A comprehensive 2016 report by the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada found that 88% of  Canadians; one of the highest proportions of the population among G7 countries, indicated that they "had good or very good health".
(meta data) TITLE: Health Status of Canadians 2016: Report of the Chief Public Health Officer - How healthy are we? - Perceived health - Canada.ca (meta data) AUTHOR: Public Health Agency of Canada Skip to main content Skip to "About government" ## Language selection Government of Canada ## Search Search Canada.ca ## You are here: Public Health Agency of Canada Chief Public Health Officer's reports on the state of public health in Canada Health Status of Canadians 2016: Report of the Chief Public Health Officer # Health Status of Canadians 2016: Report of the Chief Public Health Officer - How healthy are we? - Perceived health Previous Page Table of Contents Next Page ## How healthy are we? ### Perceived health In 2014, 18 million or three in five Canadians said they felt they had very good or excellent (see Figure 1)Footnote 1. Figure 1: 3 in 5 Canadians said they felt they had very good or excellent. Footnote 1 Perceived health is a subjective measure of how people feel about their health and can be a good reflection of actual health. Footnote 2-4 Health means not only the absence of disease or injury but also physical, mental and social well-being. Footnote 1 #### Over time The proportion of Canadians reporting that they felt they had very good or excellent health has not changed. Footnote 1 58% in 2003. 59% in 2014. #### By income In 2014, Canadians in the lowest household incomes were less likely to report feeling they had very good or excellent health than those living in the highest income households (see Figure 2)Footnote 5. Figure 2: Perception of very good or excellent health by household income, 2014Footnote 5 Deciles (D) are calculated by dividing the Canadian population into ten groups of equal size (deciles) based on household income. Text Equivalent Bar chart showing percent of the population who report being in very good or excellent health by household income in 2014. These data are divided into income deciles. Deciles are calculated by dividing the Canadian population into ten groups of equal size (deciles) based on neighbourhood income. Decile 1 (lowest) = 39.7% Decile 2 =45.3% Decile 3 = 51.3% Decile 4 = 53.8% Decile 5 = 59% Decile 6 =62% Decile 7 = 64.9% Decile 8 = 67.4% Decile 9 = 69.2% Decile 10 (highest) = 73.7% #### By sex In 2014, the same proportion of men and women rated their health as very good/excellent or fair/poor. Footnote 1 Percent of Canadian men and women reporting very good/excellent or fair/poor health, 2014Footnote 1 Very good or excellent Fair or poor 59% 12% 59% 12% #### Indigenous populations Data on perceived health in Indigenous populations are not directly comparable to the data described above. In 2008/2010, 44% of First Nations on-reserve rated their health as very good or excellent. Footnote 6 Percent of First Nations on-reserve reporting excellent/very good health, 2008/2010Footnote 6 First Nations on-reserve 44% In 2007-2010, First Nations off reserve, Métis and Inuit were less likely than non-Indigenous people to report that their health was very good or excellent. Footnote 7 Percent of Canadians reporting excellent/very good health, 2007-2010Footnote 7 Data presented in this table are adjusted by age. Indigenous populations tend to be younger than non-Indigenous populations which can affect the ability to compare data across groups. First Nations off reserve 50% 54% 55% Non Indigenous 63% #### International comparison Perceived health is not measured the same way across all countries, so data were adjusted so that they could be compared. Data presented above represent very good or excellent perceived health. These data can be reported over time, by income and by sex. The data below for Canada represent good, very good and excellent health (they include all positive responses) in order to allow for the comparison of perceived health among G7 countries. Footnote 8 At 88%, Canada and the United States had the highest proportion of people among G7 countries in 2014 who said that they felt they had good or very good health (see Figure 3)Footnote 8. It should be noted that perceived health is a subjective measure that can be affected by factors such as culture. This means that for some cultures, perceived health may not accurately reflect actual health. Footnote 10 Figure 3: Percent of people reporting good/very good** health in G7 countries, 2014Footnote 8 * For Canada and the United States: Adjusted to match WHO methodology. Footnote 10 ** For Canada, good/very good data indicate any positive response, including "excellent". This adjustment was made in order to be consistent with other countries' data collection. Footnote 9 † For Japan: Data for 2013 Text Equivalent Bar chart showing percent of population in G7 countries who reported being in good or very good health in 2014. Canada = 88.1% United States = 88.1% United Kingdom = 70% France = 68.1% Italy = 67.9% Germany = 65.2% Japan = 35.4% #### Notes to the reader To measure perceived health, Canadians 12 years and older were asked if they felt their health was excellent, very good, fair or poor. Footnote 1 Indigenous populations consist of First Nations, Métis and Inuit. G7 countries include seven of the world's industrialized countries, namely the United States, Japan, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Canada, that form an informal discussion group and economic partnership. To compare across countries, answers from national surveys were regrouped to match three categories: "good or very good" (includes all positive responses), "fair" (includes any neutral responses), and "bad or very bad" (includes all negative responses).Footnote 9 #### For more information on health, please see: Government of Canada Statistics Canada World Health Organization ## References Footnote 1 Return to footnote1 Referrer Statistics Canada (2016). Table 105-0501 - Health indicator profile, annual estimates, by age group and sex, Canada, provinces, territories, health regions (2013 boundaries) and peer groups, occasional [Data File]. Retrieved on March 30, 2016. Footnote 2 Return to footnote2 Referrer Shields, M., Shooshtari, S. (2001). Determinants of self-perceived health. Health Reports, 13(1), 35-52. Footnote 3 Return to footnote3 Referrer Smith, P.M., Glazier, R.H., Sibley, L.M. (2010). The predictors of self-rate health and the relationship between self-rated health and health service needs are similar across socioeconomic groups in Canada. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 63(4), 412-421. Footnote 4 Return to footnote4 Referrer Nielsen, T.H. (2015). The relationships between self-rated health and hospital records. Health Economics, 25(4), 497-512. Footnote 5 Return to footnote5 Referrer Statistics Canada (2014). Canadian Community Health Survey, 2014 [Share Microdata File]. Ottawa, ON: Statistics Canada. All computations on these microdata were prepared by the Public Health Agency of Canada and the responsibility for the use and interpretation of these data is entirely that of the author(s). Footnote 6 Return to footnote6 Referrer First Nations Information Governance Centre (2012). FNIGC Data Online [Data File]. Retrieved on December 3, 2014. Footnote 7 Return to footnote7 Referrer Gionet, L., Roshananfshar, S. (2013). Select health indicators of First Nations people living off reserve, Métis and Inuit. Health at a Glance, no.82-624-X. Footnote 8 Return to footnote8 Referrer Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2015). OECD.Stat [Data File]. Retrieved on November 12, 2015. Footnote 9 Return to footnote9 Referrer Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2016). Health Statistics 2016. Perceived health status. Definitions, Sources and Methods. Footnote 10 Return to footnote10 Referrer Jylha, M., Guralink, J.M., Ferrucci, L., Jokela, J., Heikkinen, E. (1998). Is self-rated health comparable across cultures and genders? Journals of Gerontology, Series B, 53B(3), S144-S152. 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Canada
Demographics.:Health.
It is guided by the provisions of the Canada Health Act of 1984, and is universal. Universal access to publicly funded health services "is often considered by Canadians as a fundamental value that ensures national health care insurance for everyone wherever they live in the country." However, 30% of Canadians' healthcare is paid for through the private sector. This mostly goes towards services not covered or partially covered by Medicare, such as prescription drugs, dentistry and optometry. Approximately 65% to 75% of Canadians have some form of supplementary health insurance related to the aforementioned reasons; many receive it through their employers or utilizes secondary social service programs related to extended coverage for families receiving  social assistance or vulnerable demographics, such as seniors, minors, and those with disabilities. 
 In common with many other developed countries, Canada is experiencing a cost increase due to a demographic shift towards an older population, with more retirees and fewer people of working age. In 2006, the average age was 39.5 years; within twelve years it had risen to 42.4 years, with a life expectancy of 81.1 years.