Archived Content

Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please contact us to request a format other than those available.

Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census

Census subdivision of Athabasca County, MD - Alberta ¹

Map of Athabasca County, MD

Interactive version of map

Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Chart A description: Athabasca County, MD - Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Prov. rank

Nat. rank

490

In 2011, Athabasca County (Municipal district) had a population of 7,662, representing a percentage change of 1.2% from 2006. This compares to the national average growth of 5.9%.

Land area is 6,122.75 square kilometres with a population density of 1.3 persons per square kilometre. This compares to the provincial land area of 640,081.87 square kilometres with a population density of 5.7 persons per square kilometre.

In 2011, Athabasca County (Municipal district) had 2,965 private dwellings occupied by usual residents. The change in private dwellings occupied by usual residents from 2006 was 2.3%. For Canada as a whole, the number of private dwellings occupied by usual residents increased 7.1%.

Population and dwelling counts

Athabasca County (Municipal district) – Neighbouring census subdivisions

Table 1 Athabasca County (Municipal district) – Neighbouring census subdivisions, population change, 2006 to 2011
Census subdivision (CSD) name	CSD type	Population
Census subdivision (CSD) name	CSD type	2011	2006	% change
Smoky Lake County, Alta.	MD	3,910	3,357	16.5
Lac la Biche County, Alta.	MD	8,402	9,123 A	-7.9
Westlock County, Alta.	MD	7,644	6,910	10.6
Thorhild County No. 7, Alta.	MD	3,417	3,547 A	-3.7
Mewatha Beach, Alta.	SV	79	167	-52.7
Boyle, Alta.	VL	916	854 A	7.3
Sunset Beach, Alta.	SV	44	88	-50.0
Athabasca, Alta.	T	2,990	2,580 A	15.9
Island Lake, Alta.	SV	243	351	-30.8
Island Lake South, Alta.	SV	72	105	-31.4
Bondiss, Alta.	SV	106	131	-19.1
South Baptiste, Alta.	SV	52	69	-24.6
West Baptiste, Alta.	SV	52	104	-50.0
Whispering Hills, Alta.	SV	108	125	-13.6
Opportunity No. 17, Alta.	MD	3,074	2,847	8.0
Lesser Slave River No.124, Alta.	MD	2,929	2,820	3.9

Alberta – Census subdivisions with 5,000-plus population with the highest population growth

Table 2 Alberta – Census subdivisions with 5,000-plus population with the highest population growth, population change, 2006 to 2011
Census subdivision (CSD) name	CSD type	Population
Census subdivision (CSD) name	CSD type	2011	2006	% change
Chestermere	T	14,824	9,923 A	49.4
Beaumont	T	13,284	8,961	48.2
Airdrie	CY	42,564	28,927	47.1
Leduc	CY	24,279	16,967	43.1
Okotoks	T	24,511	17,150 A	42.9

Alberta – Census subdivisions with 5,000-plus population with the lowest population growth

Table 3 Alberta – Census subdivisions with 5,000-plus population with the lowest population growth, population change, 2006 to 2011
Census subdivision (CSD) name	CSD type	Population
Census subdivision (CSD) name	CSD type	2011	2006	% change
Lac la Biche County	MD	8,402	9,123 A	-7.9
Willow Creek No. 26	MD	5,107	5,337	-4.3
Crowsnest Pass	SM	5,565	5,749	-3.2
Greenview No. 16	MD	5,299	5,464	-3.0
Lethbridge County	MD	10,061	10,254 A	-1.9

Age and sex

Athabasca County, MD – Age distribution

Chart C: Athabasca County, MD - Population by broad age groups

Chart C description: Athabasca County, MD - Population by broad age groups

Table 4 Athabasca County, MD – Age distributions by broad age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups	Both sexes	Males	Females
0 to 14	18.3%	18.7%	17.9%
15 to 64	67.1%	65.9%	68.3%
65 and over	14.6%	15.3%	13.8%

In 2011, the percentage of the population aged 65 and over in Athabasca County, MD was 14.6%, compared with a national percentage of 14.8%. The percentage of the working age population (15 to 64) was 67.1% and the percentage of children aged 0 to 14 was 18.3%. In comparison, the national percentages were 68.5% for the population aged 15 to 64 and 16.7% for the population aged 0 to 14.

