From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nunavut is a territory of Canada. It has an area of 1,932,254.97 km².^[1] In the 2006 census the population of Nunavut was 29,474^[1]

As of the 2001 Census the population of Nunavut was 26,745,^[2] with 22,560 people identifying themselves as Inuit, 95 as First Nations, 50 Métis and 3,945 as non-aboriginal.^[3]

Nunavut's small and sparse population makes it unlikely the territory will be granted provincial status in the foreseeable future, although this may change if the Yukon, which is only marginally more populous, becomes a province.

Contents 1 Regions 2 Ten largest communites 3 See also 4 References

It is a commonly-held misconception that Nunavut is made up of some of the former regions of the Northwest Territories, separated in their entirety. This is not the case; the dividing line did not follow region boundaries, although boundaries have been subsequently finessed so that three former NWT regions collectively constitute Nunavut. They serve (under different names) as census divisions, but have no autonomous governments:

• Qikiqtaaluk Region
  • Baffin Region (census division)
• Kivalliq Region
  • Keewatin Region (census division)
• Kitikmeot Region
  • Kitikmeot Region (census division)

The former NWT's Baffin region was entirely transferred to Nunavut. The former Kitikmeot region is mostly in Nunavut, except two southwestern areas and the northwest corner of Victoria Island. Likewise, the former Keewatin region is largely in Nunavut, except a southwestern rectangle.

Fort Smith region and Inuvik region remain census divisions of the Northwest Territories. A small right triangle of the former Fort Smith region is in Nunavut now, while none of the Inuvik region was transferred to Nunavut.

The aforementioned regional divisions are distinct from the district system of dividing the Northwest Territories that dated to 1876 and was abolished when Nunavut was created. Nunavut encompasses the entirety of the old District of Keewatin (which had differing boundaries from the Keewatin/Kivalliq regions), the majority of the District of Franklin and a small portion of the District of Mackenzie.

Municipality	2006	2001
Iqaluit	6,184	5,236
Rankin Inlet	2,358	2,177
Arviat	2,060	1,899
Baker Lake	1,728	1,507
Igloolik	1,538	1,286
Cambridge Bay	1,477	1,309
Pangnirtung	1,325	1,276
Pond Inlet	1,315	1,220
Kugluktuk	1,302	1,212
Cape Dorset	1,236	1,148

• List of communities in Nunavut
• Demographics of Canada
• List of Canadian provinces and territories by population

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