Valentine’s Day… by the numbers

2014

February 14th is Valentine's Day!

Named for Saint Valentine, this is a day when people express their love by sending cards, exchanging gifts of chocolate, roses or personal items, and even sharing romantic dinners by candlelight.

Here are some facts on assorted topics related to Valentine’s Day.

(Last updated: January 29, 2014)

Call me, maybe?

  • 11,784,855 — The total number of persons not living in a couple (including never-married, divorced, separated or widowed) aged 15 and over in Canada in 2011.

Source: 2011 Census, Census Profile.

I will love you, unconditionally!

  • 15,723,715 — The total number of persons in private households living in a couple (including opposite- and same-sex married spouses and common-law partners) aged 15 and over in Canada in 2011.

Source: Household Living Arrangements (12), Age Groups (21) and Sex (3) for the Population in Private Households of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2011 Census.

Same love

Same-sex couples accounted for 0.8% of all couples in 2011.

The number of same-sex married couples nearly tripled between 2006 and 2011, reflecting the first full five-year period for which same-sex marriage has been legal across the country.

  • 64,575 — The number of same-sex couple families in 2011.
  • 21,015 — The number of same-sex married couples.
  • 43,560 — The number of same-sex common-law couples.

Source: 2011 Census, “2011 Census of Population: Families, households, marital status, structural type of dwelling, collectives,” The Daily, Wednesday, September 19, 2012.

All couples in Canada

  • 7,861,860 — The total number of couples in private households in Canada in 2011. Of these couples, 6.3 million were married couples and 1.6 million were common-law unions.

Sources: 2011 Census, Portrait of Families and Living Arrangements in Canada; Table 1: Distribution (number and percentage) and percentage change of census families by family structure, Canada, 2001 to 2011.

A special meal

(“Restaurants” includes full service restaurants, fast-food outlets, cafeterias, but also refreshments stands, snack bars, vending machines, mobile canteens, caterers and chip wagons. Includes tips. Does not include expenses for alcoholic beverages.)

  • $2,167 — The average annual spending on food purchased from restaurants by Canadian households in 2012.

Source: CANSIM, table 203-0021.

A special gift

  • $3.34 billion — The value of jewellery and watches sold at retailers in Canada in 2012.
  • $2.48 billion — The value of cosmetics and fragrances sold at retailers in Canada in 2012.
  • $1.58 billion — The value of women's lingerie, sleepwear and intimates sold at retailers in Canada in 2012.
  • $627.7 million — The value of men's underwear, sleepwear and hosiery sold at retailers in Canada in 2012.

Source: CANSIM, table 080-0022.

A glass of wine

Wine sales amounted to 16.9 litres or $225 per person in 2012, an increase of 4.3 litres per person from 2002.

  • 488.0 million litres — The volume of wine sold at wineries, liquor stores and agencies in Canada during the year ending March 31, 2012, a 3.8% increase from the previous year. In volume terms, imported wines had stronger growth than domestic varieties.
  • $6.5 billion — The value of all wines sold by wineries, liquor stores and agencies in Canada during the year ending March 31, 2012, up 5.9% from the previous year.
  • 76% — The proportion of red wines sold in Canada during the year ending March 31, 2012 that were imported.
  • 63% — The proportion of white wines sold in Canada during the year ending March 31, 2012 that were imported.

Source: “Control and sale of alcoholic beverages, for the year ending March 31, 2012,” The Daily, Thursday, April 11, 2013.

A glass of sparkling wine

  • $366.9 million — The value of sales of sparkling wines in Canada during the year ending March 31, 2012, up 7.9% from the previous year. Canadian products made up nearly a quarter of this amount.
  • 21.9 million litres — The volume of sparkling wines sold in Canada during the year ending March 31, 2012, up 5.5% from the previous year. This represents the equivalent of more than 10 million 750 ml bottles of domestic sparkling wines and nearly 19 million 750 ml bottles of imported bubbly during the year ending March 31, 2012.

Source: CANSIM, table 183-0015.

A box of chocolates

  • $1.44 billion — The total revenue of manufacturers of chocolate and confectioneries from cocoa beans in Canada in 2011.

Source: CANSIM, table 301-0006.

A bouquet of roses

  • 8.4 million — The number of rose stems produced in Canada in 2012.

Source: CANSIM, table 001-0049.

  • 9.8 million dozen — The number of roses imported to Canada in 2012, mostly from Ecuador and Colombia.

Source: Canadian International Merchandise Trade Database.

A romantic book

Romance novels explore human relationships. Poetry is often used to convey feelings of love.

  • $2.0 billion — The operating revenues for the book publishing industry in Canada in 2010.

Source: Book publishers, 2010.

A love song

Say it with music!

  • $789.7 million — The operating revenues for the sound recording industry in Canada in 2011.

Source: Sound recording and music publishing, 2011.

It’s a date!

Going to a movie, a live performance at a theatre or even to a hockey game are great ideas for a date. Some couples enjoy sports activities together!

See Performing arts, Motion picture theatres, Spectator sports, event promoters, artists and related industries and Amusement and recreation for related information and data.

A place to find your soulmate

You may or may not find your soulmate in these selected places, but you might find some interesting data using the NHS Profile or the Census Profile:

  • Cupids, Newfoundland & Labrador  
  • Heart Lake, Alberta
  • Heart’s Delight, Newfoundland & Labrador
  • Heart’s Content, Newfoundland & Labrador
  • Heart’s Desire, Newfoundland & Labrador
  • Heart’s Hill, Saskatchewan
  • Love, Saskatchewan
  • Saint-Valentin, Quebec

Happy Valentine’s Day from Statistics Canada!

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See features on many other subjects in By the numbers.