Compare Canada (2005) - China (2004)

Compare Canada (2005) z China (2004)

	Canada (2005)	China (2004)

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 Territory	23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 4 municipalities (shi, singular and plural) provinces: Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang autonomous regions: Guangxi, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Xinjiang, Xizang (Tibet) municipalities: Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Tianjin note: China considers Taiwan its 23rd province; see separate entries for the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau
Age structure	0-14 years: 17.9% (male 3,016,032/female 2,869,244) 15-64 years: 68.9% (male 11,357,425/female 11,244,356) 65 years and over: 13.2% (male 1,842,496/female 2,475,488) (2005 est.)	0-14 years: 22.3% (male 153,401,051; female 135,812,993) 15-64 years: 70.3% (male 469,328,664; female 443,248,860) 65 years and over: 7.5% (male 46,308,923; female 50,747,133) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products	wheat, barley, oilseed, tobacco, fruits, vegetables; dairy products; forest products; fish	rice, wheat, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, cotton, oilseed, pork, fish
Airports	1,326 (2004 est.)	507 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 503 over 3,047 m: 18 2,438 to 3,047 m: 15 1,524 to 2,437 m: 150 914 to 1,523 m: 245 under 914 m: 75 (2004 est.)	total: 332 over 3,047 m: 49 2,438 to 3,047 m: 97 1,524 to 2,437 m: 129 914 to 1,523 m: 22 under 914 m: 35 (2003 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 823 1,524 to 2,437 m: 67 914 to 1,523 m: 347 under 914 m: 409 (2004 est.)	total: 175 over 3,047 m: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 36 914 to 1,523 m: 40 under 914 m: 66 (2003 est.)
Area	total: 9,984,670 sq km land: 9,093,507 sq km water: 891,163 sq km	total: 9,596,960 sq km land: 9,326,410 sq km water: 270,550 sq km
Area - comparative	somewhat larger than the US	slightly smaller than the US
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 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.	For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight.
Birth rate	10.84 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)	12.98 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget	revenues: $151 billion expenditures: $144 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)	revenues: $265.8 billion expenditures: $300.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2003)
Capital	Ottawa	Beijing
Climate	varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north	extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
Coastline	202,080 km	14,500 km
Constitution	made up of unwritten and written acts, customs, judicial decisions, and traditions; 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, which transferred formal control over the constitution from Britain to Canada, and added a Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as procedures for constitutional amendments	most recent promulgation 4 December 1982
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Canada	conventional long form: People's Republic of China conventional short form: China local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo local short form: Zhong Guo abbreviation: PRC
Currency	-	yuan (CNY) note:: also referred to as the Renminbi (RMB)
Death rate	7.73 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)	6.92 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external	$570 billion (2004)	$197.8 billion (2003 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador David H. WILKINS embassy: 490 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 1G8 mailing address: P. O. Box 5000, Ogdensburgh, NY 13669-0430 telephone: [1] (613) 238-5335, 4470 FAX: [1] (613) 688-3082 consulate(s) general: Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg	chief of mission: Ambassador Clark T. RANDT, Jr. embassy: Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3, 100600 Beijing mailing address: PSC 461, Box 50, FPO AP 96521-0002 telephone: [86] (10) 6532-3831 FAX: [86] (10) 6532-6929 consulate(s) general: Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenyang
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Francis Joseph MCKENNA chancery: 501 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001 telephone: [1] (202) 682-1740 FAX: [1] (202) 682-7726 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Phoenix, San Diego, and Seattle consulate(s): Anchorage, Houston, Philadelphia, Princeton, Raleigh, San Francisco, and San Jose	chief of mission: Ambassador YANG Jiechi chancery: 2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-2500 FAX: [1] (202) 328-2582 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco
Disputes - international	managed maritime boundary disputes with the US at Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and around the disputed Machias Seal Island and North Rock; working toward greater cooperation with US in monitoring people and commodities crossing the border; uncontested sovereignty dispute with Denmark over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between Ellesmere Island and Greenland	involved in complex dispute with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei over the Spratly Islands; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants; most of the rugged, militarized boundary with India is in dispute, but the two sides are committed to begin resolution with discussions on the least disputed Middle Sector; Kashmir remains the world's largest and highly militarized territorial dispute with portions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas), but recent discussion and confidence-building measures among parties are beginning to defuse