Geographic Facts

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 Co-ordinates: 60 00 N, 95 00 W

Area: somewhat larger than the US

total: 9 984 670 sq km
land: 9 093 507 sq km
water: 891 163 sq km

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Logan 5959 m

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

Natural Resources: iron ore, nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, potash, diamonds, silver, fish, timber, wildlife, coal, petroleum, natural gas, hydropower

Facts About the Nation

Population: 33 098 932 (July 2006 est.)

Country Name: Canada

Capital: Ottawa

Government: constitutional monarchy that is also a parliamentary democracy and a federation

Languages: English (official) 59.3%, French (official) 23.2%, other 17.5%

Religions: Roman Catholic 42.6%, Protestant 23.3% (including 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)

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

Life Expectancy: 80.22 years

Independence: 1 July 1867 (union of British North American colonies); 11 December 1931 (independence recognized)

National Holiday: Canada Day, 1 July (1867)

Flag: 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 official colors of Canada are red and white

Economy

Currency: Canadian dollar (CAD)

Currency Exchange: Canadian dollars per US dollar - 1.2118 (2005), 1.301 (2004), 1.4011 (2003), 1.5693 (2002), 1.5488 (2001)

Labour force by Occupation: agriculture 2%, manufacturing 14%, construction 5%, services 75%, other 3% (2004)

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

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

All information provided by The World Fact Book.