Map of Canada | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
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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 the world's longest unfortified border. Canada faces the political challenges of meeting public demands for quality improvements in health care education social services and economic competitiveness as well as responding to the particular concerns of predominantly francophone Quebec. Canada also aims to develop its diverse energy resources while maintaining its commitment to the environment.


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Location: Northern North America bordering the North Atlantic Ocean on the east North Pacific Ocean on the west and the Arctic Ocean on the north north of the conterminous US

Geographic coordinates: 60 00 N 95 00 W

Map reference

Area
Rank: 2
Comparative: slightly larger than the US

Land boundaries

Coastline: 202,080 km

Maritime claims

Climate: varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north

Terrain: mostly plains with mountains in west and lowlands in southeast

Elevation

Natural resources: iron ore nickel zinc copper gold lead rare earth elements molybdenum potash diamonds silver fish timber wildlife coal petroleum natural gas hydropower

Land use

Irrigated land: 8,550 km² (2003)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources: 3,300 km³ (1985)

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 east of the mountains

Geography
Note: second-largest country in world (after Russia); strategic location between Russia and US via north polar route; approximately 90% of the population is concentrated within 160 km of the US border; Canada has more fresh water than any other country and almost 9% of Canadian territory is water; Canada has at least 2 million and possibly over 3 million lakes - that is more than all other countries combined


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Population: 34,300,083 (July 2012 est.)
Rank: 35
Growth rate: 0.784% (2012 est.)
Growth rate rank: 136
Below poverty line: 9.4%

Nationality

Ethnic groups: British Isles origin 28% French origin 23% other European 15% Amerindian 2% other mostly Asian African Arab 6% mixed background 26%

Languages: English (official) 58.8% French (official) 21.6% other 19.6% (2006 Census)

Religions: Roman Catholic 42.6% Protestant 23.3% (United Church 9.5% Anglican 6.8% Baptist 2.4% Lutheran 2%) other Christian 4.4% Muslim 1.9% other and unspecified 11.8% none 16% (2001 census)

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 0.784% (2012 est.)
Rank: 136

Birth rate: 10.28 births/1000 population (2012 est.)
Rank: 189

Death rate: 8.09 deaths/1000 population (July 2012 est.)
Rank: 95

Net migration rate: 5.65 migrant(s)/1000 population (2012 est.)
Rank: 18

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

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

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Rank: 181

Life expectancy at birth
Rank: 12

Total fertility rate: 1.59 children born/woman (2012 est.)
Rank: 179

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 1.913 physicians/1000 population (2006)

Hospital bed density: 3.4 beds/1000 population (2008)

Sanitation facility access:
Unimproved:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.3% (2009 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 87
People living with hivaids: 68,000 (2009 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 49
Deaths: fewer than 1000 (2009 est.)
Deaths rank: 72

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 23.1% (2004)
Rank: 14

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures: 4.9% of GDP (2007)
Rank: 64

Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name

Government type: a parliamentary democracy a federation and a constitutional monarchy

Capital

Administrative divisions: 10 provinces and 3 territories*; Alberta British Columbia Manitoba New Brunswick Newfoundland and Labrador Northwest Territories* Nova Scotia Nunavut* Ontario Prince Edward Island Quebec Saskatchewan Yukon*

Dependent areas

Independence: 1 July 1867 (union of British North American colonies); 11 December 1931 (recognized by UK per Statute of Westminster)

National holiday: Canada Day 1 July (1867)

Constitution: made up of unwritten and written acts customs judicial decisions and traditions; the written part of the constitution consists of the Constitution Act of 29 March 1867 which created a federation of four provinces and the Constitution Act of 17 April 1982 which transferred formal control over the constitution from Britain to Canada and added a Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as procedures for constitutional amendments

Legal system: common law system except in Quebec where civil law based on the French civil code prevails

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of the Senate or Senat (105 seats; members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister and serve until 75 years of age) and the House of Commons or Chambre des Communes (308 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve a maximum of four-year terms)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Canada (judges are appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister); Federal Court of Canada; Federal Court of Appeal; Tax Court of Canada; Provincial/Territorial Courts (these are named variously Court of Appeal Court of Queen's Bench Superior Court Supreme Court and Court of Justice)