tensions, India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding lands to China in a 1964 boundary agreement; China and Taiwan continue to assert their claims to the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Tai) with increased media coverage and protest actions; certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers are in an uncontested dispute with North Korea and a section of boundary around Mount Paektu is indefinite - China has been attempting to manage illegal migration of North Koreans into northern China; China and Russia in 2004 resolved their last border dispute over islands in the Amur and Argun Rivers, but details on demarcation have not yet been worked-out; boundary delimitation agreements signed in 2002 with Tajikistan cedes 1,000 sq km of Pamir Mountain range to China in return for China's relinquishing claims to 28,000 sq km, but demarcation has not commenced; agreements with Vietnam demarcating maritime boundaries and fisheries cooperation in the Gulf of Tonkin were ratified in June, and demarcation of the land boundary continues; China occupies some of the Paracel Islands also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; in response to groups in Burma and Thailand expressing concern over China's plans to construct 13 hydroelectric dams on the Nu River in Yunnan Province (Salween River in Burma), Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao suspended the project to conduct an environmental impact assessment, a smaller scale version of only 4 dams is now scheduled to move forward
Economic aid - donor	ODA, $2 billion (2004)	-
Economic aid - recipient	-	NA
Economy - overview	As an affluent, high-tech industrial society, newly entered in the trillion dollar class, Canada closely resembles the US in its market-oriented economic system, pattern of production, and affluent living standards. Since World War II, the impressive growth of the manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy into one primarily industrial and urban. The 1989 US-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (which includes Mexico) touched off a dramatic increase in trade and economic integration with the US. Given its great natural resources, skilled labor force, and modern capital plant Canada enjoys solid economic prospects. Solid fiscal management has produced a long-term budget surplus which is substantially reducing the national debt, although public debate continues over how to manage the rising cost of the publicly funded healthcare system. Exports account for roughly a third of GDP. Canada enjoys a substantial trade surplus with its principal trading partner, the United States, which absorbs more than 85% of Canadian exports.	In late 1978 the Chinese leadership began moving the economy from a sluggish, inefficient, Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more market-oriented system. Whereas the system operates within a political framework of strict Communist control, the economic influence of non-state organizations and individual citizens has been steadily increasing. The authorities switched to a system of household and village responsibility in agriculture in place of the old collectivization, increased the authority of local officials and plant managers in industry, permitted a wide variety of small-scale enterprises in services and light manufacturing, and opened the economy to increased foreign trade and investment. The result has been a quadrupling of GDP since 1978. Measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis, China in 2003 stood as the second-largest economy in the world after the US, although in per capita terms the country is still poor. Agriculture and industry have posted major gains especially in coastal areas near Hong Kong, opposite Taiwan, and in Shanghai, where foreign investment has helped spur output of both domestic and export goods. The leadership, however, often has experienced - as a result of its hybrid system - the worst results of socialism (bureaucracy and lassitude) and of capitalism (growing income disparities and rising unemployment). China thus has periodically backtracked, retightening central controls at intervals. The government has struggled to (a) sustain adequate jobs growth for tens of millions of workers laid off from state-owned enterprises, migrants, and new entrants to the work force; (b) reduce corruption and other economic crimes; and (c) keep afloat the large state-owned enterprises, many of which had been shielded from competition by subsidies and had been losing the ability to pay full wages and pensions. From 80 to 120 million surplus rural workers are adrift between the villages and the cities, many subsisting through part-time, low-paying jobs. Popular resistance, changes in central policy, and loss of authority by rural cadres have weakened China's population control program, which is essential to maintaining long-term growth in living standards. Another long-term threat to growth is the deterioration in the environment, notably air pollution, soil erosion, and the steady fall of the water table especially in the north. China continues to lose arable land because of erosion and economic development. Beijing says it will intensify efforts to stimulate growth through spending on infrastructure - such as water supply and power grids - and poverty relief and through rural tax reform. Accession to the World Trade Organization helps strengthen its ability to maintain strong growth rates but at the same time puts additional pressure on the hybrid system of strong political controls and growing market influences. China has benefited from a huge expansion in computer internet use. Foreign investment remains a strong element in China's remarkable economic growth. Growing shortages of electric power and raw materials will hold back the expansion of industrial output in 2004.
