Map of Canada | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

top of page


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 international 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.


top of page


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: North America

Area
Total: 9,984,670 km²
Land: 9,093,507 km²
Water: 891,163 km²
Rank: 2
Comparative: slightly larger than the US

Land boundaries
Total: 8,893 km
Border countries: (1) US 8,893 km; (includes 2,477 km
Note: Canada is the world's largest country that borders only one country

Coastline: 202,080 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

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

Terrain: mostly plains with mountains in west lowlands in southeast

Elevation
Mean elevation: 487 m
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m: highest point: Mount Logan 5,959 m

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
Agricultural land: 6.8%
Forest: 34.1%
Other: 59.1%

Irrigated land: 8,700 km² (2012)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

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
Volcanism: the vast majority of volcanoes in Western Canada's Coast Mountains remain dormant

Geography
Note: second-largest country in world (after Russia) and largest in the Americas; strategic location between Russia and US via north polar route; approximately 90% of the population is concentrated within 160 km (100 mi) 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


top of page


Population
Distribution: vast majority of Canadians are positioned in a discontinuous band within approximately 300 km of the southern border with the United States; the most populated province is Ontario followed by Quebec and British Columbia: 35,362,905 (July 2016 est.)
Rank: 39
Growth rate: 0.74% (2016 est.)
Growth rate rank: 146
Below poverty line: 9.4%
Below poverty line note: this figure is the Low Income Cut-Off a calculation that results in higher figures than found in many comparable economies; Canada does not have an official poverty line

Nationality
Noun: Canadian
Adjective: Canadian

Ethnic groups: Canadian 32.2% English 19.8% French 15.5% Scottish 14.4% Irish 13.8% German 9.8% Italian 4.5% Chinese 4.5% North American Indian 4.2% other 50.9%
Note: percentages add up to more than 100% because respondents were able to identify more than one ethnic origin

Languages: English (official) 58.7% French (official) 22% Punjabi 1.4% Italian 1.3% Spanish 1.3% German 1.3% Cantonese 1.2% Tagalog 1.2% Arabic 1.1% other 10.5% (2011 est.)

Religions: Catholic 39% (includes Roman Catholic 38.8% other Catholic .2%) Protestant 20.3% (includes United Church 6.1% Anglican 5% Baptist 1.9% Lutheran 1.5% Pentecostal 1.5% Presbyterian 1.4% other Protestant 2.9%) Orthodox 1.6% other Christian 6.3% Muslim 3.2% Hindu 1.5% Sikh 1.4% Buddhist 1.1% Jewish 1% other 0.6% none 23.9% (2011 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 15.44%
15-24 years: 12.12%
25-54 years: 40.32%
55-64 years: 13.94%
65 years and over: 18.18% (2016 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 47.3%
Youth dependency ratio: 23.5%
Elderly dependency ratio: 23.8%
Potential support ratio: 4.2%

Median age
Total: 42 years
Male: 40.8 years
Female: 43.3 years
Rank: 30

Population growth rate: 0.74% (2016 est.)
Rank: 146

Birth rate: 10.3 births/1000 population (2016 est.)
Rank: 192

Death rate: 8.5 deaths/1000 population (2016 est.)
Rank: 80

Net migration rate: 5.7 migrant(s)/1000 population (2016 est.)
Rank: 20

Population distribution: vast majority of Canadians are positioned in a discontinuous band within approximately 300 km of the southern border with the United States; the most populated province is Ontario followed by Quebec and British Columbia

Urbanization
Urban population: 81.8% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 1.22% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: Toronto 5.993 million; Montreal 3.981 million; Vancouver 2.485 million; Calgary 1.337 million; OTTAWA (capital) 1.326 million; Edmonton 1.272 million (2015)

Environment
Current issues: metal smelting coal-burning utilities and vehicle emissions impacting on agricultural and forest productivity; air pollution and resulting acid rain severely affecting lakes and damaging forests; ocean waters becoming contaminated due to agricultural industrial mining and forestry activities
International agreements party to: Air Pollution Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants Air Pollution-Sulfur 85 Air Pollution-Sulfur 94 Antarctic-Environmental Protocol Antarctic-Marine Living Resources Antarctic Seals Antarctic Treaty Biodiversity Climate Change Desertification Endangered Species Environmental Modification Hazardous Wastes Law of the Sea Marine Dumping Ozone Layer Protection Ship Pollution Tropical Timber 83 Tropical Timber 94 Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds Marine Life Conservation

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male/female
15-24 years: 1.06 male/female
25-54 years: 1.03 male/female
55-64 years: 0.98 male/female
65 years and over: 0.8 male/female
Total population: 0.98 male/female

Mothers mean age at first birth: 28.1 (2011 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 4.6 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 4.9 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 4.3 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 179

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 81.9 years
Male: 79.2 years
Female: 84.6 years
Rank: 19

Total fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman (2016 est.)
Rank: 183

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source:

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 2.07 physicians/1000 population (2010)

Hospital bed density: 2.7 beds/1000 population (2010)

