COMMUNITY PROFILE
POPULATION AND GROWTH STATISTICS
2017-2021 FINANCIAL PLAN
Surrey is also one of the fastest growing major cities in Canada, with growth averaging
over 8,440 people per year for the past five years. A large proportion of this growth is
due to immigration. Surrey's total population, as of December 2016, is estimated to be
526,280 residents.
This estimate is based on the City's residential building inventory, created using a
combination of data sources that include:
BC Assessment Authority data;
Surrey Building Permit information;
Surrey Secondary Suite data;
The latest GIS Orthophoto imagery; and
Surrey GIS Cadastre (lot and address) information.
The City's estimates are calibrated to the Census of Canada (including the estimated
Census undercount) every five years as this data is released.
Figure 1 illustrates existing and projected total City population for the years 2012
through 2021. Over the last five years, Surrey's population grew by 42,350 residents,
representing an average annual growth rate of 1.75%. Further population growth of
approximately 52,040 residents is projected for the five years between 2016 and 2021,
for an estimated 2021 population of 578,320. This estimate represents an average annual
growth rate of approximately 1.89% over the next five years.
Figure 1—Total Population in Surrey (2012-2021)
Source: City of Surrey Planning & Development Department
Note: Year 2017-2021 are projected for population charts shown on this and the following pages.
28