Athabasca County, MD – Population by broad age groups and sex

Table 5 Athabasca County, MD – Population by broad age groups, sex and population change between 2006 and 2011, 2006 to 2011 censuses
Broad age groups by sex	Population
Broad age groups by sex	2011	2006	change	% change
Both sexes
Total	7,660	7,585	75	1.0
0 to 14	1,405	1,470	-65	-4.4
15 to 64	5,140	5,150	-10	-0.2
65 and over	1,120	965	155	16.1
Males
Total	4,030	3,990	40	1.0
0 to 14	755	780	-25	-3.2
15 to 64	2,655	2,665	-10	-0.4
65 and over	615	540	75	13.9
Females
Total	3,630	3,595	35	1.0
0 to 14	650	695	-45	-6.5
15 to 64	2,480	2,475	5	0.2
65 and over	500	425	75	17.6

Athabasca County, MD – Population by five-year age groups and sex

Chart D description: Athabasca County, MD - Population by five-year age groups and sex

Table 6 Athabasca County, MD – Population by five-year age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups	Both sexes	Males	Females
Total - Age groups	7,660	4,030	3,630
0 to 4 years	440	245	205
5 to 9 years	425	240	185
10 to 14 years	540	270	265
15 to 19 years	540	280	260
20 to 24 years	335	160	180
25 to 29 years	360	175	180
30 to 34 years	370	205	165
35 to 39 years	490	250	240
40 to 44 years	550	285	265
45 to 49 years	660	335	325
50 to 54 years	710	375	330
55 to 59 years	595	315	280
60 to 64 years	530	280	250
65 to 69 years	430	225	205
70 to 74 years	300	175	130
75 to 79 years	190	105	90
80 to 84 years	105	60	50
85 years and over	85	50	40
Median age	43.2	43.6	42.7

Athabasca County, MD – Median age² of the population

Chart E: Canada, Alberta and Athabasca County, MD - Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses

Chart E description: Canada, Alberta and Athabasca County, MD - Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses

In 2011, the median age in Athabasca County, MD was 43.2 years. In comparison, the median age of Alberta was 36.5 years.

Table 7 Canada, Alberta and Athabasca County, MD – Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses
	Median age
	2006	2011
Canada	39.5	40.6
Alberta	36.0	36.5
Athabasca County, MD	41.7	43.2

Families and households

In 2011, the number of census families³ in Athabasca County was 2,330, which represents a change of 2.0% from 2006. This compares to a growth rate for Canada of 5.5% over the same period.

In Athabasca County, 78.5% of census families were married couples in 2011, while 12.4% were common-law-couples and 9.0% were lone-parent families.

Chart F: Athabasca County - Census families by family structure

Chart F description: Athabasca County - Census families by family structure

Athabasca County – Family structure

Table 8 Canada, Alberta, CSD of Athabasca County, MD and neighbouring census subdivisions – Distribution of census families by family structure, 2011 Census
Geographic name	Total families	Married-couple families		Common-law-couple families		Lone-parent families		% change, census families, 2006 to 2011
Geographic name	Total families	number	%	number	%	number	%	% change, census families, 2006 to 2011
Canada †	9,389,695	6,293,950	67.0	1,567,905	16.7	1,527,840	16.3	5.5
Alberta †	999,525	719,355	72.0	135,660	13.6	144,510	14.5	10.5
Athabasca County, MD	2,330	1,830	78.5	290	12.4	210	9.0	2.0
Smoky Lake County, MD	1,125	760	67.6	190	16.9	180	16.0	18.4
Lac la Biche County, MD	2,360	1,650	69.9	335	14.2	375	15.9	-5.0
Westlock County, MD	2,215	1,770	79.9	220	9.9	225	10.2	11.0
Thorhild County No. 7, MD	1,045	770	73.7	155	14.8	120	11.5	-1.4
Mewatha Beach, SV	30	20	66.7	5	16.7	0	0.0	0.0
Boyle, VL	235	145	61.7	50	21.3	40	17.0	2.2
Sunset Beach, SV	15	10	66.7	5	33.3	0	0.0	0.0
Athabasca, T	805	540	67.1	115	14.3	150	18.6	21.1
Island Lake, SV	85	70	82.4	5	5.9	5	5.9	0.0
Island Lake South, SV	30	15	50.0	5	16.7	5	16.7	0.0
Bondiss, SV	40	35	87.5	5	12.5	0	0.0	0.0
South Baptiste, SV	20	20	100.0	5	25.0	0	0.0	0.0
West Baptiste, SV	20	20	100.0	0	0.0	0	0.0	0.0
Whispering Hills, SV	35	30	85.7	5	14.3	5	14.3	-12.5
Opportunity No. 17, MD	830	350	42.2	265	31.9	210	25.3	12.9
Lesser Slave River No.124, MD	895	680	76.0	155	17.3	60	6.7	10.5