Sanitation facility access:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: fewer than 400 (2013 est.)
Deaths rank: 89

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 30.1% (2014)
Rank: 48

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures: 5.3% of GDP (2011)
Rank: 62

Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


top of page


Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Canada
Etymology: the country name derives from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word 'kanata' meaning village or settlement

Government type: federal parliamentary democracy (Parliament of Canada) under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm

Capital
Name: Ottawa
Geographic coordinates: 45 25 N 75 42 W
Time difference: UTC-5
Daylight saving time: +1hr begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November
Note: Canada has six time zones

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 dating from 1763; 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; several amendments to the 1982 Constitution Act last in 2011 (2016)

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
Citizenship by birth: yes
Citizenship by descent: yes
Dual citizenship recognized: yes
Residency requirement for naturalization: 3 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Head of state: Queen ELIZABETH II ; represented by Governor General David JOHNSTON (since 1 October 2010)
Head of government: Prime Minister Justin Pierre James TRUDEAU (since 4 November 2015)
Cabinet: Federal Ministry chosen by the prime minister usually from among members of his own party sitting in Parliament
Electionsappointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister for a 5-year term; following legislative elections the leader of the majority party or majority coalition in the House of Commons generally designated prime minister by the governor general

Legislative branch
Description: bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of the Senate or Senat and the House of Commons or Chambre des Communes (338 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve a maximum of 4-year terms)
Elections: House of Commons - last held on 19 October 2015
Election results: House of Commons - percent of vote by party - Liberal Party 39.5% Conservative Party 31.9% NDP 19.7% Bloc Quebecois 4.7% Greens 3.4% other .8%; seats by party - Liberal Party 184 Conservative Party 99 NDP 44 Bloc Quebecois 10 Greens 1

Judicial branch
Highest court: Supreme Court of Canada ; note - in 1949 Canada abolished all appeals beyond its Supreme Court which prior to that time were heard by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London)
Judge selection and term of office: chief justice and judges appointed by the prime minister in council; all judges appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 75
Subordinate courts: subordinate courts: federal level: Federal Court of Appeal; Federal Court; Tax Court; federal administrative tribunals; courts martial; provincial/territorial level: provincial superior appeals first instance and specialized courts; in 1999 the Nunavut Court - a circuit court with the power of a provincial superior court as well as a territorial court - was established to serve isolated settlements

Political parties and leaders:

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-7 G-8 G-10 G-20 IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC (national committees) ICCt 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 Pacific Alliance (observer) Paris Club PCA PIF (partner) UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNFICYP UNHCR UNMISS UNRWA UNTSO UPU WCO WFTU (NGOs) WHO WIPO WMO WTO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador David Brookes MACNAUGHTON
In the us chancery: 501 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington DC 20,001
In the us telephone: [1] 682-1740
In the us FAX: [1] 682-7,726
In the us consulate general: Atlanta Boston Chicago Dallas Denver Detroit Los Angeles Miami Minneapolis New York San Francisco/Silicon Valley Seattle
In the us trade office: Houston Palo Alto San Diego; note - there are trade offices in the Consulates General
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Bruce A. HEYMAN
From the us embassy: 490 Sussex Drive Ottawa Ontario K1N 1G8
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 5,000 Ogdensburg NY 13,669-0430; P.O. Box 866 Station B Ottawa Ontario K1P 5T1
From the us telephone: [1] 688-5,335
From the us FAX: [1] 688-3,082
From the us consulate general: Calgary Halifax Montreal Quebec City Toronto Vancouver

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

National symbols: maple leaf beaver; national colors: red white

National anthem
Name: 'O Canada'
Lyrics and music: Adolphe-Basile ROUTHIER [French] Robert Stanley WEIR [English]/Calixa LAVALLEE
Note: adopted 1980; originally written in 1880 'O Canada' served as an unofficial anthem many years before its official adoption; the anthem has French and English versions whose lyrics differ; as a Commonwealth realm in addition to the national anthem 'God Save the Queen' serves as the royal anthem

National heritage


top of page


Economy overview:

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2015 US dollars
Rank: 16

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 162

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2015 US dollars
Rank: 31

Gross national saving:
Rank: 84

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 57.5%
Government consumption: 21.2%
Investment in fixed capital: 23.3%
Investment in inventories: 0.3%
Exports of goods and services: 31.5%
Imports of goods and services: -33.8%

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 1.6%
Industry: 28.2%
Services: 70.3%

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

Industries: transportation equipment chemicals processed and unprocessed minerals food products wood and paper products fish products petroleum natural gas

Industrial production growth rate: -2% (2015 est.)
Rank: 177

Labor force: 19.28 million (2015 est.)
Rank: 31
By occupation agriculture: 2%
By occupation manufacturing: 13%
By occupation construction: 6%
By occupation services: 76%
By occupation other: 3%

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 80

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 9.4%
Note: this figure is the Low Income Cut-Off a calculation that results in higher figures than found in many comparable economies; Canada does not have an official poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 2.6%
Highest 10: 24.8%