Electricity - consumption	487.3 billion kWh (2002)	1.312 trillion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	36.13 billion kWh (2002)	10.3 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	13 billion kWh (2002)	1.8 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	548.9 billion kWh (2002)	1.42 trillion kWh (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Logan 5,959 m	lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m
Environment - current issues	air pollution and resulting acid rain severely affecting lakes and damaging forests; metal smelting, coal-burning utilities, and vehicle emissions impacting on agricultural and forest productivity; ocean waters becoming contaminated due to agricultural, industrial, mining, and forestry activities	air pollution (greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide particulates) from reliance on coal produces acid rain; water shortages, particularly in the north; water pollution from untreated wastes; deforestation; estimated loss of one-fifth of agricultural land since 1949 to soil erosion and economic development; desertification; trade in endangered species
Environment - 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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 signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Marine Life Conservation	party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	British Isles origin 28%, French origin 23%, other European 15%, Amerindian 2%, other, mostly Asian, African, Arab 6%, mixed background 26%	Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1%
Exchange rates	Canadian dollars per US dollar - 1.301 (2004), 1.4011 (2003), 1.5693 (2002), 1.5488 (2001), 1.4851 (2000)	yuan per US dollar - 8.277 (2003), 8.277 (2002), 8.2771 (2001), 8.2785 (2000), 8.2783 (1999)
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Michaelle Jean (since 27 October 2005) head of government: Prime Minister Paul MARTIN (since 12 December 2003); Deputy Prime Minister Anne MCLELLAN (since 12 December 2003) cabinet: Federal Ministry chosen by the prime minister from among the members of his own party sitting in Parliament elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister for a five-year term; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Commons is automatically designated prime minister by the governor general	chief of state: President HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003) and Vice President ZENG Qinghong (since 15 March 2003) head of government: Premier WEN Jiabao (since 16 March 2003); Vice Premiers HUANG Ju (since 17 March 2003), WU Yi (17 March 2003), ZENG Peiyan (since 17 March 2003), and HUI Liangyu (since 17 March 2003) cabinet: State Council appointed by the National People's Congress (NPC) elections: president and vice president elected by the National People's Congress for five-year terms; elections last held 15-17 March 2003 (next to be held mid-March 2008); premier nominated by the president, confirmed by the National People's Congress election results: HU Jintao elected president by the Tenth National People's Congress with a total of 2,937 votes (4 delegates voted against him, 4 abstained, and 38 did not vote); ZENG Qinghong elected vice president by the Tenth National People's Congress with a total of 2,578 votes (177 delegates voted against him, 190 abstained, and 38 did not vote); 2 seats were vacant
Exports	1.37 million bbl/day (2004)	151,200 bbl/day (2001)
Exports - commodities	motor vehicles and parts, industrial machinery, aircraft, telecommunications equipment; chemicals, plastics, fertilizers; wood pulp, timber, crude petroleum, natural gas, electricity, aluminum	machinery and equipment, textiles and clothing, footwear, toys and sporting goods, mineral fuels
Exports - partners	US 85.2%, Japan 2.1%, UK 1.6% (2004)	US 21.1%, Hong Kong 17.4%, Japan 13.6%, South Korea 4.6%, Germany 4% (2003)
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March	calendar year
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 official colors of Canada are red and white	red with a large yellow five-pointed star and four smaller yellow five-pointed stars (arranged in a vertical arc toward the middle of the flag) in the upper hoist-side corner
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $6.449 trillion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 2.3% industry: 26.4% services: 71.3% (2004 est.)	agriculture: 14.8% industry and construction: 52.9% services: 32.3% (2003)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $31,500 (2004 est.)	purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	2.4% (2004 est.)	9.1% (official data) (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates	60 00 N, 95 00 W	35 00 N, 105 00 E
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	world's fourth largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US); Mount Everest on the border with Nepal is the world's tallest peak;
Heliports	319 (2004)	15 (2003 est.)
Highways	total: 1,408,800 km paved: 497,306 km (including 16,900 km of expressways) unpaved: 911,494 km (2002)	total: 1,402,698 km paved: 314,204 km (with at least 16,314 km of expressways) unpaved: 1,088,494 km (2000)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 2.8% highest 10%: 23.8% (1994)	lowest 10%: 2.4% highest 10%: 30.4% (1998)
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; transit point for heroin and cocaine entering the US market; vulnerable to narcotics money laundering because of its mature financial services sector	major transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle; growing domestic drug abuse problem; source country for chemical precursors and methamphetamine
Imports	987,000 bbl/day (2004)	1.207 million bbl/day (2001)
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, crude oil, chemicals, electricity, durable consumer goods	machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, plastics, iron and steel, chemicals
Imports - partners	US 58.9%, China 6.8%, Mexico 3.8% (2004)	Japan 18%, Taiwan 11.9%, South Korea 10.4%, US 8.2%, Germany 5.9% (2003)
Independence	1 July 1867 (union of British North American colonies); 11 December 1931 (independence recognized)	221 BC (unification under the Qin or Ch'in Dynasty); 1 January 1912 (Manchu Dynasty replaced by a Republic); 1 October 1949 (People's Republic established)
Industrial production growth rate	2% (2004 est.)	30.4% (2003 est.)
