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

00.511.5192119702019

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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest 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

  1. 6 United States 1.6% compare
  2. 7 Switzerland 1.6% compare
  3. 8 France 1.6% compare
  4. 10 Netherlands 1.5% compare
  5. 11 Austria 1.4% compare
  6. 12 Australia 1.4% compare

See the full ranking of 23 places →

More reference data data for Canada

All data for Canada →

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

Indicator
Share of births that are twins
Unit
%
Source
Human Multiple Births Database (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
23 places, 2,436 data points, 1815–2022
Last refreshed

The number of twin deliveries per 100 deliveries.