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Back to school... by the numbers

2009

Across Canada, students are going back to school this fall.

Here are some facts on assorted topics related to education and students in Canada.

(Last updated: August 27, 2009.)

Back to class

5,162,363 — The total number of students enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools in Canada in 2006/2007.

This was down 0.9% from the previous school year and down 3.5% from 2000/2001.

Enrolment has declined every year since 2002/2003, as larger cohorts of graduating students are replaced by smaller cohorts of grade 1 students.

For enrolment by province and by territory, see Table A.1 — Headcount enrolments in public elementary and secondary schools, Canada, provinces and territories, 2000/2001 to 2006/2007.

Sources: “Public school indicators,” The Daily, Thursday, August 27, 2009; Summary Public School Indicators for the Provinces and Territories, 2000/2001 to 2006/2007.

High school graduation rates

71.3% — The graduation rate for publicly funded high school students in 2006/2007, down from 73.2% in 2005/2006.

75.3% — The proportion of young women in Canada who received a high school diploma in 2006/2007.

67.6% — The proportion of young men in Canada who received a high school diploma in 2006/2007.

(The graduation rate is calculated by dividing the number of graduates from publicly funded schools by the average population aged 17 and 18. This underestimates the "final" graduation rate and should not be used to infer the dropout rate.)

Sources: Summary Public School Indicators for the Provinces and Territories, 2000/2001 to 2006/2007; “Public school indicators,” The Daily, Thursday, August 27, 2009.

How much does it cost to educate a student in the public system?

$10,262 — The average cost of educating a student (at publicly funded elementary, secondary, adult and vocational schools) in Canada in 2006/2007.

Source: “Public school indicators,” The Daily, Thursday, August 27, 2009.

See also: School boards revenue and expenditures, by province and territory in Summary tables.

Second-language immersion programs

304,292 — The number of students enrolled in second-language immersion programs in public elementary and secondary schools in Canada in 2006/2007.

This was up 3.1% from the previous year and up 9.5% compared with 2000/2001.

Source: “Public school indicators,” The Daily, Thursday, August 27, 2009.

Teachers and professors

701,600 — The estimated number of teachers and professors in Canada as of June 2009. Of these, 32% were men and 68% were women. The majority of teachers and professors—81%—worked full-time.

(This number includes university professors and assistants, college and other vocational instructors, secondary and elementary school teachers and educational counsellors.)

Source: CANSIM, table 282-0069 (Labour Force Survey).

For much more detailed information on teachers and professors, see Education Indicators in Canada: Report of the Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program.

University enrolment

1,066,000 — The total number of students enrolled in Canadian universities in 2007/2008, up 0.6% from 2006/2007.

57.5% — The percentage of undergraduates who were women in 2007/2008.

42.5% — The percentage of undergraduates who were men in 2007/2008.

796,400 — The number of full-time students enrolled in Canadian universities in 2007/2008.

269,900 — The number of part-time students enrolled in Canadian universities in 2007/2008.

812,700 — The total number of undergraduates in 2007/2008, down 0.1% from the previous academic year.

In focus

The top three fields of study (by number of registrants) accounted for one-half of total enrolment in 2007/2008. These fields were:

social and behavioral sciences, and law
business, management and public administration
the humanities

These fields of study have been in the top three since 1992/1993.

Enrolment fell in six fields:

personal improvement and leisure
humanities
mathematics, computer and information sciences
personal, protective and transportation services
other
visual and performing arts, and communications technologies

The decline in the mathematics, computer and information sciences field continued a long-term trend.

Source: “University enrolment”, The Daily, Monday, July 13, 2009.

See also: Tables by subject: Education, training and learning in Summary tables; Education, training and learning in Statistics by subject.

University degrees

241,551 — The number of students who received a degree, diploma or certificate qualification from a Canadian university in 2007. This was up 7% from 2006.

Source: “University degrees, diplomas and certificates awarded,” The Daily, Monday, July 13, 2009.

See also: “National Graduates Survey,” The Daily, Wednesday, April 22, 2009.

Tuition fees for undergrads

$4,724 — The average amount paid in tuition fees by Canadian full-time undergraduate students in the 2008/2009 academic year, up from $4,558 the year before.

$4,558 — The average amount paid in tuition fees by Canadian full-time undergraduate students in the 2007/2008 academic year.

Source: “University tuition fees”, The Daily, Thursday, October 9, 2008.

Students at college

613,500 — Enrolment at Canadian colleges* as of October 31, 2005.

*Enrolment at Canadian colleges includes colleges of applied arts and technology, technical institutes, Collège d'enseignement général et professionnel (CEGEP) and similar institutions. Excluded are students in trades and basic education.

Source: “College enrolment,” The Daily, Tuesday, May 5, 2009.

See also: College degrees and enrolments in Tables by subject: Educational attainment in Summary tables.

Spending on education

Expenditures on school supplies, textbooks, tuition fees, other courses and lessons and educational services were reported by 35% of all households in Canada in 2007.

4.5 million — The estimated number of households reporting expenditures on education.

$1,000 — The median expenditure on education by households reporting expenditures on education.

$100 — The median expenditure by reporting households on school supplies for kindergarten, nursery, elementary, secondary and post-secondary use.

23% — The proportion of households reporting expenditures on these school supplies.

$100 — The median expenditure by reporting households on textbooks for kindergarten, nursery, elementary and secondary use.

