Canadian citizenship by the numbers
How many people actually become Canadian citizens, month by month, from official IRCC operational data. Data through Apr 2026, retrieved 2026-07-20. Updated quarterly.
New citizens per month
2025 finished 21.7% lower than 2024. Monthly counts move with ceremony scheduling, so dips and spikes are normal.
New citizens per year
Where new citizens were born (2025)
| # | Country of birth | New citizens |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 69,410 |
| 2 | Philippines | 27,485 |
| 3 | Nigeria | 12,735 |
| 4 | United States of America | 9,520 |
| 5 | People's Republic of China | 8,880 |
| 6 | France | 8,810 |
| 7 | Iran | 8,720 |
| 8 | Pakistan | 7,470 |
| 9 | Brazil | 6,610 |
| 10 | Afghanistan | 6,525 |
If you're on this path
Every person in these charts walked the same road: meet the 1,095-day physical presence requirement, apply, pass the citizenship test (if aged 18 to 54), and take the oath. If your test is coming up, here is what test day looks like, and after you pass, here is how the ceremony works.
Quick answers
- How many people become Canadian citizens each year?
- 294,035 people became Canadian citizens in 2025, according to IRCC operational data. That compares with 375,460 in 2024.
- How many new citizens were there last month?
- IRCC's most recent monthly figure is 25,515 new citizens in Apr 2026.
- Which countries do most new Canadian citizens come from?
- In 2025, the top countries of birth for new Canadian citizens were India (69,410), Philippines (27,485), Nigeria (12,735).
- Do you have to pass a test to become a Canadian citizen?
- Most adult applicants aged 18 to 54 must pass the citizenship test: 20 questions, 15 correct to pass, based on the official Discover Canada study guide.
- Where do these numbers come from?
- All figures are from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's open dataset 'Operational Processing: Monthly IRCC Updates', published under the Open Government Licence - Canada. IRCC rounds values to the nearest 5.
Sources
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Operational Processing: Monthly IRCC Updates (dataset), New Canadian Citizens by Month resource. Published under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Retrieved 2026-07-20. IRCC rounds all values to the nearest 5 and suppresses values under 5.Analysis and any errors are ours, not IRCC's.
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