Political parties and leaders: Bloc Quebecois [Daniel PAILLE]; Conservative Party of Canada [Stephen HARPER]; Green Party [Elizabeth MAY]; Liberal Party [Robert RAE (interim)]; New Democratic Party [Thomas MULCAIR]

International organization participation: ADB (nonregional member) AfDB (nonregional member) APEC Arctic Council ARF ASEAN (dialogue partner) Australia Group BIS C CD CDB CE (observer) EAPC EBRD EITI (implementing country) FAO FATF G-20 G-7 G-8 G-10 IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC (national committees) ICRM IDA IEA IFAD IFC IFRCS IGAD (partners) IHO ILO IMF IMO IMSO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITSO ITU ITUC (NGOs) MIGA MINUSTAH MONUSCO NAFTA NATO NEA NSG OAS OECD OIF OPCW OSCE Paris Club PCA PIF (partner) UN UNAMID UNCTAD UNESCO UNFICYP UNHCR UNMISS UNRWA UNTSO UPU WCO WFTU (NGOs) WHO WIPO WMO WTO ZC

Diplomatic representation

Flag description: two vertical bands of red (hoist and fly side half width) with white square between them; an 11-pointed red maple leaf is centered in the white square; the maple leaf has long been a Canadian symbol; the official colors of Canada are red and white

National symbols: maple leaf

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: As an affluent high-tech industrial society in the trillion-dollar class Canada resembles the US in its market-oriented economic system pattern of production and affluent living standards. Since World War II the impressive growth of the manufacturing mining and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy into one primarily industrial and urban. The 1989 US-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (which includes Mexico) touched off a dramatic increase in trade and economic integration with the US its principal trading partner. Canada enjoys a substantial trade surplus with the US which absorbs about three-fourths of Canadian exports each year. Canada is the US's largest foreign supplier of energy including oil gas uranium and electric power. Given its great natural resources highly skilled labor force and modern capital plant Canada enjoyed solid economic growth from 1993 through 2007. Buffeted by the global economiccrisis the economy dropped into a sharp recession in the final months of 2008 and Ottawa posted its first fiscal deficit in 2009 after 12 years of surplus. Canada's major banks however emerged from the financial crisis of 2008-09 among the strongest in the world owing to the financial sector's tradition of conservative lending practices and strong capitalization. Canada achieved marginal growth in 2010-12 and plans to balance the budget by 2015. In addition the country's petroleum sector is rapidly becoming an even larger economic driver with Alberta's oil sands significantly boosting Canada's proven oil reserves ranking the country third in the world behind Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 14

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 147

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 24

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: wheat barley oilseed tobacco fruits vegetables; dairy products; fish; forest products

Industries

Industrial production growth rate: 3.7% (2011 est.)
Rank: 86

Labor force: 18.85 million (2012 est.)
Rank: 32

Unemployment rate: 7.5% (2011 est.)
Rank: 82

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 9.4%

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index: 31.5 (1994)
Rank: 103

Budget
Surplus or deficit: -3.8% of GDP (2012 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 122

Taxes and other revenues: 38.4% of GDP (2012 est.)
Rank: 57

Public debt: 87.4% of GDP (2011 est.)
Rank: 21

Revenue

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Inflation rate consumer prices: 2.9% (2011 est.)
Rank: 25

Central bank discount rate: 0.25% (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 142

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 3% (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 177

Stock of narrow money: $622.8 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 9

Stock of broad money: $1.404 trillion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 13

Stock of domestic credit: $2.838 trillion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 9

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 7

Current account balance: -$48.91 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 190

Exports: $463.1 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 11
Commodities: motor vehicles and parts industrial machinery aircraft telecommunications equipment; chemicals plastics fertilizers; wood pulp timber crude petroleum natural gas electricity aluminum
Partners: US 73.7% UK 4.2% (2011)

Imports: $460.7 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 12
Commodities: machinery and equipment motor vehicles and parts crude oil chemicals electricity durable consumer goods
Partners: US 49.5% China 10.8% Mexico 5.5% (2011)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $57.15 billion (2010 est.)
Rank: 29

