Total Population
| year | Burwash Landing | Destruction Bay |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 77 | 52 |
| 2002 | 84 | 55 |
| 2001 | 84 | 49 |
| 2000 | 81 | 46 |
| 1999 | 80 | 41 |
| 1998 | 81 | 36 |
| 1997 | 88 | 41 |
| 1996 | 86 | 48 |
| 1995 | 79 | 48 |
| 1994 | 73 | 44 |
| 1993 | 75 | 48 |
Age Distribution
The population of Burwash Landing was 77 in 2003, down a little from the previous year. Local information estimated the population in 2004 at 100. Population numbers have not changed much during the past decade. Destruction Bay shows a somewhat different picture, with the population averaging 52 in 2003 and showing an increase since 1998, which was a low point.
The 2001 Census indicated that Kluane First Nation members made up about three-quarters of the Burwash Landing population. As the Kluane First Nation's home, Burwash Landing has a fairly stable population, although some adults must move to other communities to look for work. Families must also move or board their children for the school year in communities where a high school is located, so that their children can attend higher grades, since the local school goes to Grade 8. The 2001 Census reported that more than 70 percent of the population of Burwash Landing had lived there in 1996. Others had moved in from elsewhere in the Yukon, possibly a reflection of people returning to the community after working elsewhere for a number of years.
The population of Destruction Bay is too small for there to be detailed Census information.
Forty-seven percent of the population of Burwash Landing is female, below the Yukon-wide average of 50 percent. Destruction Bay has an even lower rate of female community members, with just 46 percent at the end of 2003.
The age distribution of Burwash Landing reflects the lack of work opportunities for local people, as well as movement out of the area by younger First Nation people, temporarily at least. Most people leave in order to look elsewhere for work in the money economy or to further their education. The proportion of people in the younger prime working ages of 25 to 44 years is 29 percent of the total. This is lower than the overall Yukon average of 31 percent for that age group. Burwash Landing also has a smaller proportion of children or youth; just 13 percent of the population are aged 14 years or under, and a further 5 percent are in the 15-to-24 age group.
Older people are over-represented in Burwash Landing in comparison with the Yukon average: 35 percent were aged 45 to 64 and a further 17 percent were over 65 years of age in 2003. This is a further indication that working-age people have been leaving the community, while the elders remain.
Destruction Bay also has few young people in the population: just 5 percent aged 14 or under and another 7 percent aged 15 to 24. The largest segment (46 percent) of the Destruction Bay population is 45 to 64 years of age. The population count at the end of 2003 showed that 7 percent were over the age of 65.
