National Indigenous History Month... By the numbers

Environment, traditional knowledge, and territory

Inuit Nunangat comprises roughly 40% of Canada's land area and 72% of its coastline. In 2021, there were 70,545 Inuit living in Canada, with just over two-thirds (69.0%) living in Inuit Nunangat. (First Nations people, Métis and Inuit in Canada)
In 2017, 33% of First Nations people living off reserve, 35% of Métis, and 65% of Inuit had hunted, fished, or trapped. (Harvesting activities among First Nations people living off reserve, Métis and Inuit: Time trends, barriers and associated factors)
In 2021, while Indigenous people represented 5% of the total population, they represented 12.4% and 12.9% of residents of fishing and forestry resource-based communities. (Selected population characteristics of people living in resource-based communities, by resource industry)
Since 2016, the Indigenous farm population, which comprises farm operators and the individuals in their households, has risen 6.0%, reaching 16,705 people in 2021. (The socioeconomic portrait of the Indigenous farm population in Canada, 2021)

The number of elementary and high school students who participated in programs where an Indigenous language is taught as a subject (as part of the regular course offerings) increased nationally from 53,913 in 2017/2018 to 59,355 in 2021/2022. (Number of students in Indigenous language programs, public elementary and secondary schools, by program type)
In 2017, most Indigenous youth reported that they felt good about their Indigenous identity: 91% of First Nations youth living off reserve, 93% of Métis youth, and 97% of Inuit youth. (Portrait of Youth in Canada: Data Report, Chapter 4: Indigenous Youth in Canada)

While the number of Indigenous people reporting an Indigenous language as their mother tongue declined by 7.1% between 2016 and 2021 censuses, the number of those who learned an Indigenous language as a second language continued to rise. In 2021, over one-quarter (27.7%) of Indigenous language speakers learned it as their second language, up from 24.8% in 2016. (Indigenous languages across Canada)
Gross domestic income earned by Indigenous workers and Indigenous-led businesses in the arts, entertainment and recreation sector as well as the information and cultural industries sector exceeded $1.1 billion in 2021. (Gross domestic income attributable to Indigenous people by industry)

In 2022, the gender pay gap was slightly smaller among Indigenous people than non-Indigenous people, though Indigenous people still earned 9% less than non-Indigenous people. (Quality of employment among First Nations people living off reserve and Métis, 2022)
In the 2021/2022 academic year, women represented 69% of Indigenous new entrants to undergraduate degree programs, compared with 59% of non-Indigenous students. (Highlights on Indigenous new entrants to postsecondary education)
Between 2019 and 2021, Indigenous people who identified as 2SLGBTQ+ made up 7.0% of the Canadian 2SLGBTQ+ population, even though Indigenous people overall made up 5.0% of the total Canadian population. (Socioeconomic characteristics of the 2SLGBTQ+ population, 2019 to 2021)

Indigenous people were less likely to report having a good or great deal of confidence in Canadian institutions when compared with non-Indigenous people, such as the police (48% versus 63%), the justice system (30% versus 47%) and federal Parliament (16% versus 33%). (Confidence in Canadian Institutions)

From 2017 to 2020, significantly higher proportions of First Nations people living off reserve (20.3%), Métis (17.9%) and Inuit (56.5%) reported being without a primary health care provider, compared with their non-Indigenous counterparts (14.5%). (Primary health care access among First Nations people living off reserve, Métis and Inuit, 2017 to 2020)
Between 2017 and 2020, roughly one-half of First Nations people living off reserve (47.6%) and Métis (51.4%) reported using a doctor's office as their usual place of care for minor health problems, followed by walk-in clinics. Among Inuit, one-fifth (21.2%) reported using a doctor's office while about double that proportion (41.8%) used community health centres. (Primary health care access among First Nations people living off reserve, Métis and Inuit, 2017 to 2020)

Involuntary part-time work (less than 30 hours per week) was significantly higher among Indigenous people (23.9%) than among non-Indigenous people (18.6%) in 2022. This rate was much higher among Indigenous men than women (31.3% versus 20.8%). (Quality of employment among First Nations people living off reserve and Métis, 2022)
In 2022, First Nations people living off reserve and Métis had higher rates of short tenure jobs (less than 12 months) than non-Indigenous people (24.3% and 21.6% versus 19.1%). (Quality of employment among First Nations people living off reserve and Métis, 2022)
When comparing 2021 with five years earlier, the share with a bachelor's degree or higher increased for First Nations people (+1.6 percentage points (p.p.)), Métis (+2.5 p.p.) and Inuit (+0.9 p.p.). (Postsecondary educational attainment and labour market outcomes among Indigenous peoples in Canada, findings from the 2021 Census)
Although the overall employment rate among Indigenous adults in 2021 was lower than the non-Indigenous population (61.2% vs 74.1%), the difference disappears when only considering those with a bachelor's degree or higher (82.6% and 82.5%, respectively). (Postsecondary educational attainment and labour market outcomes among Indigenous peoples in Canada, findings from the 2021 Census)