Photo: Sebastian Kasten · CC BY-SA 3.0People in Iqaluit’s health region live to 70.9 on average, 10.6 years short of the typical Canadian town
Across the region, 39% of adults say their health is very good or excellent, much as in Nunavut (39%). Closer to home, a hospital is just 0.8 km from the average resident of Iqaluit, nearer than the usual 3.7 km. Iqaluit grades D for health, #2,491 of 2,583 Canadian towns.
What stands out about health in Iqaluit
A region that smokes more
Around Iqaluit, 59% of adults smoke daily, part of a smoking rate higher than most Canadian towns’ regions. Conditions and habits ↓
Less upbeat about their health
Even once age is allowed for, 12.4 points fewer adults here call their health very good or excellent than in the typical town’s region (42% as answered). Health survey ↓
No pharmacy close by
Picking up a prescription in Iqaluit takes a trip of 1,177 km on average to the nearest mapped pharmacy. Getting care ↓
A heavier load of illness
Arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure are commoner here than in the typical town’s region, even for its ages: 18% report high blood pressure and 5% diabetes. Conditions and habits ↓
From Statistics Canada: the health survey and life expectancy for the health region, the deprivation index for the town; distances from the healthcare facilities database and OpenStreetMap.
Iqaluit grades D for health
Each input ranked against Canadian towns of 2,500 or more: the region’s four, the town’s distance to a hospital.
The region’s four figures and the town’s distance to a hospital are each ranked against Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, then averaged. Its place: #2,491 of 2,583 Canadian towns.
How the grade works
Health is graded as a regional score, labelled as such: very good or excellent self-rated health, chronic conditions (arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure averaged) and smoking from the Canadian Community Health Survey, each age-standardised so an older region isn’t marked down for age alone, and life expectancy at birth, all for the health region. The residents’ average distance to a hospital is the one input measured for the town itself, so towns in one region can still differ.
High blood pressure for 18% of adults in the region, diabetes for 5%
What the survey finds on conditions, weight and habits for the region, the province as the tick.
Conditions and weight · 2023/2024
Habits · 2023/2024
Obesity is close to the province’s level, 32% of adults against 32% for Nunavut.
Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (table 13-10-0972), as published, not adjusted for age; obesity from reported height and weight. The anxiety disorder figure is the 2021/2022 estimate: Statistics Canada found the latest too unreliable to publish here.
About as many rate their health highly here as in Nunavut: 42% and 42%
How adults in the health region answered the survey, not adjusted for age; the tick marks the province.
Share of adults, as answered · 2023/2024
Asked about their mental health, 43% of adults here said very good or excellent; across Nunavut it was 43%, and 15% reported most days stressful.
Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (Statistics Canada table 13-10-0972), adults 18 and over, as published.
From Iqaluit, a hospital is 0.8 km away on average
Straight-line distances from each part of Iqaluit, weighted by who lives there.
Most places are further: 3.7 km for the typical Canadian town.
Hospitals and clinics: Statistics Canada, Open Database of Healthcare Facilities. Pharmacies: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Straight-line distances from each dissemination area, weighted by its 2021 population.
One region, one figure: 70.9 years of life
What Statistics Canada publishes above the town: life expectancy for each health region in Nunavut, and the deprivation index for the town’s own areas.
Life expectancy: Statistics Canada table 13-10-0988, three-year estimate 2022/2024, by health region.
Iqaluit is 3rd of 40 towns its size for nearness to a hospital
The 40 Canadian towns nearest its population (8,439 to 8,781 people), nearest a hospital first; their median is 3.7 km.
| # | Town | People | Hospital | Very good health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Garneau AB B+ | 8,492 | 0.5 km | 51% |
| 2 | West Centretown ON A+ | 8,560 | 0.7 km | 56% |
| 3 | Iqaluit NU D | 8,612 | 0.8 km | 39% |
| 4 | Innisfail AB C+ | 8,736 | 1.0 km | 52% |
| 5 | Hanover ON B− | 8,723 | 1.3 km | 48% |
| 40 | Muskoka Lakes ON B | 8,463 | 20 km | 54% |
The region’s very good or excellent health column is regional: towns in one region share it.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What counts as a hospital. A “hospital” here is whatever the provinces listed as one in Statistics Canada’s database, which can mean a site without an emergency department.
- Adjusted for age. Self-rated health, chronic conditions and smoking enter the grade adjusted to Canada’s adult age mix, though the survey block prints them as people answered.
- Who the survey asks. People on reserves and in institutions, full-time military members and the residents of Nunavik and Eeyou Istchee aren’t interviewed by the survey.
- Distances are straight lines. Roads, rivers and ferries aren’t in it: the figure is a straight line from where people live, averaged over residents.
- Regional figures. Only the distances on this page belong to Iqaluit alone, because the health survey and life expectancy come for the whole health region.
Questions about health in Iqaluit
How healthy is Iqaluit?
Self-rated health, chronic conditions, smoking and life expectancy all come out behind the typical Canadian town. Its chronic-condition figure, age-standardised, is 20%.
What is the life expectancy in Iqaluit?
Life expectancy comes by health region: 72.4 for women, 69.4 for men around Iqaluit (2022/2024).
How is Iqaluit’s Health Grade worked out?
Not so far; the grade arrives with Canada’s grading run and will set the region’s figures, plus Iqaluit’s own distance to care, against the typical Canadian town.
How far is Iqaluit from a hospital?
Beyond the hospital, the average home in Iqaluit is 988 km from a clinic and 1,177 km from a pharmacy.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (13-10-0972) · Statistics Canada, life expectancy 2022/2024 (13-10-0988) · Statistics Canada, health regions 2023 (82-402-X) · Statistics Canada, Open Database of Healthcare Facilities · pharmacies © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).