At a glance Land People Economy Achievements and challenges Links with Australia Country at a glance Did you know? Canada is the second-largest country in world (after Russia), but has one of the lowest population densities . Region North America Population 33,098,932 (July 2006 est.) Land Geography: Mostly plains, with mountains in the west and lowlands in the southeast Climate: Temperate in the south to sub-arctic and arctic in the north People Religion: Christian, 66%; Muslim, 1.9%; other and unspecified, 11.8%; none, 16% (2001 census) Language: English (official), 59.3%; French (official), 23.2%; other, 17.5% Economy GDP per person (PPP): $35,200 GDP by sector: Agriculture, 2.3%; Industry, 29.2%; Services, 68.5% : Government Federal parliamentary democracy Land Physical geography Canada, with a total land area of 9,984,670 square kilometres, stretches from the North Atlantic Ocean in the east to the North Pacific Ocean in the west, and the Arctic Ocean in the north to the northern border of the United States in the south. There are six physical regions: the large, ancient, rocky plateau north of the St Lawrence river, occupying nearly half of Canada's total area and including thousands of lakes and rivers that hold almost a quarter of the world's fresh water; the Appalachian Mountains to the east; the productive agricultural area of the Great Lakes-St Lawrence Lowlands in the south-east; the fertile Interior Plains or prairies spreading northward through the Mackenzie river valley to the Arctic Ocean; the Western Cordillera, the rocky spine of mountains along the Pacific coastline that includes many peaks more than 3,000 metres high as well as the highest point, Mount Logan, at 5,959 metres; and the Arctic region, which consists of hundreds of islands. Climate Canada has four distinct seasons, which vary greatly according to latitude but become colder in the north. The eastern and western coasts are both very wet, with an average rainfall of 1,110 millimetres per year in Vancouver, falling mainly in winter. The prairies are fairly dry all year round, with less than 350 millimetres of rain. Canadian winters are long and hard: In more than two-thirds of the country the average January temperature is -18° C. July and August are the warmest months, when temperatures in the south are usually in the upper 20° Cs. Environment Canada has 34 national parks that protect a representative sample of natural areas of significance. Seals, polar bears, musk-ox and caribou are found in the tundra of the far north. Moose, beavers and brown, black and grizzly bears inhabit forest areas. The whooping crane, peregrine falcon, wood bison, beluga and blue whale are some of the species under threat. People The hostile climate means that 85% of Canadians live in the warmer south, within 350 kilometres of the US border. About 80% of the population lives in urban areas, with 37% living in cities of more than a million people, including Ottawa (capital, 1.1 million), Toronto (5.91 million), Montréal (3.61 million) and Vancouver (2.16 million). People Culture and identity Aboriginal people have inhabited the country for thousands of years. In the 2001 Census just over 1.3 million people, or 4.4 % of the total population, reported having at least some Aboriginal ancestry. About half live in urban areas and one-third live on Indian reserves. About 50 aboriginal languages are spoken, the three most common being Cree, Inuktitut and Ojibway. Only about one-quarter of the aboriginal population are able to carry on a conversation in their mother tongue. People originating from the British Isles make up 28% of the population, those originating from France, 23%; and those from other European countries, 15%. Recent immigrants from Asia, Africa and the Middle East make up 6% of the population, while people of mixed backgrounds make up 26%. The official languages are English and French: 67% speak English only; 15%, French only; and 16% speak both. The diverse cultural scene includes literature, music, film production, museums, festivals, galleries, design, fashion, academic institutions, cuisine and new media. Health Canada has one of the healthiest populations in the world. Life expectancy is high, at about 80.2 years (women, 83 and men, 78 years), and infant mortality is a low five per 1,000 births. Health insurance, provided by provincial and federal governments, covers everyone. The leading causes of death are circulatory system diseases, cancer, respiratory diseases and accidents. There are about 60,000 people living with HIV. Religion and beliefs Approximately 66% of the population follows Christian beliefs, and around 5% follow one of five main non-Christian religions (Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism). Roughly 16% do not follow a religion and may be atheists, agnostics or humanists. Food and shelter The varied nature of the population has led to a wide range of foods being available in Canada. Food is often regionally distinct and based on available resources such as diary, grains, wild rice, poultry and cattle, fish and shellfish, deer, buffalo and pheasant. Single detached homes are the predominant type of housing accommodation (56.8%), while 30.5% are apartment buildings. There is an average of 6.1 rooms per house, with an average of 2.5 people per household. Economy Wealth and poverty The richest 10% of the population share nearly one-quarter of the wealth, while the poorest 10% share only 