$500 — The median expenditure by reporting households on textbooks for post-secondary use.

18% — The proportion of households reporting expenditures on textbooks.

$200 — The median expenditure by reporting households on kindergarten, nursery, elementary and secondary school tuition fees.

$2,500 — The median expenditure by reporting households on postsecondary tuition fees.

22% — The proportion of households reporting expenditures on tuition fees.

Source: Survey of Household Spending in 2007 (detailed table).

Shopping for “back to school”

For some kids, “back to school” may mean it is time to get outfitted with an entire new wardrobe. For others, it may mean replacing clothes that they have outgrown or worn out during the summer months.

And let’s not forget all the new backpacks, books, notebooks, pencils, pens, and so on that the new school year requires.

Here are some selected figures for this period last year from the Quarterly Retail Commodity Survey. It’s a safe bet some of these purchases were made in preparation for the new school year.

Here are the total sales across Canada in the third quarter of 2008 for selected categories:

$236.8 million — The total value of sales of girls’ clothing and accessories.

$221.0 million — The total value of sales of boys’ clothing and accessories.

$114.1 million — The total value of sales of unisex clothing.

$945.9 million — The total value of sales of stationery, office supplies, cards, gift wrap and party supplies.

Although higher in the third quarter (July to September) than in previous quarters, sales for these categories peak in the fourth quarter (October to December).

Source: CANSIM, table 080-0018 (Quarterly Retail Commodity Survey).

Driver education

Do you have a family member who is learning how to drive?

$400 — The median expenditure on driving lessons in 2007 by an estimated 549,430 households—or 4% of all households—in Canada.

Source: CANSIM, table 203-0007 (Survey of Household Spending).

First Nations children in school

7 in 10 — The proportion of off-reserve First Nations children aged 6 to 14 who were reported by their parents in 2006 to be doing very well or well in school. These findings are similar to those for children aged 6 to 14 in the general Canadian population.

Source: “Aboriginal Peoples Survey: School experiences of First Nations children aged 6 to 14 living off reserve,” The Daily, Friday, January 16, 2009.

See also: “National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth: School achievement of nine-year-olds,” The Daily, Monday, November 24, 2008.

Reading doesn’t make you fat

Researchers have found an association between watching TV, using a computer and obesity in both male and female adults.

But a third sedentary activity—reading—was not associated with obesity for either sex.

Source: “Study: Sedentary behaviour and obesity”, The Daily, Wednesday, June 18, 2008.

Get outside and play!

Soccer — The most frequently reported sport for both boys and girls in 2005. Soccer replaced swimming, which was most frequent in 1992.

51% — The proportion of children aged 5 to 14—some 2 million kids—that regularly took part in organized sports in 2005. This proportion was down from 57% in 1992.

About half of these active children participated in more than one organized sport. Active children played on average about 2.6 times per week per sport during their sport's season.

Source: “Study: Organized sports participation among children”, The Daily, Tuesday, June 3, 2008.

55% — The proportion of boys who were actively involved in sport in 2005, down from 59% in 1998.

44% — The proportion of girls who were actively involved in sport in 2005, the same as in 1998.

Source: “Study: Participation in sports”, The Daily, Thursday, February 7, 2008.

Don’t bug me, I’m busy!

Despite the stereotypical image of nonchalant, lounging teenagers, a Statistics Canada study shows that many teens carry a heavier load than you may think.

In fact, according to the study “The busy lives of teens,” found in Perspectives on Labour and Income, when compared with nine other OECD countries, Canadian teens ranked first in terms of average hours spent on unpaid and paid labour during the school week.

After school attendance, homework was the most time-consuming unpaid activity for teens, with 60% doing an average of 2 hours and 20 minutes every day.

9.2 hours — The amount of time teens devoted to school work, homework, paid work and housework on school days in Canada in 2005.

3.5 hours — The amount of time teens devoted to school work, homework, paid work and housework on weekends in Canada in 2005.

Source: “Study: The busy lives of teens”, The Daily, Wednesday, May 23, 2007.

Education matters!

Education Matters is a free online periodical that provides summary information on issues and gives access to education indicators and Canadian education analysis. It presents information, statistics and analysis in a non-technical, highly readable format for teachers, students, parents, education associations, researchers and policy makers. It is published every two months by Statistics Canada's Centre for Education Statistics.

Check out the 2009 version of the Special back-to-school issue of Education Matters - A fact book on education in Canada.

For much more on education, see the publication Education Indicators in Canada: Report of the Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program.

Helpful hints

For more sources of data and analysis on education, be sure to consult Education, training and learning in Statistics by subject.

The census is also an important source for education data. See Education Reference Guide, 2006 Census as well as the 2006 Census module on education.

You can also search for available data in CANSIM by subject and CANSIM by survey. There is a fee for access to the full CANSIM database, but students can access selected data free of charge via E-STAT.

Journalists can access CANSIM for a nominal fee. For more information, see the page Data Tables: Access to CANSIM for media.

Are you a student looking for help with your school projects, or for information about Canada, its people and its economy? Are you an education professional looking for ideas for lesson plans? You can learn all about information and tools for teachers and students in Learning Resources.

The module Statistics: Power from Data! helps students and journalists alike learn more about data collection and analysis. It also explains statistical concepts.

For information on this page or more data, contact Media Relations.