Visible minorities are persons who are not of the majority race in a given population. For example, in Canada, visible minorities are defined as "persons, other than Aboriginals who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour."

The term is commonly used in Canada and is a classification used by Statistics Canada in connection with that country's multiculturalism policies. It is also used in the United Kingdom, but is rarely used in the United States and other parts of the world.

Visible minorities in Canada

Nearly four million Canadians identified themselves as a visible minority in the 2001 Census, accounting for 13.4% of the total population. This was an increase from 1996 when the proportion was 11.2%, and a major increase over 1991 (9.4%) and 1981 (4.7%). The increase represents a significant shift in Canada's demographics since the advent of that country's multiculturalism policies.

Of the provinces, British Columbia had the highest proportion of visible minorities, representing 21.6% of its population, followed by Ontario at 19.1%. People of Chinese origin are Canada’s largest visible minority group, with a population of more than one million. In 2001, they made up 3.5% of the country’s population, followed by South Asians (3%) and Blacks (2.2%).

External links

• Statistics Canada – Visible minority population, by census metropolitan areas (2001 Census)
• Statistics Canada – Population and Demography