Debt external: $1.009 trillion (30 June 2010)
Rank: 15

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $576.6 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 10

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $650.4 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 11

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Production: 580.6 billion kWh (2010 est.)
Production rank: 8
Consumption: 504.8 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Consumption rank: 9
Exports: 43.91 billion kWh (2010 est.)
Exports rank: 4
Imports: 18.79 billion kWh (2010 est.)
Imports rank: 10
Installed generating capacity: 131.5 million kW (2009 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 8
Generation sources fossil fuels: 28.8% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 180
Generation sources nuclear: 10.1% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 20
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 57% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 35
Generation sources other renewable sources: 3.9% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 43

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 3.592 million bbl/day (2011 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 7
Crude oil exports: 1.355 million bbl/day (2009 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 12
Crude oil imports: 791,100 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 16
Crude oil proven reserves: 173.6 billion bbl (1 January 2012 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 4

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 1.978 million bbl/day (2009 est.)
Products production rank: 11
Products consumption: 2.259 million bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products consumption rank: 11
Products exports: 437,300 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Products exports rank: 19
Products imports: 282,200 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Products imports rank: 25

Natural gas
Production: 160.1 billion m³ (2011 est.)
Production rank: 5
Consumption: 103.3 billion m³ (2011 est.)
Consumption rank: 8
Exports: 92.72 billion m³ (2011 est.)
Exports rank: 6
Imports: 30.49 billion m³ (2011 est.)
Imports rank: 15
Proven reserves: 1.727 trillion m³ (1 January 2012 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 22

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 548.8 million Mt (2010 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 10

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 18.201 million (2011)
Main lines in use rank: 16
Mobile cellular: 27.387 million (2011)
Mobile cellular rank: 37

Telephone system

Broadcast media: 2 public TV broadcasting networks each with a large number of network affiliates; several private-commercial networks also with multiple network affiliates; overall about 150 TV stations; multi-channel satellite and cable systems provide access to a wide range of stations including US stations; mix of public and commercial radio broadcasters with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) the public radio broadcaster operating 4 radio networks Radio Canada International and radio services to indigenous populations in the north; roughly 2000 licensed radio stations in Canada (2008)

Internet
Country code: .ca
Hosts: 8.743 million (2012)
Hosts rank: 14
Users: 26.96 million (2009)
Users rank: 16

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures: 1.1% of GDP (2005 est.)
Rank: 122

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 17 years of age for voluntary male and female military service (with parental consent); 16 years of age for Reserve and Military College applicants; Canadian citizenship or permanent residence status required; maximum 34 years of age; service obligation 3-9 years (2012)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 1453 (2012)
Rank: 4

Heliports: 27 (2012)

Pipelines: gas 835 km; liquid petroleum gas 75,000 km (2010)

Railways
Rank: 5

Roadways
Rank: 6

Waterways: 636 km (Saint Lawrence Seaway of 3,769 km including the Saint Lawrence River of 3,058 km shared with United States) (2011)
Rank: 78

Merchant marine
Rank: 35

Ports and terminals: Fraser River Port Halifax Hamilton Montreal Port-Cartier Quebec City Saint John (New Brunswick) Sept-Isles Vancouver


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Disputes international: managed maritime boundary disputes with the US at Dixon Entrance Beaufort Sea Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Gulf of Maine including the disputed Machias Seal Island and North Rock; Canada and the United States dispute how to divide the Beaufort Sea and the status of the Northwest Passage but continue to work cooperatively to survey the Arctic continental shelf; US works closely with Canada to intensify security measures for monitoring and controlling legal and illegal movement of people transport and commodities across the international border; sovereignty dispute with Denmark over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between Ellesmere Island and Greenland; commencing the collection of technical evidence for submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in support of claims for continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from its declared baselines in the Arctic as stipulated in Article 76 paragraph 8 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic drug market and export to US; use of hydroponics technology permits growers to plant large quantities of high-quality marijuana indoors; increasing ecstasy production some of which is destined for the US; vulnerable to narcotics money laundering because of i