During the period 1971 to 1986 Canada received close to 700 000 "children' (17 and under) as immigrants, representing 28% of immigrant arrivals. They no longer come primarily from English- or French-speaking countries or have acquired necessarily one of the official languages. They have immigrated from a wide variety of countries. This paper has analyzed the characteristics of immigrant children in terms of demographic structure, language and school achievement. This analysis includes only immigrant children and not all immigrants' children. The characteristics of immigrant children are compared to those of the Canadian born. Before presenting their characteristics, a review of previous studies is presented to help understand the factors affecting the adaptation and integration of immigrant children in a new society. -from Authors

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Canada Comparative Studies demographic structure school achievement integration process language children immigrants