Industries	transportation equipment, chemicals, processed and unprocessed minerals, food products; wood and paper products; fish products, petroleum and natural gas	iron and steel, coal, machine building, armaments, textiles and apparel, petroleum, cement, chemical fertilizers, footwear, toys, food processing, automobiles, consumer electronics, telecommunications
Infant mortality rate	total: 4.75 deaths/1,000 live births male: 5.21 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)	total: 25.28 deaths/1,000 live births male: 21.84 deaths/1,000 live births female: 29.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	1.9% (2004 est.)	1.2% (2003 est.)
International organization participation	ACCT, AfDB, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CDB, CE (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ESA (cooperating state), FAO, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNMOVIC, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC	AfDB, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, CDB, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MONUC, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, PCA, SCO, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
Irrigated land	7,200 sq km (1998 est.)	525,800 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court of Canada (judges are appointed by the prime minister through the governor general); Federal Court of Canada; Federal Court of Appeal; Provincial Courts (these are named variously Court of Appeal, Court of Queens Bench, Superior Court, Supreme Court, and Court of Justice)	Supreme People's Court (judges appointed by the National People's Congress); Local Peoples Courts (comprise higher, intermediate and local courts); Special Peoples Courts (primarily military, maritime, and railway transport courts)
Labor force	17.37 million (2004)	778.1 million (2003 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 3%, manufacturing 15%, construction 5%, services 74%, other 3% (2000)	agriculture 50%, industry 22%, services 28% (2001 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 8,893 km border countries: US 8,893 km (includes 2,477 km with Alaska)	total: 22,117 km border countries: Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km, Burma 2,185 km, India 3,380 km, Kazakhstan 1,533 km, North Korea 1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km, Laos 423 km, Mongolia 4,677 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km, Russia (northeast) 3,605 km, Russia (northwest) 40 km, Tajikistan 414 km, Vietnam 1,281 km regional borders: Hong Kong 30 km, Macau 0.34 km
Land use	arable land: 4.96% permanent crops: 0.02% other: 95.02% (2001)	arable land: 15.4% permanent crops: 1.25% other: 83.36% (2001)
Languages	English (official) 59.3%, French (official) 23.2%, other 17.5%	Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry)
Legal system	based on English common law, except in Quebec, where civil law system based on French law prevails; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations	a complex amalgam of custom and statute, largely criminal law; rudimentary civil code in effect since 1 January 1987; new legal codes in effect since 1 January 1980; continuing efforts are being made to improve civil, administrative, criminal, and commercial law
Legislative branch	bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of the Senate or Senat (members appointed by the governor general with the advice of the prime minister and serve until reaching 75 years of age; its normal limit is 105 senators) and the House of Commons or Chambre des Communes (308 seats; members elected by direct, popular vote to serve for up to five-year terms) elections: House of Commons - last held 28 June 2004 (next to be held by NA 2009) election results: House of Commons - percent of vote by party - Liberal Party 36.7%, Conservative Party 29.6%, New Democratic Party 15.7%, Bloc Quebecois 12.4%, Greens 4.3%, independents 0.4%, other 0.9%; seats by party - Liberal Party 134, Conservative Party 99, Bloc Quebecois 54, New Democratic Party 19, independent 2	unicameral National People's Congress or Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui (2,985 seats; members elected by municipal, regional, and provincial people's congresses to serve five-year terms) elections: last held December 2002-February 2003 (next to be held late 2007-February 2008) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - NA
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 80.1 years male: 76.73 years female: 83.63 years (2005 est.)	total population: 71.96 years male: 70.4 years female: 73.72 years (2004 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97% (1986 est.) male: NA% female: NA%	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 90.9% male: 95.1% female: 86.5% (2002)
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	Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam
Map references	North America	Asia
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	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
Merchant marine	total: 169 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,784,229 GRT/2,657,499 DWT by type: bulk carrier 22, cargo 49, chemical tanker 6, combination ore/oil 1, container 1, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 65, petroleum tanker 13, roll on/roll off 6 foreign-owned: 6 (France 1, Germany 3, United States 2) registered in other countries: 112 (2005)	total: 1,850 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 18,724,653 GRT/27,749,784 DWT by type: barge carrier 2, bulk 355, cargo 822, chemical tanker 28, combination bulk 10, combination ore/oil 2, container 165, liquefied gas 28, multi-functional large load carrier 8, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 46, petroleum tanker 272, rail car carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 27, roll on/roll off 25, short-sea/passenger 39, specialized tanker 10, vehicle carrier 4 foreign-owned: Cambodia 1, Greece 2, Hong Kong 12, Japan 1, South Korea 2, Liberia 1, Malaysia 1, Panama 1, Taiwan 2, Tanzania 1 registered in other countries: 790 (2004 est.)
