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 neighbour to the south across an unfortified border. Canada's paramount political problem is meeting public demands for quality improvements in health care and education services after a decade of budget cuts. The issue of reconciling Quebec's francophone heritage with the majority Anglophone Canadian population has moved to the back burner in recent years; support for separatism abated after the Quebec government's referendum on independence failed to pass in October of 1995.
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 references: |
North America |
Area: |
total: 9,984,670 sq km
land: 9,093,507 sq km
water: 891,163 sq km |
Area - comparative: |
somewhat larger than the US |
Land boundaries: |
total: 8,893 km
border countries: US 8,893 km (includes 2,477 km with Alaska) |
Coastline: |
202,080 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, diamonds, silver, fish, timber, wildlife, coal, petroleum, natural gas, hydropower |
Land use: |
arable land: 4.96%,
permanent crops: 0.02%,
other: 95.02% (2001) |
Irrigated land: |
7,200 sq km (1998 est.) |
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 |
| Population: |
32,805,041 (July 2005 est.) |
| Sex ratio: |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
| 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 46%, Protestant 36%, other 18%
note: based on the 1991 census |
| 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.) |
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