Athabasca County – Presence of children within couple families

Among couples (married and common-law) in the census subdivision of Athabasca County, 42.0% were couples with children aged 24 and under at home. In comparison, as a whole, 46.9% of couples in Canada had children aged 24 and under at home.

Presence of children within couple families
* Children aged 24 and under at home
Married couples with children *	785
Married couples without children *	1,050
Common-law-couples with children *	110
Common-law-couples without children *	180

Athabasca County – Marital status

Chart H description: Athabasca County - Marital status

In Athabasca County, 69.1% of the total population aged 15 and over were either married (59.9%) or living with a common-law partner (9.2%).

The remaining 31.0% were not married and not living with a common-law partner, including those who were single (never-married), separated, divorced or widowed.

Note: Percentages may not total 100 percent due to random rounding.

Table 9 Canada, Alberta, Athabasca County, MD – Population 15 years and older by marital status, 2011 Census
Marital status	Athabasca County, MD		Alberta		Canada
Marital status	number	%	number	%	number	%
Total - Population 15 years and over	6,255	100.0	2,960,470	100.0	27,869,345	100.0
Married or living with a common-law partner	4,320	69.1	1,756,860	59.3	16,084,490	57.7
Married (and not separated)	3,745	59.9	1,484,705	50.2	12,941,965	46.4
Living common-law	575	9.2	272,155	9.2	3,142,525	11.3
Not married and not living with a common-law partner	1,940	31.0	1,203,615	40.7	11,784,855	42.3
Single (never legally married)	1,250	20.0	823,935	27.8	7,816,045	28.0
Separated	120	1.9	70,855	2.4	698,245	2.5
Divorced	300	4.8	177,375	6.0	1,686,035	6.0
Widowed	270	4.3	131,440	4.4	1,584,525	5.7

Athabasca County – Types of private households

There were 2,965 private households⁴ in Athabasca County in 2011, a change of 2.1% from 2006. Of these, 29.5% of households were comprised of couples with children aged 24 and under at home, a change of -9.8% compared with five years earlier.

Table 10 Canada, Alberta, Athabasca County, MD – Distribution of households by household type, 2011 Census
Household type⁵	Athabasca County, MD		Alberta		Canada
Household type⁵	number	%	number	%	number	%
Total private households	2,965	100.0	1,390,275	100.0	13,320,615	100.0
Couple-family households with children aged 24 and under at home⁶	875	29.5	407,145	29.3	3,524,915	26.5
Couple-family households without children aged 24 and under at home⁷	1,175	39.6	406,380	29.2	3,935,540	29.5
Lone-parent family households⁸	180	6.1	128,330	9.2	1,375,450	10.3
One-person households	615	20.7	342,735	24.7	3,673,310	27.6
Multiple family households⁹	45	1.5	27,900	2.0	268,060	2.0
Other households¹⁰	75	2.5	77,785	5.6	543,340	4.1

Athabasca County – Structural type of dwelling

In Athabasca County, 82.5% of private households lived in single-detached houses and 0.0% lived in apartments in buildings that have five or more storeys. The rest lived in other types of dwelling structures.

