Country Summary: Canada
Country Name: Canada
Capital: Ottawa
Official Visa & Travel Information: Government of Canada Immigration Services (Visa Services)
Government Type:
Background: federal parliamentary democracy (Parliament of Canada) under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm; federal and state authorities and responsibilities regulated in constitution
A land of vast distances and rich natural resources, Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867, while retaining ties to the British crown. Canada gained legislative independence from Britain in 1931 and formalized its constitutional independence from the UK when it passed the Canada Act in 1982. 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.
Continent: North America
Population: 38,516,736 (2023 est.)
Ethnic Groups: Canadian 15.6%, English 14.7%, Scottish 12.1%, French 11%, Irish 12.1%, German 8.1%, Chinese 4.7%, Italian 4.3%, First Nations 1.7%, Indian 3.7%, Ukrainian 3.5%, Metis 1.5% (2021 est.) note: percentages add up to more than 100% because respondents were able to identify more than one ethnic origin
Languages: English (official) 87.1%, French (official) 29.1%, Chinese languages 4.2%, Spanish 3.2%, Punjabi 2.6%, Arabic 2.4%, Tagalog 2.3%, Italian 1.5% (2022 est.)
Religions: Christian 53.3%, Muslim 4.9%, Hindu 2.3%, Sikh 2.1%, Buddhist 1%, Jewish 0.9%, Traditional (North American Indigenous) 0.2%, other religions and traditional spirituality 0.6%, none 34.6% (2021 est.)
Economic Overview: one of the world’s largest economies; leading global financier and macroeconomic partner; largest US trading partner; key timber and oil and gas industries; Canada sends over half its development aid to the World Bank; key “blue economy” developer
Currency: Canadian Dollar (CAD)
Reserves of Foreign Exchange & Gold: $106.952 billion (2022 est.) note: holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars
Real GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $1.907 trillion (2022 est.) note: data in 2017 dollars
Real GDP Growth Rate: 3.44% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency
Real GDP per Capita: $49,000 (2022 est.) note: data in 2017 dollars
Exports:
$722.831 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars
Comparison Ranking: 13
Export Commodities: crude petroleum, cars and vehicle parts, natural gas, gold, lumber (2021)
Export Partners: US 73% (2019)
Imports:
$719.339 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars
Comparison Ranking: 11
Import Commodities: cars and vehicle parts, delivery trucks, crude petroleum, refined petroleum (2019)
Import Partners: US 57%, China 11%, Mexico 5% (2019)
Natural Resources: bauxite, iron ore, nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, uranium, rare earth elements, molybdenum, potash, diamonds, silver, fish, timber, wildlife, coal, petroleum, natural gas, hydropower
Agricultural Products: wheat, rapeseed, maize, barley, milk, soybeans, potatoes, oats, peas, pork
Industries: transportation equipment, chemicals, processed and unprocessed minerals, food products, wood and paper products, fish products, petroleum, natural gas
Industrial Production Growth Rate:
3.21% (2022 est.) note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency
Comparison Ranking: 110
Labor Force: 21.363 million (2022 est.)
Unemployment Rate: 5.28% (2022 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment
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:
Total: 9,984,670 sq km
Land: 9,093,507 sq km
Water: 891,163 sq km
(Country Summary, The World Factbook, CIA.gov)
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