Military branches	Canadian Armed Forces: Land Forces Command, Maritime Command, Air Command, Canada Command (homeland security) to be operational in early 2006 (2005)	People's Liberation Army (PLA): comprises ground forces, Navy (including naval infantry and naval aviation), Air Force, and II Artillery Corps (strategic missile force), People's Armed Police Force (internal security troops, nominally a state security body but included by the Chinese as part of the "armed forces" and considered to be an adjunct to the PLA), militia
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$9,801.7 million (2003)	$60 billion (2003 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.1% (2003)	3.5-5.0% (FY03 est.)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 379,524,688 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 208,143,352 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 12,494,201 (2004 est.)
National holiday	Canada Day, 1 July (1867)	Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, 1 October (1949)
Nationality	noun: Canadian(s) adjective: Canadian	noun: Chinese (singular and plural) adjective: Chinese
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	frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence
Natural resources	iron ore, nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, potash, diamonds, silver, fish, timber, wildlife, coal, petroleum, natural gas, hydropower	coal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, mercury, tin, tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest)
Net migration rate	5.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)	-0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Pipelines	crude and refined oil 23,564 km; liquid petroleum gas 74,980 km (2003)	gas 15,890 km; oil 14,478 km; refined products 3,280 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	Bloc Quebecois [Gilles DUCEPPE]; Conservative Party of Canada (a merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party) [Stephen HARPER]; Green Party [Jim HARRIS]; Liberal Party [Paul MARTIN]; New Democratic Party [Jack LAYTON]	Chinese Communist Party or CCP [HU Jintao, General Secretary of the Central Committee]; eight registered small parties controlled by CCP
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	no substantial political opposition groups exist, although the government has identified the Falungong spiritual movement and the China Democracy Party as subversive groups
Population	32,805,041 (July 2005 est.)	1,298,847,624 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA	10% (2001 est.)
Population growth rate	0.9% (2005 est.)	0.57% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors	Fraser River Port, Goderich, Montreal, Port Cartier, Quebec, Saint John's (Newfoundland), Sept Isles, Vancouver	Dalian, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Haikou, Huangpu, Lianyungang, Nanjing, Nantong, Ningbo, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Shantou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Wenzhou, Xiamen, Xingang, Yantai, Zhanjiang (2001)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 245, FM 582, shortwave 6 (2004)	AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45 (1998)
Railways	total: 48,683 km standard gauge: 48,683 km 1.435-m gauge (2004)	total: 70,058 km standard gauge: 68,000 km 1.435-m gauge (18,668 km electrified) narrow gauge: 3,600 km 1.000-m and 0.750-m gauge local industrial lines dual gauge: 22,640 km (not included in total) (2003)
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)	Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Muslim 1%-2%, Christian 3%-4% note: officially atheist (2002 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.)	at birth: 1.12 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: excellent service provided by modern technology domestic: domestic satellite system with about 300 earth stations international: country code - 1-xxx; 5 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) and 2 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region)	general assessment: domestic and international services are increasingly available for private use; unevenly distributed domestic system serves principal cities, industrial centers, and many towns domestic: interprovincial fiber-optic trunk lines and cellular telephone systems have been installed; a domestic satellite system with 55 earth stations is in place international: country code - 86; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions); several international fiber-optic links to Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Russia, and Germany (2000)
Telephones - main lines in use	19,950,900 (2003)	263 million (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	13,221,800 (2003)	269 million (2003)
Television broadcast stations	80 (plus many repeaters) (1997)	3,240 (of which 209 are operated by China Central Television, 31 are provincial TV stations and nearly 3,000 are local city stations) (1997)
Terrain	mostly plains with mountains in west and lowlands in southeast	mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east
Total fertility rate	1.61 children born/woman (2005 est.)	1.69 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate	7% (2004)	10.1% urban unemployment roughly 10%; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas (2003 est.)
Waterways	631 km note: Saint Lawrence Seaway of 3,769 km, including the Saint Lawrence River of 3,058 km, shared with United States (2003)	121,557 km (2002)

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