Data available | Population Data BC (2024)

Population Data BC (PopData) facilitates access to data from PopData partners, including both federal and provincial sources, and through partnerships with the Government of British Columbia to support the delivery of theData Innovation Program (DI Program)andHealth Data Platform BC (HDPBC). A wide range of data, from both federal and provincial sources is available across these access streams.

It is important to note that data is shared differently by data providers and, as a result, there may be variations in eligibility criteria, data access request processes, requirements in the project lifecycle and whether linkage of data sets across programs/providers is permitted.PopData, the BC Government and other data providers, have worked hard to harmonise processes for Researchers as much as is possible.

More detailed information on the PopData/HDPBC data access process may be found intheData access section of this website. For more information on data access for the DI Program,visit the DI Program website.

Core vs. Non-CoreData

Core Data: Some BC Ministry of Health data sets available through PopData and HDPBC are called ‘Core Data’. A Core Data set is a standardized ‘bundle’ of commonly requested variables. A Core Data set may not include ALL the variables available in the data set. For example, some Core Data variables, such as geography or organisational codes, are suppressed to meet privacy legislation requirements.
Non-CoreData: Non-Core Data are variables that are NOT included in the standardized Core Data set. Non-Core Data is available for request as an addition to the Core Data set.

For the majority of DARs, requesting access to Core Data ONLY may make the data access approval process quicker and may expedite data provision. Data requests that include Non-Core Data will be subject to regular rather than expedited processes, both for application review and data provisioning.

Please note that the overall data access request is subject to meeting ALL of the Five SAFEs requirements. For more detail on the Five SAFEs, visit the Eligibility and the Five SAFES model page of our website.

The tables below show the data sets available by category.

Please note: Variables available for a particular data set may differ across the DI Program, PopData and HDPBC streams, so always check to make sure that what you need is available.

Demographic

Data set	Availability
Data set	DI Program	PopData	HDPBC
BC Vital Events and Statistics Births	✓ view	✓ view	✓ view
BC Vital Events and Statistics Deaths	✓ view	✓ view	✓ view
BC Vital Events and Statistics Marriages	✓ view	✓ view
BC Vital Events and Statistics Stillbirths	✓ view	✓ view	✓ view
Central Demographics File (MSP Registration and Premium Billings, Client Roster and Census Geodata)/Consolidation File	✓ view	✓ view
Client Roster (CR) Snapshot			✓ view
Population Extrapolation for Organizational Planning with Less Error (PEOPLE)			✓ view
Registration and Premium Billings (RBP Lite)	✓ view	✓

Education

Data set	Availability
Data set	DI Program	PopData	HDPBC
K to 12 Socio Economic Index (SES)	✓ view
K to 12 Student Assessments	✓ view	✓ view
K to 12 Student Demographics and Achievements	✓ view	✓ view
K to 12 Student Learning Surveys	✓ view	✓ view

Environment and Resources

Data set	Availability
Data set	DI Program	PopData	HDPBC
The Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium (CANUE)		✓ view

Justice

Data set	Availability
Data set	DI Program	PopData	HDPBC
Corrections - Adult Community and Custody	✓ view

Health

Data set	Availability
Data set	DI Program	PopData	HDPBC
BC Cancer Registry		✓ view	✓ view
BC Cardiac Service Registry			✓ view
BC Perinatal Data Registry	✓ view	✓ view	✓ view
BC Renal			✓ view
Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging		✓ view
Chronic Disease Registry	✓ view	✓ view	✓ view
CIHI Population Grouping Methodology (CPOP)			✓ view
COVID-19 Census Hospitalizations and Critical Care Reports			✓ view
COVID-19 Test Lab Data	✓ view	✓ view	✓ view
Discharge Abstract Database	✓ view	✓ view	✓ view
HealthIdeas Common and Reference Dimensions			✓ view
HealthLink 811-COVID			✓ view
Health System Matrix			✓ view
Home and Community Care	✓ view	✓ view
Home and Community Care Minimum Reporting Requirements			✓ view
Medical Imaging Wait Times			✓ view
Medical Services Plan (MSP)	✓ view	✓ view	✓ view
Mental Health Services	✓ view	✓ view
National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NACRS)	✓ view	✓ view	✓ view
Patient-Centered Measurement (PCM)			✓ view
PharmaCare	✓ view	✓ view
PharmaNet	✓ view	✓ view	✓ view
Post-Covid Recovery Clinic			✓ view
Provincial Immunization Registry			✓ view
Residential Assessment Instrument	✓ view	✓ view	✓ view
Surgical Wait Times (SWT)			✓ view
VPP Clinical OMOP Data			✓ view

Social

Data set	Availability
Data set	DI Program	PopData	HDPBC
Affordable Child Care Benefit	✓ view
BC Employment and Assistance	✓ view
BC Family Maintenance	✓ view
Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation (CIMD)			✓ view
Child and Youth Mental Health (CYMH	✓ view
Child Care Subsidy	✓ view
Child Welfare Program	✓ view
Community Living Programs	✓ view
Early Development Instrument	✓ view	✓ view
Middle Years Development Instrument		✓ view
Permanent Residents		✓ view
Private Market Rent Supplements for Eligible Seniors and Working Families	✓ view
Shelter and Homeless Outreach Private Market Rent Supplements	✓ view
Supportive Housing	✓ view

Transportation

Data set	Availability
Data set	DI Program	PopData	HDPBC
ICBC – Contraventions	✓ view
ICBC – Crashes	✓ view
ICBC - Driver Licensing	✓ view
ICBC - Traffic Accident System (TAS)	✓ view
ICBC - Vehicle Population	✓ view

Work and Income

Data set	Availability
Data set	DI Program	PopData	HDPBC
Income Band		✓ view
Income Bands - Custom	✓ view
Income Bands by Postal Code	✓ view
Labour Market Programs	✓ view
WorkSafe Claims, Injury and Firm Level files		✓ view
Career Paths for Skilled Immigrants	✓ view
Provincial Nominee Program	✓ view

FAQs

Data available | Population Data BC? ›

Population Data BC (PopData) facilitates access to data from PopData partners, including both federal and provincial sources, and through partnerships with the Government of British Columbia to support the delivery of the Data Innovation Program (DI Program) and Health Data Platform BC (HDPBC).

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What is pop data? ›

PopData is an all-you-can-stream data connection, wherever network capacity is available. Data usage is measured in 30 and 60-minute sessions, and is billed directly to your account.

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What is the demographic profile of the residents of British Columbia? ›

Most of the population is between the ages of 15 and 49. About 60 percent of British Columbians have European descent with significant Asian and Aboriginal minorities. Just under 30% of British Columbians are immigrants.

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What are the main sources of population data in India? ›

1.4 The important sources of vital statistics in India are (1) Population Census (2) Civil Registration System;(3) Demographic Sample Surveys such as those conducted by the National Sample Surveys Organization(NSSO); (4)Sample Registration System (SRS) and (5) Health Surveys, such as National Family Health Surveys, ( ...

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How to get population data? ›

Among the various ways for a government to collect population data is the census, a periodic and systematic record of population information. A census is intended to record data on as many people as is physically possible in order to produce the most accurate results. This means that they are a really big deal.

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What is the best source for population data? ›

The U.S. Census Bureau is the leading source of statistical information about the nation's people. Our population statistics come from decennial censuses, which count the entire U.S. population every ten years, along with several other surveys.

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What percentage of BC is Chinese? ›

British Columbia, Province

Racialized groups ^Footnote ¹: In 2021, the largest racialized group was Chinese, with about 550,590 persons representing 11.2% of the total population. The second group was South Asian, with about 473,970 persons representing 9.6% of the total population.

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What is the most comprehensive source of population data? ›

Census: The key source of population data for sustainable development.

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What are the types of population data? ›

There are two primary classifications of population data: Primary population data collection sources: Data collected directly by a researcher or statistician or a government body via sources such as census, sample survey, etc. are called primary population data collection.

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What are the characteristics of population data? ›

Population characteristics include population age distribution, race, gender, education, household income, poverty, life expectancy, and other aspects that are associated with the health of a community.

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How is population data gathered? ›

Data on the general population and its characteristics can be found through a number of sources, including surveys. However, the most important source at the national population level is through the census. This is carried out every ten years since 1801, with the exception of 1941.

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What are the four methods of collecting samples from a population? ›

Probability sampling means that every member of the target population has a known chance of being included in the sample. Probability sampling methods include simple random sampling, systematic sampling, stratified sampling, and cluster sampling.

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What is the best way to show population data? ›

Effective ways to visualize demographic data include using bar charts, pie charts, stacked bar charts, histograms, line charts, heatmaps, choropleth maps, geo maps, and scatter plots.