Background: A land of vast distances and rich natural resources,
Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867 while retaining ties to
the British crown. Economically and technologically the nation has
developed in parallel with the US, its neighbor to the south across an
unfortified border. Its paramount political problem continues to be the
relationship of the province of Quebec, with its French-speaking residents
and unique culture, to the remainder of the country.
Form of Government
Federal parliamentary democracy
Capital Ottawa
Currency: 1 Canadian dollar (Can$) = 100 cents
Geography of Canada
Location: Northern North America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and North
Pacific Ocean, north of the conterminous US.
Area:
total: 9,976,140 sq km
land: 9,220,970 sq km
water: 755,170 sq km
Land boundaries:
total: 8,893 km
border countries: US 8,893 km (includes 2,477 km with Alaska)
Coastline: 243,791 km
Climate: varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north
Terrain: mostly plains with mountains in west and lowlands in southeast
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Logan 5,959 m
Natural resources: iron ore, nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum,
potash, silver, fish, timber, wildlife, coal, petroleum, natural gas, hydropower
Land use:
arable land: 5%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 3%
forests and woodland: 54%
other: 38% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 7,100 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: continuous permafrost in north is a serious obstacle to
development; cyclonic storms form east of the Rocky Mountains, a result of the mixing of
air masses from the Arctic, Pacific, and North American interior, and produce most of the
country's rain and snow.
Environment - current issues: air pollution and resulting acid rain
severely affecting lakes and damaging forests; metal smelting, coal-burning
utilities, and vehicle emissions impacting on agricultural and forest
productivity; ocean waters becoming contaminated due to agricultural,
industrial, mining, and forestry activities.
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air
Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals,
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping,
Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber
83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic
Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note: second-largest country in world (after Russia);
strategic location between Russia and US via north polar route;
approximately 85% of the population is concentrated within 300 km of the
US/Canada border.
People of Canada
Population: 32,805,041 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 18.95%
15-64 years: 68.28%
65 years and over: 12.77%
Population growth rate: 0.99%
Birth rate: 11.21 births/1,000 population
Death rate: 7.47 deaths/1,000 population
Net migration rate: 6.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population
Infant mortality rate: 5.02 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 79.56 years
male: 76.16 years
female: 83.13 years
Total fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman
Nationality:
noun: Canadian(s)
adjective: Canadian
Ethnic groups: British Isles origin 28%, French origin 23%, other
European 15%, Amerindian 2%, other, mostly Asian, African, Arab 6%, mixed
background 26%
Religions: Roman Catholic 42%, Protestant 40%, other 18%
Languages: English 59.3% (official), French 23.2% (official), other 17.5%
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97% (1986 est.)
SOURCE: The World Factbook |