Immigration stats from A to Z

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This article was published 18/01/2012 (5037 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

From where do Manitoba’s African immigrants hail? The Free Press takes a closer look at the statistics.

Algeria

At least 85 people have come to Manitoba since 1980, all settling in Winnipeg.

Angola

More than 15 people have made their home in Manitoba since 1980, with more trickling in.

Republic of Botswana

At least a dozen have made their way to Manitoba since 1980.

Burundi

More than 200 people have come to Manitoba since 1980, all settling in Winnipeg, but the bulk began coming in 2005.

This exodus coincided with violence in the country by Forces for National Liberation, which has recruited child soldiers. The United States accepted 10,000 refugees from the country in 2006 alone. Since a ceasefire in 2008, 450,000 refugees have returned to the country.

Federal Republic of Cameroon

Eighty people have come to Manitoba since 1980, with more trickling in over the past 10 years.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Almost 900 people have come to Manitoba since 1980, with 885 staying in Winnipeg.

But the numbers have been steadily rising since 1998 to a high of 160 in 2009. Already, 80 people had come from January to September 2011. As well, there have been eight years with under five people coming. The immigration coincides with the country’s civil war from 1997 to 2003, with conflict still occurring in the east side of the country.

People’s Republic of Congo

30 people since 1980, with all 30 staying in Winnipeg. Small numbers continue to immigrate here every year.

Republic of Djibouti

40 people since 1980, with 30 people staying in Winnipeg and more trickling in.

Egypt

680 people since 1980, with 620 staying in Winnipeg.

The numbers have been rising in recent years with a high of 70 in 2010, but between January and September 2011, already 90 people had moved here.

Eritrea

1,060 people since 1980, with 1,050 living in Winnipeg.

The numbers have risen dramatically in recent years, jumping from a few dozen in the early 2000s to around 150 annually in the last three years to 205 in the first nine months of 2011.

Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993. The bulk of immigrants started coming in 2000, coinciding with the ceasefire of a three-year war with neighbouring Ethiopia.

Tensions and other incidents have continued, culminating with last month’s move by the UN Security Council to increase sanctions against the country for supporting Islamists in Somalia.

Ethiopia

5,070 people since 1980, with 4,855 of them living in Winnipeg.

A wave of immigrants came in the mid-1980s coinciding with a drought and famine. Another wave came starting in the late 1990s, coinciding with the war with neighbouring Eritrea and it continues, with a high of 405 in 2006 and already 290 in the first nine months of 2011, to present.

Gambia

10 people came in 2006, and all stayed in Winnipeg, but the population has barely risen since then.

Ghana

330 people since 1980, with 320 staying in Winnipeg. The community has grown relatively slowly but steadily since.

Republic of Guinea

35 people have come, with all staying in Winnipeg, and the community has grown slowly.

Republic of Ivory Coast

60 people have come; 55 remain in Winnipeg. Small numbers have followed in the last 13 years.

Kenya

830 people have come with 790 staying in Winnipeg. The numbers rose in recent years after hundreds of people died in post-election violence in 2007, and the massive drought of 2009.

Liberia

205 people have come with 190 remaining in Winnipeg, and slow growth since then. Most fled the 2002 Liberian civil war.

Libya

205 people have come with 170 people staying in Winnipeg, and slow growth over the past 13 years.

Republic of Mali

30 people have come since 1980; all stayed in Winnipeg. The community is slowly growing.

Mauritius

325 have come since 1980 with 125 staying in Winnipeg.

150 people came in 2010 alone to work at the Maple Leaf Foods meat processing plant in Brandon with less than five of them staying in Winnipeg. The community is still growing.

Morocco

355 have arrived since 1980 with 345 staying in Winnipeg.

The influx of people started in 1998 and has continued since with a high of 75 in 2000 and usually about two dozen people since then.

Mozambique

10 people since 1980, and about 15 years of slight growth.

Nigeria

1,520 people since 1980 with 1,440 staying in Winnipeg.

From 1988 to 2003, about two dozen people came annually, but after that there was a dramatic jump with 225 people in 2010 and 250 in the first nine months of 2011.

Rwanda

180 people since 1980 with 155 staying in Winnipeg, and slow growth since then.

Senegal

60 people arriving since 1980, and continual slow growth.

Sierra Leone

580 people arriving since 1980, with 565 staying in Winnipeg.

Five people came in 1999, two years before a decade-long civil war ended, but the next year it jumped to 80, and then 115 in 2001. After 105 more people came in 2002, the numbers declined to five in 2010 and under five in the first nine months of 2011.

Democratic Republic of Somalia

980 people arriving since 1980 with 975 staying in Winnipeg, and slow growth since then.

Republic of South Africa

1,365 people have come since 1980 with 490 staying in Winnipeg.

Many are health-care providers and their families who have been recruited by the province, regional health authorities and municipalities to fill rural health-care positions.

Democratic Republic of Sudan

1,875 have arrived in Manitoba since 1980 with 1,835 staying in Winnipeg. Since 1997, dozens of Sudanese have arrived every year.

United Republic of Tanzania

130 people have come since 1980 and 100 have stayed in Winnipeg. There’s been slow growth in the past 14 years.

Republic of Togo

60 people have come since 1980 and 55 stayed in Winnipeg, with slow growth since then.

Tunisia

30 people have come since 1980, with just a trickle in subsequent years.

Uganda

260 people have come since 1980 and 230 people stayed in Winnipeg. Fewer than five people have come each year since 2000.

Zambia

100 people have come since 1980 and 90 people stayed in Winnipeg. Fewer than five people have come each year since 1995.

Zimbabwe

155 people have come since 1980 with 110 staying in Winnipeg, and a trickle continuing to join them.

African nations where there is no official population count, or relatively low annual numbers of immigration: Peoples Republic of Benin, Burkina-Faso, Cape Verde Islands, Central Africa Republic, Republic of Chad, Comoros, Gabon Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Namibia, Republic of the Niger, Reunion, Seychelles, Swaziland.

— By Kevin Rollason. courtesy of Citizenship and Immigration Canada, supplemented by Winnipeg Free Press archives.