Table 11 Canada, Alberta, Athabasca County, MD – Distribution of private households by structural type of dwelling, 2011 Census
Structural type of dwelling	Athabasca County, MD		Alberta		Canada
Structural type of dwelling	number	%	number	%	number	%
Total - Structural type of dwelling	2,965	100.0	1,390,275	100.0	13,320,615	100.0
Single-detached house	2,445	82.5	883,260	63.5	7,329,150	55.0
Semi-detached house	5	0.2	71,850	5.2	646,240	4.9
Row house	0	0.0	97,865	7.0	791,600	5.9
Apartment, building that has five or more storeys	0	0.0	58,205	4.2	1,234,770	9.3
Apartment, building that has fewer than five storeys	0	0.0	197,945	14.2	2,397,555	18.0
Apartment, duplex	5	0.2	33,505	2.4	704,485	5.3
Other single-attached house¹¹	5	0.2	1,060	0.1	33,310	0.3
Movable dwelling¹²	510	17.2	46,590	3.4	183,510	1.4

Language

Athabasca County, MD – Mother tongue

Chart J description: Athabasca County, MD - Mother tongue and language spoken most often at home

Note: Counts for mother tongue as well as those for language spoken most often at home include single responses only.

In Athabasca County, 88.6% of the population reported English only as mother tongue, 2.5% reported French only, and 8.0% reported a non-official language only, in 2011. In comparison, the provincial / territorial percentages were 77.0% for English only, 1.9% for French only and 19.4% for only non-official languages.

In 2011, 96.5% of the population spoke only English most often at home, 0.5% spoke only French and 2.2% spoke only a non-official language. In comparison, the provincial / territorial percentages were 85.7% for only English, 0.7% for only French and 10.5% for only a non-official language.

Table 12 Athabasca County, MD – Mother tongue and language spoken most often at home, 2011 Census
Selected languages	Mother tongue		Language spoken most often at home
Selected languages	number	%	number	%
Total	7,660	100.0	7,660	100.0
English	6,785	88.6	7,395	96.5
French	195	2.5	35	0.5
Non-official language	615	8.0	170	2.2
Multiple responses	65	0.8	55	0.7

Table 13 Athabasca County, MD – Mother-tongue retention, 2011 Census
Mother tongue	Mother-tongue retention¹³ (in percentage)
Mother tongue	Total retention; language spoken at home at least on a regular basis	Complete retention; language spoken most often at home	Partial retention; language spoken at home on a regular basis
Note: Counts for mother tongue and home language include single response of a language as well as multiple responses of a language with English and/or French.
English	99.8	99.7	0.1
French	30.2	14.0	16.3
Non-official language	54.5	31.8	22.7

Athabasca County, MD – Non-official languages

In Athabasca County, the three most common mother tongues were Ukrainian (2.7%), German (2.1%) and Russian (1.0%), in 2011. In comparison, the most common mother tongues at the provincial / territorial level were German (2.3%), Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino) (1.9%) and Panjabi (Punjabi) (1.5%).

Table 14 Athabasca County, MD – The most common non-official-language mother tongues, 2011 Census
Mother tongue	Number	Percentage of non-official language mother-tongue population	Percentage of total population
Note: Counts for mother tongue and home language include single response of a language as well as multiple responses of a language with English and/or French.
Ukrainian	210	31.8	2.7
German	160	24.2	2.1
Russian	80	12.1	1.0
Polish	45	6.8	0.6
Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino)	35	5.3	0.5

Athabasca County, MD – Bilingualism

Table 15 Athabasca County, MD – Rate of English-French bilingualism by mother tongue and age groups, 2011 Census
Age groups	Mother tongue
Age groups	Total	English	French	Non-official language
Note: Counts for mother tongue include single responses only. Consequently, the total excludes multiple responses.
Total	5.9	4.3	77.5	0.8
0 to 19	9.0	9.4	100.0	0.0
20 to 44	4.8	3.9	85.7	3.8
45 to 64	4.7	1.6	76.2	0.0
65 and over	5.0	1.8	90.0	0.0

Table 16 Athabasca County, MD – Knowledge of official languages, 2011 Census
Knowledge of official languages	Number	Percentage
Total	7,660	100.0
English only	7,185	93.8
French only	0	0.0
English and French	465	6.1
Neither English nor French	15	0.2

Symbols:

···: not applicable
†: excludes census data for one or more incompletely enumerated Indian reserves or Indian settlements. For further information, refer to Notes.
¶: incompletely enumerated Indian reserve or Indian settlement. For further information, refer to Notes.
A: adjusted figure due to boundary change. For further information, refer to Content considerations.
E: use with caution. For further information, refer to Cautionary note.

