Metro Vancouver says population growth is accelerating and will hit 4 million by 2045

Metro Vancouver's projected population growth is accelerating, with an average of 50,000 new residents expected per year.

That's 40 per cent higher than the previous projection under a "medium growth scenario," and Metro Vancouver now says it expects the regional district's population to hit four million by 2045, nine years earlier than before.

Most new residents are expected to come from outside Canada, while the district says natural population change "is on track to become negative after 2035, as deaths outpace births."

Other projections include about 21,000 new living units being built every year through to 2051 and more than 22,000 jobs being added annually.

The district says in a statement about two-thirds of the homes added to the region are expected to be apartments, with Vancouver and Surrey taking on about 45 per cent of that future growth.

Eric Woodward, chair of Metro Vancouver's regional planning committee, says the data will help the region with more cost-effective planning for infrastructure, like transit and utilities.

“Accurate data like this helps us work together to better understand the growth pressures our region will face in the future, and help ensure collective planning efforts are consistent with the goals in the regional growth strategy, Metro 2050," Woodward says in the statement.

The jobs projected to grow the most in the area over the next three decades include the professional, technical health and welfare sectors.

Metro Vancouver says the new projections "reflect recent census data, evolving federal immigration policy, and trends in non-permanent residents."