Facts
About British Columbia
Population
According to the 1996 census, British Columbia had
3,724,500 inhabitants, an increase of 13.5 percent
from 1991. The population was an estimated 3,907,738
in 2001. The overall population density in 2001
was only 4.2 persons per sq km (10.9 per sq mi);
the distribution of population, however, was extremely
uneven, with the majority concentrated in the southwest
and in the valleys of the south central part of
the province. Indigenous peoples in the province
account for 2.1 percent of the population.
LARGEST CITIES (1991 census)
Vancouver (city, 471,844; metropolitan area,
1,602,502). Shipping, industrial, financial, and
cultural center for western Canada; Exhibition Park;
Chinatown; Stanley Park (see Vancouver, B.C.). Kelowna
(75,950). Commercial, trade, and tourism center
of the Okanogan Valley; tree-fruit packing and processing;
cattle and sheep ranching.
Victoria (city, 71,228; metropolitan area,
287,897). Provincial capital; 19th-century British
architecture and atmosphere; shipbuilding; connected
to mainland by ferry; resort city with scenic drives
and beautiful gardens (see Victoria, B.C.).
Prince George (69,653). At confluence of
Nechako and Fraser rivers; lumbering and forest
products industries; transportation hub; hunting
and fishing.
Kamloops (67,856). Lumbering, sawmills, and
forest products industries; Kamloops trout fishing
and skiing.
Extent. Area, 366,255 square miles (948,596
square kilometers), including 6,976 square miles
(18,068 square kilometers) of freshwater surface
(3rd province in size).
Greatest length (north to south), 800 miles
(1,300 kilometers); greatest width (east to west),
660 miles (1,060 kilometers).
Elevation. Highest, Mount Fairweather, 15,300
feet (4,663 meters); lowest, sea level; average,
6,000 feet (1,800 meters).
Temperature. Extremes--lowest, -74o F (-59o
C), Smith River, Jan. 31, 1947; highest, 112o F
(44o C), Lytton, Chinook Cove, and Lillooet, July
16 and 17, 1941.
Averages at Victoria--January, 39.4 F (4.1 C); July,
60.1 F (15.6 C); annual, 50.2 F (10.1 C).
Averages at Prince George--January, 11.6 F (-11.3
C); July, 58.9 F (14.9 C); annual, 38.0 F (3.3C).
Precipitation. Average annual total--at Victoria,
26.26 inches (667 millimeters); at Prince George,
16.71 inches (424 millimeters).
Average annual snowfall--at Victoria, 12.91 inches
(328 millimeters); at Prince George, 9.17 inches
(233 millimeters).
Land Use. Agricultural, 2.6%; forest, 54.9%;
urban, glaciers, water, and other, 42.5%.
