The ethnic makeup of the Canadian population is increasingly diverse, new data from Statistics Canada show.

Information from the 2001 census released Tuesday indicates that the number of foreign-born residents in Canada is at its highest level since 1931, Statistics Canada said, partly because of a surge in the number of immigrants from Asia.

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The latest census numbers show that 5.4 million people, or 18.4 per cent of the total population, were born outside Canada.

That is an increase over the 1996 census, which showed that immigrants made up 17.4 per cent of the population.

Immigration Minister Denis Coderre said in a statement that he was pleased with the numbers of people coming to Canada, and with the increasing numbers of immigrants who are choosing to take up Canadian citizenship.

"Immigration has always played an important role in building Canadian society, and we can see that this trend is continuing," he said.

"The data released today reinforce the emphasis of the 2002 Speech from the Throne on Canada's openness to immigrants and how this country will continue to be a place where immigrants will find hope, hospitality and opportunity," Mr. Coderre said.

The numbers show Canada has the highest proportion of foreign-born residents since 1931, when immigration was at its peak, before declining rapidly during the Great Depression. In 1931, foreign-born residents made up 22.2 per cent of the population.

Statistics Canada says since the 1950s, the number of foreign-born residents has been steadily rising — even more during the 1980s.

Canada is now second only to Australia in terms of the proportion of its residents born outside of the country.

By contrast, only 11 per cent of the U.S. population was born outside the country in 2000.

The total number of newcomers to Canada between 1991 and 2000 was 1.8 million, Statistics Canada says — the highest number for any decade since 1901.

Of those, 58 per cent arrived from Asia, 20 per cent from Europe, 11 per cent from the Caribbean, Central and South America, 8 per cent from Africa and 3 per cent from the United States.

This is a complete turnaround from the first 60 years of this century, the agency said, when the majority of immigrants came to Canada from Europe.

Information from the 2001 census also shows that the number of Canadians who identify themselves as visible minorities is growing.

Chinese people are now Canada's largest visible minority group, with a population of more than one million. They now make up 3.5 per cent of Canada's population, followed by those of South Asian origin (3 per cent) and black (2.2 per cent).

In total, visible minorities now make up 13.4 per cent of Canada's population. Twenty years ago, minorities made up less than 5 per cent of the population.

Jeffrey Reitz, an immigration studies professor at the University of Toronto, told Canadian Press on Monday that 25 per cent of Canada's population could soon be foreign-born.

Other highlights from Tuesday's data
• China was the leading country of birth among newcomers to Canada, followed by India, the Phillipines, China's Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Taiwan. Immigrants from these countries made up 40 per cent of Canada's immigrants since 1990.
• Immigration from Africa has increased slightly in the past decade, to 8 per cent from 6 per cent.
• Aboriginal peoples, including Indians, M้tis and Inuit, make up 3.3 per cent of Canada's population, up from 2.8 per cent in 1996. Manitoba had the highest proportion of people identifying themselves as aboriginal, followed by Saskatchewan.
• Aboriginal people continue to have a younger median age (24.7 years) than the rest of the Canadian population (37.6 years).
• Canadians named 200 different ethnic origins in the 2001 census, that is, the ethnic or cultural groups to which their ancestors belonged. Among some of the newest origins are Kosovars from Yugoslavia and Pashtun from Afghanistan.
• The number of people referring to themselves as "Canadian" has increased to 6.7 million from 5.3 million since the 1996 census
• A growing number of immigrants do not speak either of Canada's official languages, English or French, at home

2001 census information yet to come:
• Feb. 11 — Labour-force activities; classes of workers; occupations; industries; places of work; modes of transportation; languages of work, unpaid work
• March 11 — School attendance; education; fields of study; highest levels of schooling; earnings
• May 13 — Religions; incomes and social and economic characteristics of individuals, families, households; shelter costs