Social inclusion—Perceived health and well-being among racialized groups, 2023
Released: 2025-02-13
Today, Statistics Canada's Centre for Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics is publishing a new article with the latest results on the social inclusion indicators of health and well-being, which are part of the Social Inclusion Framework for Ethnocultural Groups in Canada.
Using data from the 2023 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), the article entitled "Perceived health and well-being indicators among racialized groups, 2023," presents findings on perceived health, perceived mental health, perceived life stress and life satisfaction for the adult population (i.e., individuals aged 18 years and older). The indicators are presented for the seven largest racialized groups in Canada as per the 2021 Census: South Asian, Chinese, Black, Filipino, Latin American, Arab and Southeast Asian. This classification is based on the question regarding the population group used in the Census of Population and Statistics Canada surveys including the CCHS. For more information on the indicators and concepts, please see the Note to readers.
The Latin American and Filipino populations have highest proportions of people who describe their health as generally very good or excellent compared with the total adult population in Canada in 2023
The perceived health indicator measures a person's perception of their overall health. This indicator is used by several health research organizations, including as a predictor of health care system utilization, mortality and quality of life.
In 2023, the majority (55.2%) of the adult population of the seven largest racialized groups rated their health as generally very good or excellent. In comparison, this proportion was 52.2% for the total adult population in Canada.
The Latin American (61.2%) and Filipino (58.7%) populations had the highest proportion of individuals who reported their health as being generally very good or excellent, corresponding to the largest difference in percentage points compared with the national average (52.2%). Similarly, the Latin American (8.3%) and Filipino (9.5%) populations were the least likely to perceive their health as generally fair or poor compared with the total Canadian adult population (14.4%).
Recent Latin American, Filipino and South Asian immigrants have the highest proportions of people who describe their health as very good or excellent in general
One common characteristic of the racialized population group in general is the high representation of immigrants, who are often younger and healthier than the Canadian-born population at the time of their arrival. This so-called healthy immigrant effect fades with time spent in the country.
In 2023, among racialized immigrants who had recently immigrated to Canada (in the period from 2013 to 2023), the Latin American (73.3%), Filipino (73.2%) and South Asian (62.7%) populations had the highest proportions of individuals who rated their health as generally very good or excellent. In comparison, 51.9% of the total Canadian-born population rated their health as generally very good or excellent. The proportions were also lower among the majority of the seven racialized groups who immigrated before 2013; that is, South Asian (48.0%), Black (51.7%), Filipino (50.1%), Arab (49.5%) and Latin American (51.3%).
Did you know we have a mobile app?
Download our mobile app and get timely access to data at your fingertips! The StatsCAN app is available for free on the App Store and on Google Play.
Note to readers
The indicators presented in this release are part of the Social Inclusion Framework for Ethnocultural Groups in Canada published by Statistics Canada's Centre for Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics to provide insights in support of Canada's Anti-Racism Strategy.
The indicators are organized under 11 themes: participation in the labour market; representation in decision-making positions; civic engagement and political participation; basic needs and housing; health and well-being; education and skills development; income and wealth; social connections and personal networks; institutions and public services; local community; and discrimination and victimization.
Definitions
Perceived health is an indicator that measures a person's perception of their overall health. General health refers not only to the absence of disease or injury but also to physical, mental and social well-being. Based on this definition of general health, individuals aged 18 years and older were asked in the 2023 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), "In general, how is your health?" The possible answers were "excellent," "very good," "good," "fair" or "poor."
The concept of racialized group is derived directly from the "visible minority" variable in the census. "Visible minority" refers to whether a person is a visible minority or not, as defined by the Employment Equity Act. The Employment Equity Act defines visible minorities as "persons, other than Aboriginal people, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour." The visible minority population comprises the following groups: South Asian, Chinese, Black, Filipino, Arab, Latin American, Southeast Asian, West Asian, Korean and Japanese.
In this release, only the seven largest visible minority groups are analyzed. Given the small sample sizes for the West Asian, Korean, Japanese, "Visible minority not included elsewhere," "Multiple visible minorities" and "Not specified" categories in the CCHS, they are included in the total but not presented in this release due to data quality or to meet the confidentiality requirements of the Statistics Act.
Products
The article "Perceived health and well-being indicators among racialized groups, 2023" (89-657-X), is no available.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
- Date modified: