In the 2011 Census, the City of Calgary had a population of 1,096,833 residents, representing 30% of the 3,645,257 residents in all of Alberta, and 3% compared to a population of 33,476,688 in all of Canada. The total population of the Calgary census metropolitan area (CMA) was 1,214,839. Calgary is the largest city in Alberta, and the third-largest municipality and fifth-largest metropolitan area in Canada.
Section 57 of Alberta's Municipal Government Act (MGA) enables municipalities to conduct censuses. The City of Calgary first conducted a municipal census, or civic census, in 1931. It has conducted a civic census annually since 1958.
Calgary's 2012 civic census counted a population of 1,120,225, a 2.7% increase over its 2011 municipal census population of 1,090,936. The city attributed the 29,289 increase in residents to a natural increase of 9,631 and a net migration of 19,658 since the 2011 civic census. The 2012 civic census also recorded a total 459,339 dwellings in the city.
The following is a breakdown of the City of Calgary's 2012 civic census results by community, including residential communities, industrial areas, major parks and residual areas by electoral ward.
Between 2006 and 2011, the population of the City of Calgary grew by 10.9%, compared with an increase of 12.6% for the Calgary CMA. During the same period, the growth rates were 10.8% for Alberta and 5.9% for Canada. With land areas of 825.29 km2 (318.65 sq mi) and 5,107.55 km2 (1,972.04 sq mi) for the city and CMA respectively, the population density was 1,329.027/km2 (3,442.165/sq mi) for the city and 237.8516/km2 (616.0328/sq mi) for the CMA in 2011.