Share of births that are twins in Canada
Canada: Share of births that are twins was 1.6% in 2019. ▲ Rising
Latest (2019)
1.6%
Change on year
up 0.3%
World rank
9th
of 23 countries
All-time high
1.7%
in 2009
All-time low
0.9%
in 1975
Years of data
93
1921–2019
Share of births that are twins in Canada, 1921–2019
Source: Human Multiple Births Database (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of births that are twins in Canada is 1.6%, measured in 2019.
That represents a change of up 0.3% on the previous year and down 6.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of births that are twins in Canada peaked at 1.7% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 0.9%, in 1975.
Canada ranks 9th of 23 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 93 years of available data.
Share of births that are twins in Canada, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1921 | 1.2% | — |
| 1922 | 1.2% | +0.9% |
| 1923 | 1.2% | +5.8% |
| 1924 | 1.2% | -0.2% |
| 1925 | 1.2% | -1.8% |
| 1926 | 1.3% | +3.4% |
| 1927 | 1.2% | -1.7% |
| 1928 | 1.2% | -0.3% |
| 1929 | 1.2% | -0.3% |
| 1930 | 1.2% | -4.7% |
| 1931 | 1.2% | +3.6% |
| 1932 | 1.2% | -3.1% |
| 1933 | 1.2% | -0.3% |
| 1934 | 1.2% | +0.9% |
| 1935 | 1.1% | -2.6% |
| 1936 | 1.2% | +0.9% |
| 1937 | 1.2% | +0.1% |
| 1938 | 1.1% | -0.9% |
| 1939 | 1.2% | +0.2% |
| 1940 | 1.1% | -3.1% |
| 1941 | 1.1% | -0.2% |
| 1942 | 1.1% | -2.0% |
| 1943 | 1.1% | +0.5% |
| 1944 | 1.1% | -0.5% |
| 1945 | 1.1% | +3.0% |
| 1946 | 1.1% | -2.4% |
| 1947 | 1.1% | +1.4% |
| 1948 | 1.1% | +1.2% |
| 1949 | 1.1% | +0.4% |
| 1950 | 1.1% | +1.5% |
| 1951 | 1.1% | -0.2% |
| 1952 | 1.1% | -1.0% |
| 1953 | 1.1% | -4.1% |
| 1954 | 1.1% | +2.0% |
| 1955 | 1.1% | -0.4% |
| 1956 | 1.1% | +0.3% |
| 1957 | 1.1% | -0.6% |
| 1958 | 1.1% | +2.8% |
| 1959 | 1.1% | -4.2% |
| 1960 | 1.1% | -1.7% |
| 1961 | 1.1% | +0.6% |
| 1962 | 1.1% | +2.4% |
| 1963 | 1.1% | -3.6% |
| 1964 | 1.0% | -0.9% |
| 1965 | 1.0% | -1.8% |
| 1972 | 0.9% | -11.0% |
| 1973 | 0.9% | -2.3% |
| 1974 | 0.9% | +0.2% |
| 1975 | 0.9% | -0.6% |
| 1976 | 0.9% | +2.5% |
| 1977 | 0.9% | -1.8% |
| 1978 | 0.9% | +5.7% |
| 1979 | 0.9% | -3.5% |
| 1980 | 0.9% | +3.2% |
| 1981 | 0.9% | -2.9% |
| 1982 | 0.9% | +1.1% |
| 1983 | 0.9% | +1.6% |
| 1984 | 1.0% | +1.8% |
| 1985 | 1.0% | +2.1% |
| 1986 | 1.0% | -2.3% |
| 1987 | 1.0% | +6.3% |
| 1988 | 1.0% | +0.2% |
| 1989 | 1.0% | +1.5% |
| 1990 | 1.0% | -0.7% |
| 1991 | 1.0% | -2.3% |
| 1992 | 1.0% | +2.7% |
| 1993 | 1.0% | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 1.1% | +8.1% |
| 1995 | 1.1% | +2.0% |
| 1996 | 1.2% | +4.0% |
| 1997 | 1.2% | +4.2% |
| 1998 | 1.3% | +5.6% |
| 1999 | 1.3% | +2.2% |
| 2000 | 1.3% | +1.4% |
| 2001 | 1.4% | +3.6% |
| 2002 | 1.4% | +2.2% |
| 2003 | 1.5% | +5.0% |
| 2004 | 1.5% | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 1.5% | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 1.5% | +2.8% |
| 2007 | 1.6% | +1.1% |
| 2008 | 1.6% | -0.8% |
| 2009 | 1.7% | +6.4% |
| 2010 | 1.7% | -0.1% |
| 2011 | 1.6% | -1.4% |
| 2012 | 1.6% | -1.7% |
| 2013 | 1.6% | +2.5% |
| 2014 | 1.6% | -1.5% |
| 2015 | 1.6% | -0.9% |
| 2016 | 1.6% | -2.4% |
| 2017 | 1.6% | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 1.5% | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 1.6% | +0.3% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 1.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.4%, 1.1× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 9 |
| 1930s | 1.2% | 1.1% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 1940s | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 1950s | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 1960s | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 6 |
| 1970s | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 8 |
| 1980s | 1.0% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.5% | 1.3% | 1.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.6% | 1.5% | 1.7% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Canada
- 6 United States 1.6% compare
- 7 Switzerland 1.6% compare
- 8 France 1.6% compare
- 10 Netherlands 1.5% compare
- 11 Austria 1.4% compare
- 12 Australia 1.4% compare
More reference data data for Canada
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.05 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.92 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 20.47 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.92 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 20.47 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 6.86 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 7.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 22.03 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 99.83 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 15.88 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of births that are twins in Canada?
- Share of births that are twins in Canada was 1.6% in 2019, according to Human Multiple Births Database (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of births that are twins recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 1.7% in 2009.
- What is the lowest share of births that are twins recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9% in 1975.
- How does Canada rank for share of births that are twins?
- Canada ranks 9th out of 23 countries with data for 2019.
- Is share of births that are twins rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Canada data come from?
- The figures come from Human Multiple Births Database (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of births that are twins. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 93 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of twin deliveries per 100 deliveries.