Canada (2005) | Puerto Rico (2001) | |
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* | none (commonwealth associated with the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 78 municipalities (municipios, singular - municipio) at the second order; Adjuntas, Aguada, Aguadilla, Aguas Buenas, Aibonito, Anasco, Arecibo, Arroyo, Barceloneta, Barranquitas, Bayamon, Cabo Rojo, Caguas, Camuy, Canovanas, Carolina, Catano, Cayey, Ceiba, Ciales, Cidra, Coamo, Comerio, Corozal, Culebra, Dorado, Fajardo, Florida, Guanica, Guayama, Guayanilla, Guaynabo, Gurabo, Hatillo, Hormigueros, Humacao, Isabela, Jayuya, Juana Diaz, Juncos, Lajas, Lares, Las Marias, Las Piedras, Loiza, Luquillo, Manati, Maricao, Maunabo, Mayaguez, Moca, Morovis, Naguabo, Naranjito, Orocovis, Patillas, Penuelas, Ponce, Quebradillas, Rincon, Rio Grande, Sabana Grande, Salinas, San German, San Juan, San Lorenzo, San Sebastian, Santa Isabel, Toa Alta, Toa Baja, Trujillo Alto, Utuado, Vega Alta, Vega Baja, Vieques, Villalba, Yabucoa, Yauco |
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:
23.73% (male 478,441; female 455,800) 15-64 years: 65.72% (male 1,242,245; female 1,345,421) 65 years and over: 10.55% (male 177,083; female 238,326) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, oilseed, tobacco, fruits, vegetables; dairy products; forest products; fish | sugarcane, coffee, pineapples, plantains, bananas; livestock products, chickens |
Airports | 1,326 (2004 est.) | 28 (2000 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:
19 over 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 6 (2000 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:
9 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 7 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 9,984,670 sq km
land: 9,093,507 sq km water: 891,163 sq km |
total:
9,104 sq km land: 8,959 sq km water: 145 sq km |
Area - comparative | somewhat larger than the US | slightly less than three times the size of Rhode Island |
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. | Discovered by Columbus in 1493, the island was ceded by Spain to the US in 1898 following the Spanish-American War. A popularly elected governor has served since 1948. In plebiscites held in 1967 and 1993, voters chose to retain commonwealth status. |
Birth rate | 10.84 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 15.26 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $151 billion
expenditures: $144 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues:
$6.7 billion expenditures: $9.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY99/00) |
Capital | Ottawa | San Juan |
Climate | varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north | tropical marine, mild; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 202,080 km | 501 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 | ratified 3 March 1952; approved by US Congress 3 July 1952; effective 25 July 1952 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Canada |
conventional long form:
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico conventional short form: Puerto Rico |
Currency | - | US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | 7.73 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 7.77 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $570 billion (2004) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | commonwealth associated with the US |
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 |
none (commonwealth associated with the US) |
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 |
none (commonwealth associated with the US) |
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 | none |
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. | Puerto Rico has one of the most dynamic economies in the Caribbean region. A diverse industrial sector has surpassed agriculture as the primary locus of economic activity and income. Encouraged by duty-free access to the US and by tax incentives, US firms have invested heavily in Puerto Rico since the 1950s. US minimum wage laws apply. Sugar production has lost out to dairy production and other livestock products as the main source of income in the agricultural sector. Tourism has traditionally been an important source of income, with estimated arrivals of nearly 5 million tourists in 1999. Prospects for 2001 are clouded by a probable slowing down in both the construction and tourist sectors and by increasing inflation, particularly in energy and food prices; estimated growth will be 2%. |
Electricity - consumption | 487.3 billion kWh (2002) | 15.587 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 36.13 billion kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 13 billion kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 548.9 billion kWh (2002) | 16.76 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
98.45% hydro: 1.55% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Logan 5,959 m |
lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Cerro de Punta 1,338 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 | erosion; occasional drought causing water shortages |
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 |
- |
Ethnic groups | British Isles origin 28%, French origin 23%, other European 15%, Amerindian 2%, other, mostly Asian, African, Arab 6%, mixed background 26% | white (mostly Spanish origin) 80.5%, black 8%, Amerindian 0.4%, Asian 0.2%, mixed and other 10.9% |
Exchange rates | Canadian dollars per US dollar - 1.301 (2004), 1.4011 (2003), 1.5693 (2002), 1.5488 (2001), 1.4851 (2000) | the US dollar is used |
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 George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001) head of government: Governor Sila M. CALDERON (since NA January 2001) cabinet: appointed by the governor with the consent of the legislature elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: Sila M. CALDERON (PDP) elected governor; percent of vote - 48.8% |
Exports | 1.37 million bbl/day (2004) | $38.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | motor vehicles and parts, industrial machinery, aircraft, telecommunications equipment; chemicals, plastics, fertilizers; wood pulp, timber, crude petroleum, natural gas, electricity, aluminum | pharmaceuticals, electronics, apparel, canned tuna, rum, beverage concentrates, medical equipment |
Exports - partners | US 85.2%, Japan 2.1%, UK 1.6% (2004) | US 88% (2000) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 July - 30 June |
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 | five equal horizontal bands of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bears a large, white, five-pointed star in the center; design influenced by the US flag, but based on the Cuban flag |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $39 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 2.3%
industry: 26.4% services: 71.3% (2004 est.) |
agriculture:
1% industry: 45% services: 54% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $31,500 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $10,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.4% (2004 est.) | 2.8% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 60 00 N, 95 00 W | 18 15 N, 66 30 W |
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 | important location along the Mona Passage - a key shipping lane to the Panama Canal; San Juan is one of the biggest and best natural harbors in the Caribbean; many small rivers and high central mountains ensure land is well watered; south coast relatively dry; fertile coastal plain belt in north |