Footnotes

Footnote 1

Athabasca County MD (Alberta) – This census subdivision has the following data quality indicators (commonly referred to as data quality flags):

Data quality index showing a global non response rate higher than or equal to 5% but lower than 10%.

In 2006, the population and/or dwelling counts for this census subdivision were found to be incorrect. Since it is not possible to make changes to the 2006 Census data presented in these tables, the 2006 data should be used with caution. For further details, please refer to the Population and dwelling count amendments, 2011 Census.

2006 adjusted count; most of these are the result of boundary changes.

Return to footnote 1 referrer

Footnote 2

Median age: Age 'x' that divides a population in two groups of the same population size, one group being older than age 'x' and the other group being younger than age 'x'.

Return to footnote 2 referrer

Footnote 3

Census family: Refers to a married couple (with or without children), a common-law couple (with or without children) or a lone parent family.

Return to footnote 3 referrer

Footnote 4

Household, private: Refers to a person or a group of persons (other than foreign residents) who occupy a private dwelling and do not have a usual place of residence elsewhere in Canada.

Return to footnote 4 referrer

Footnote 5

Household type: Refers to the basic division of private households into family and non-family households. Family household refers to a household that contains at least one census family, that is, a married couple with or without children, or a couple living in common-law with or without children or a lone parent living with one or more children.

Return to footnote 5 referrer

Footnote 6

Couple-family households with children: Refers to couple households with at least one child aged 24 and under.

Return to footnote 6 referrer

Footnote 7

Couple-family households without children: Refers to couple households without children aged 24 and under. Includes couple households with all children aged 25 and over.

Return to footnote 7 referrer

Footnote 8

Lone-parent-family households: Refers to all lone-parent family households regardless of age of children.

Return to footnote 8 referrer

Footnote 9

Multiple-family households: Refers to a household in which two or more census families (with or without additional persons) occupy the same private dwelling.

Return to footnote 9 referrer

Footnote 10

Other households: Refers to two or more people who share a private dwelling, but who do not constitute a census family.

Return to footnote 10 referrer

Footnote 11

Other single-attached house: A single dwelling that is attached to another building and that does not fall into any of the other categories, such as a single dwelling attached to a non-residential structure (e.g., a store or a church) or occasionally to another residential structure (e.g., an apartment building).

Return to footnote 11 referrer

Footnote 12

Movable dwelling includes mobile homes and other movable dwellings such as houseboats and railroad cars.

Return to footnote 12 referrer

Footnote 13

Mother-tongue retention: Retention refers to the situation where people speak their mother tongue at home. Retention is defined as 'complete' when the mother tongue is the language spoken most often and 'partial' when it is spoken on a regular basis but not most often. The (complete or partial) retention rate refers to the proportion of the population with a given mother tongue that speaks that language at home most often or on a regular basis. The retention rate provides an indication of a group's linguistic vitality, particularly the importance of transmitting languages between generations.

Return to footnote 13 referrer

Source:

Statistics Canada. 2012. Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-310-XWE2011004. Ottawa, Ontario. Analytical products, 2011 Census. Last updated October 24, 2012.

Related data:

2011 Census Topic-based tabulations – Census subdivision of Athabasca County, Municipal district - Alberta
2011 Census Highlight tables – Census subdivision of Athabasca County, Municipal district - Alberta
2011 Census Data Navigator – Census subdivision of Athabasca County, Municipal district - Alberta
2011 NHS Focus on Geography Series – Census subdivision of Athabasca County, Municipal district - Alberta

Date modified:: 2019-03-27

Language selection

Search and menus

Search

Archived Content

Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census