Christianity (1.1%) Hinduism (0.5%) Sikhism (0.2%) Judaism (0.04%) Buddhism (0.01%) Indigenous (0.01%) Others (0.1%) [2][a][3] |
History
Demography
Population
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 83,995 | — |
| 2021 | 96,810 | +15.3% |
| Source: Statistics Canada [1][6] | ||
Religion
| Religious group | 2021[2][a] | |
|---|---|---|
| Pop. | % | |
| Islam | 89,485 | 92.44% |
| Irreligion | 5,400 | 5.58% |
| Christianity | 1,035 | 1.07% |
| Hinduism | 465 | 0.48% |
| Sikhism | 235 | 0.24% |
| Judaism | 40 | 0.04% |
| Buddhism | 10 | 0.01% |
| Indigenous spirituality | 10 | 0.01% |
| Other | 135 | 0.14% |
| Total Afghan Canadian population | 96,810 | 100% |
Geographical distribution
By Canadian province or territory (2016)
| Province | Population | Percentage | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
 Ontario | 54,535 | 0.4% | [7] |
 Quebec | 10,940 | 0.1% | [8] |
 Alberta | 8,545 | 0.2% | [9] |
 British Columbia | 7,890 | 0.2% | [10] |
 Manitoba | 1,015 | 0.1% | [11] |
 Saskatchewan | 780 | 0.1% | [12] |
 Nova Scotia | 230 | 0.0% | [13] |
 New Brunswick | 25 | 0.0% | [14] |
 Newfoundland and Labrador | 10 | 0.0% | [15] |
 Prince Edward Island | 10 | 0.0% | [16] |
 Northwest Territories | 10 | 0.0% | [17] |
 Nunavut | 0 | 0.0% | [18] |
 Yukon | 0 | 0.0% | [19] |
 Canada | 83,995 | 0.24% | [6] |
Media
The diaspora also have media outlets for the Afghan community, including private TV channels such as Watan E Maa,[20] AfghanJavan TV and Afghan Nobel TV.
Notable individuals
- Kawa Ada – actor and playwright
- Brishkay Ahmed - documentary filmmaker
- Fardaws Aimaq – basketball player
- Layla Alizada – actress
- Alexander Farah – filmmaker
- Hangama – singer
- Donnie Keshawarz – actor
- Sadi Jalali – soccer player
- Nasser Jamal – football player
- Mozhdah Jamalzadah – singer[21]
- Maryam Monsef – member of Parliament for Peterborough-Kawartha; first Afghan-Canadian elected to Canada's House of Commons, former Minister of Status of Women
- Farkhunda Muhtaj – soccer player
- Ariel Nasr – documentary filmmaker[22]
- Salar Pashtoonyar - filmmaker
- Nelofer Pazira – filmmaker and author
- Parween Pazhwak – Persian artist and poet
- Humira Saqib – Journalist[citation needed]
- Massih Wassey – soccer player
- Hamid Zaher – writer and gay rights activist[23]
See also
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Notes
- Religious breakdown proportions based on "Afghan" ethnic or cultural origin response on the 2021 census.[2]