Distribution of family income gini index:
Rank: 109

Budget
Revenues: $599.5 billion
Expenditures: $625.7 billion
Surplus or deficit: -1.7% of GDP (2015 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 78

Taxes and other revenues: 38.6% of GDP (2015 est.)
Rank: 49

Public debt:
Note: figures are for gross general government debt as opposed to net federal debt; gross general government debt includes both intragovernmental debt and the debt of public entities at the sub-national level
Rank: 16

Revenue

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 90

Central bank discount rate:
Rank: 124

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 170

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 10

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 13

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 9

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 9

Current account balance:
Rank: 192

Exports:
Rank: 12
Commodities: motor vehicles and parts industrial machinery aircraft telecommunications equipment; chemicals plastics fertilizers; wood pulp timber crude petroleum natural gas electricity aluminum
Partners: US 76.7% (2015)

Imports:
Rank: 9
Commodities: machinery and equipment motor vehicles and parts crude oil chemicals electricity durable consumer goods
Partners: US 53.1% China 12.2% Mexico 5.8% (2015)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 29

Debt external:
Rank: 14

Stock of direct foreign investment at home:
Rank: 8

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad:
Rank: 9

Exchange rates:


top of page


Electricity
Access electrification total population: 100%
Production: 633 billion kWh (2014 est.)
Production rank: 7
Consumption: 528 billion kWh (2014 est.)
Consumption rank: 8
Exports: 58.4 billion kWh (2014 est.)
Exports rank: 4
Imports: 13 billion kWh (2014 est.)
Imports rank: 14
Installed generating capacity: 137 million kW (2014 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 8
Generation sources fossil fuels: 25.7% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 187
Generation sources nuclear: 10% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 19
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 55.8% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 41
Generation sources other renewable sources: 8.3% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 45

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 3.677 million bbl/day (2015 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 5
Crude oil exports: 3.21 million bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 3
Crude oil imports: 581,300 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 16
Crude oil proven reserves: 171 billion bbl (1 January 2016 es)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 3

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 1.868 million bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products production rank: 11
Products consumption: 2.406 million bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products consumption rank: 9
Products exports: 491,900 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports rank: 13
Products imports: 251,900 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports rank: 29

Natural gas
Production: 151.5 billion m³ (2014 est.)
Production rank: 5
Consumption: 116.5 billion m³ (2014 est.)
Consumption rank: 7
Exports: 77.96 billion m³ (2014 est.)
Exports rank: 5
Imports: 21.89 billion m³ (2014 est.)
Imports rank: 15
Proven reserves: 1.996 trillion m³ (1 January 2016 es)
Proven reserves rank: 18

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 564 million Mt (2013 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 12

Energy consumption per capita


top of page


Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 15.902 million
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 45
Fixed lines rank: 17
Mobile cellular total: 29.39 million
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 84
Mobile cellular rank: 44

Telephone system
General assessment: excellent service provided by modern technology
Domestic: domestic satellite system with about 300 earth stations
International: country code - 1; submarine cables provide links to the US and Europe; satellite earth stations - 7 (2011)

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 (2008)

Internet
Country code: .ca
Users total: 31.053 million
Users percent of population: 88.5%
Users rank: 21

Broadband fixed subscriptions


top of page


Military expenditures:
Rank: 80

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


top of page


National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 51
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 879
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 80,228,301
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 2,074,830,881 mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: C (2016)

Airports: 1467 (2013)
Rank: 4
With paved runways total: 523
With paved runways over 3047 m: 21
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 19
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 147
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 257
With paved runways under 914 m: 79
With unpaved runways total: 944
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 75
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 385
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 484

Heliports: 26 (2013)

Pipelines: gas and liguid petroleum 100,000 km (2013)

Railways
Total: 77,932 km
Standard gauge: 77,932 km 1.435-m gauge
Rank: 4

Roadways
Total: 1,042,300 km
Paved: 415,600 km
Unpaved: 626,700 km
Rank: 7

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: 77

Merchant marine
Total: 181
By type: bulk carrier 62 cargo 15 carrier 1 chemical tanker 15 combination ore/oil 1 container 2 passenger 5 passenger/cargo 63 petroleum tanker 11 roll on/roll off 6
Foreign owned: 19
Registered in other countries: 225 (2010)
Rank: 35

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Halifax Saint John Vancouver
River and lake port: Montreal Quebec City Sept-Isles ; Fraser River Port (Fraser); Hamilton (Lake Ontario)
Oil terminal: Lower Lakes terminal
Dry bulk cargo port: Port-Cartier
Container port: Montreal Vancouver (2,507,032)(2011)
LNG terminal: Saint John


top of page


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 nm from its declared baselines in the Arctic as stipulated in Article 76 paragraph 8 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees: 13,666 (Colombia); 11,415 (China); 8,807 (Haiti); 8,807 (Sri Lanka); 7,207 (Pakistan); 6,414 (Mexico) (2015)

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 its mature financial services sector