A population centre, in Canadian census data, is a type of census unit which meets the demographic characteristics of an urban area, having a population of at least 1,000 people and a population density of no fewer than 400 persons per square km2. Note that the population of a "population centre" is not the same thing as the population of a municipality; the population centre can include areas outside the municipal boundaries which are directly contiguous with the municipality's urban area, and can exclude areas inside the municipal boundaries which are less densely urbanized.