2.6%. The unemployment rate is 6.9%. Rather than a poverty line Canada has a low income cut-off that reflects the level at which a family is likely to spend significantly more of its income on food, shelter and clothing than the average family. The level varies according to place and make-up of the family, but in 2003 15.9% were living below this line. Education and work Public spending on education was 5.2% of GDP in 2002-04. Education is compulsory for 11 years, starting at age six. Net enrolment ratios are 100% for primary school and 98% for secondary. The pupil-teacher ratio in primary schools is 17:1 and in secondary schools 18:1. Most primary and secondary schooling is publicly funded. The school year starts in September. Industries and products Since the Second World War Canada has moved from a predominantly agricultural economy to a highly industrialised one. The country has many natural resources: minerals, petroleum and natural gas; forests; extensive coastal waters for fishing; and rivers and falls for hydroelectric power. It also has a highly skilled workforce and modern factory machinery. Canada's agricultural products include wheat, barley, oilseed, tobacco, fruits, vegetables, dairy products, forest products and fish. Industries include transportation equipment, chemicals, processed and unprocessed minerals, food products, wood and paper products, fish products, petroleum and natural gas. Trade Most of Canada's trade is with the United States and is regulated through the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which also includes Mexico. In 2006 Canada exported goods including motor vehicles and parts, industrial machinery, aircraft, telecommunications equipment, chemicals, plastics, fertilisers, wood pulp, timber, crude petroleum, natural gas, electricity and aluminium worth $405 billion. Its main export partners were United States, 84.2%; Japan, 2.1%; and United Kingdom, 1.8%. It imported machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, crude oil, chemicals, electricity and durable consumer goods worth $353.2 billion. Its main import partners were the United States, 56.7%; China, 7.8%; and Mexico, 3.8%. Achievements and challenges The large frozen area in the north is a serious obstacle to development. Current environmental issues include air pollution from industry, coal-burning energy production and vehicle emissions resulting in acid rain, which severely affects lakes and damages forests. It has been increasingly difficult to maintain quality health care and education services, and there are concerns about sharing land and natural resources with native groups. In addition, there are ongoing discussions in the predominantly French-speaking province of Quebec about separating from the rest of Canada. Links with Australia Canada and Australia have bilateral agreements covering trade, social security, air services, consular services abroad and mutual assistance in criminal matters. The two countries work closely together to promote a coherent and robust system of global trade and economic cooperation in key international organisations such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and many United Nations agencies. Tourism between the two countries is strong and growing, with almost 100,000 Canadians travelling to Australia each year and more than 200,000 Australians travelling to Canada. A working holiday program allows young people to travel and work for set periods in each other's country. In 2005 Australia imported goods such as motor vehicle engines, telecommunications equipment and pork worth $A1.9 billion. Its main exports to Canada were wine, nickel and medicines and lamb, mutton and goat meat worth $A1.8 billion. In the 1850s the gold rush brought numbers of innovative Canadians to Australia, who introduced telegraphic systems and Canadian timber industry techniques. The 2001 Census recorded 27,220 Canada-born persons in Australia, with 9,240 in New South Wales, 6,010 in Queensland, 5,350 in Victoria and 3,450 in Western Australia. Overseas assistance program The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) is Canada 's lead agency for development assistance. In 2004-2005 it allocated a total of C$4.14 billion in (or 0.32% of GDP) in development assistance. Its programs focused on humanitarian aid and disaster relief, health, poverty reduction, and helping developing countries improve governance. It works in 100 countries throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and the Middle East, Central and South America, Asia and Eastern Europe . http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/cidaweb/acdicida.nsf/En/Home Aboriginal Canada Portal Learning about native peoples in Canada is easy with this government of Canada website. It has a thematic menu including education, claims and treaties, justice and policing, and employment. The site offers information for "Elders", "Women", "Youth", and "Kids". Also, there is a nice "Virtual Tour of Aboriginal Canada", which allows visitors to learn about daily life within these different communities. http://www.aboriginalcanada.gc.ca/acp/site.nsf/en/index.html Main Sources: https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/ http://www20.sbs.com.au/worldguide/ http://hdr.undp.org http://www.dfat.gov.au

In winter the Rideau Canal, which runs for nearly eight kilometres through Ottawa , becomes a giant ice-skating rink. ©; Ontario Tourism, used with permission April 2007