(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)

By 2043 the Thompson-Okanagan region is projected to grow by 40%, adding more than 239,000 residents.

Kelowna and West Kelowna are expected to be the fastest growing of the larger municipalities in the region each with a 49% growth rate.

Those are just two of the hundreds of calculations that can be done using a new BC Stats app that estimates population growth from 2022 to 2046. These are only estimates because the last census was in 2021.

The data can be broken down into about a dozen different categories, ranging from local health regions to development regions.

It estimates that the population of the four regional districts in the Thompson-Okanagan reached 592,997 as of July 1, 2023. That’s expected to increase to 832,374 over the next 20 years.

READ MORE: West Kelowna passes Penticton to become Thompson-Okanagan’s 4th largest city

The City of Kelowna will make up about 29% of those numbers. Its 2023 population of 159,857 could grow by 49% to 238,003 by 204, passing the 200,000 mark in the next decade.

Mirroring the same growth rate, West Kelowna could reach a population of 60,484 in 20 years.

Kamloops is forecast to have a 36% population increase to reach 145,390 by 2043.

Vernon could grow by 38% to 64,808 while Penticton has the slowest projected growth of the region’s five largest cities at 29%, reaching 48,515.

Given the huge impact of Kelowna and West Kelowna, the Central Okanagan regional district, the smallest of the four in the region geographically, contains the largest share of its population.

With an estimated 245,939 residents in 2023, it’s projected to grow by 50% to 369,430 by 2043.

The Okanagan-Similkameen at the other extreme of the growth rate curve is projected to have a 30% increase over the next 20 years to 122,449.

The Thompson-Nicola Regional District could see a 34% increase to 208,003 with the North Okanagan climbing by 35% to 132,492.

Of the smaller communities in the region, Sun Peaks is expected to grow at one of the highest rates of 45% to reach 1,489 residents by 2043 while Lake Country is projected to grow by 43% to 26,599.

Merritt is at the other extreme with growth projected to be only 8% over the next 20 years, bringing its population to 8,339, a gain of fewer than than 600 people.

Go here to access the BC Stats app.

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