Vancouver's Vital Signs
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Vancouver's Vital Signs
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Glossary of Terms
Aboriginal
Used with census data. Refers to a person of aboriginal ancestry or who identifies as aboriginal; i.e., North American Indian, Métis or Inuit or of mixed aboriginal or aboriginal and non-aboriginal ancestry.
Average
The number obtained by adding several numbers together and dividing the sum by the number of
quantities (also known as the "mean").
Census
A survey that collects data from all the members of a population, whether it is individuals or businesses. The most common use of the term “census” is the population Census of Canada which is taken at five-year intervals, which counts persons and households and a wide variety of characteristics.
Census Metropolitan Area (CMA)
A CMA is a metropolitan statistical area’s geographic delineation, an area consisting of one or more adjacent municipalities situated around a major urban core. To form a census metropolitan area, the urban core must have a population of at least 100,000. To form a census agglomeration, the urban core must have a population of at least 10,000.
City
A Canadian municipality of high rank, usually determined by population, but varying by province.
Constant Dollars Income
Income data for one or more previous years, calculated to reflect the increase or decrease in the cost of living over the intervening period. Constant Dollars Income refers to the presentation of income statistics from two or more censuses in terms of the value of the dollar in one of those censuses. It is reported for a population 15 years of age and over with income, excluding institutional residents.
First Nations
First Nations is a term of ethnicity used in Canada.
It refers to indigenous peoples of North America
located in what is now Canada, and their descendants, who are not Inuit or Métis.
GVRD (Greater Vancouver Regional District)
The GVRD is a partnership of 21 municipalities and one electoral area that make up the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver.
Immigrant Population
Refers to people who are, or have been, landed immigrants in Canada. A landed immigrant is a person who has been granted the right to live in Canada permanently by immigration authorities.
Low Income Cut-offs (LICO’s)
Income levels at which families or unattached individuals spend 20% more than average on food, shelter and clothing. Measures of low income known as Low Income Cut-offs (LICO’s) were first introduced in Canada in 1968, based on 1961 census income data and 1959 family expenditure patterns. Since 1992, these cut-offs have been updated yearly by changes in the Consumer Price Index.
Median
The midpoint in a series of numbers; half the data values are above the median, and half are below.
Mode
The most frequent value in a distribution, or a data sample that occurs most often in the collection, e.g. the mode of the sample [1, 3, 6, 6, 6, 6, 7, 7, 12, 12, 17] is 6.