Heliports | 319 (2004) | - |
Highways | total: 1,408,800 km
paved: 497,306 km (including 16,900 km of expressways) unpaved: 911,494 km (2002) |
total:
14,400 km paved: 14,400 km unpaved: 0 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 23.8% (1994) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
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 | - |
Imports | 987,000 bbl/day (2004) | $27 billion (c.i.f., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, crude oil, chemicals, electricity, durable consumer goods | chemicals, machinery and equipment, clothing, food, fish, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | US 58.9%, China 6.8%, Mexico 3.8% (2004) | US 60% (2000) |
Independence | 1 July 1867 (union of British North American colonies); 11 December 1931 (independence recognized) | none (commonwealth associated with the US) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Industries | transportation equipment, chemicals, processed and unprocessed minerals, food products; wood and paper products; fish products, petroleum and natural gas | pharmaceuticals, electronics, apparel, food products; tourism |
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.) |
9.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.9% (2004 est.) | 5.7% (2000 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 | Caricom (observer), ECLAC (associate), FAO (associate), ICFTU, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, WCL, WFTU, WHO (associate) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 76 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 7,200 sq km (1998 est.) | 390 sq km (1993 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 Court; Superior Courts; Municipal Courts (justices for all these courts appointed by the governor with the consent of the Senate) |
Labor force | 17.37 million (2004) | 1.3 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 3%, manufacturing 15%, construction 5%, services 74%, other 3% (2000) | agriculture 3%, industry 20%, services 77% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 8,893 km
border countries: US 8,893 km (includes 2,477 km with Alaska) |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 4.96%
permanent crops: 0.02% other: 95.02% (2001) |
arable land:
4% permanent crops: 5% permanent pastures: 26% forests and woodland: 16% other: 49% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English (official) 59.3%, French (official) 23.2%, other 17.5% | Spanish, English |
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 | based on Spanish civil code |
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 |
bicameral Legislative Assembly consists of the Senate (28 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives (54 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004); House of Representatives - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PNP 19, PPD 7, PIP 1, other 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PNP 30, PPD 20, PIP 1, other 3 note: Puerto Rico elects one nonvoting representative to the US House of Representatives; elections last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPD 1 (Anibal ACEVEDO-VILA) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 80.1 years
male: 76.73 years female: 83.63 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
75.76 years male: 71.28 years female: 80.48 years (2001 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: 89% male: 90% female: 88% (1980 est.) |
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 | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Dominican Republic |
Map references | North America | Central America and the Caribbean |
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 |
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
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) |
- |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US |
Military branches | Canadian Armed Forces: Land Forces Command, Maritime Command, Air Command, Canada Command (homeland security) to be operational in early 2006 (2005) | paramilitary National Guard, Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $9,801.7 million (2003) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.1% (2003) | - |
National holiday | Canada Day, 1 July (1867) | US Independence Day, 4 July (1776) |
Nationality | noun: Canadian(s)
adjective: Canadian |
noun:
Puerto Rican(s) (US citizens) adjective: Puerto Rican |
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 | periodic droughts; hurricanes |
Natural resources | iron ore, nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, potash, diamonds, silver, fish, timber, wildlife, coal, petroleum, natural gas, hydropower | some copper and nickel; potential for onshore and offshore oil |
Net migration rate | 5.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -2.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | crude and refined oil 23,564 km; liquid petroleum gas 74,980 km (2003) | - |
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] | National Democratic Party [Celeste BENITEZ]; National Republican Party of Puerto Rico [Luis FERRE]; New Progressive Party or PNP [Pedro ROSSELLO]; Popular Democratic Party or PPD [Hector Luis ACEVEDO]; Puerto Rican Independence Party or PIP [Ruben BERRIOS Martinez] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Armed Forces for National Liberation or FALN; Armed Forces of Popular Resistance; Boricua Popular Army (also known as the Macheteros); Volunteers of the Puerto Rican Revolution |
Population | 32,805,041 (July 2005 est.) | 3,937,316 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.9% (2005 est.) | 0.54% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Fraser River Port, Goderich, Montreal, Port Cartier, Quebec, Saint John's (Newfoundland), Sept Isles, Vancouver | Guanica, Guayanilla, Guayama, Playa de Ponce, San Juan |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 245, FM 582, shortwave 6 (2004) | AM 72, FM 17, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 2.7 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 48,683 km
standard gauge: 48,683 km 1.435-m gauge (2004) |
total:
96 km narrow gauge: 96 km 1.000-m gauge, rural, narrow-gauge system for hauling sugarcane; no passenger service |
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) | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant and other 15% |
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:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal; indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections |
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:
modern system, integrated with that of the US by high-capacity submarine cable and Intelsat with high-speed data capability domestic: digital telephone system; cellular telephone service international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat; submarine cable to US |
Telephones - main lines in use | 19,950,900 (2003) | 1.322 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 13,221,800 (2003) | 169,265 (1996) |
Television broadcast stations | 80 (plus many repeaters) (1997) | 18 (plus three stations of the US Armed Forces Radio and Television Service) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly plains with mountains in west and lowlands in southeast | mostly mountains, with coastal plain belt in north; mountains precipitous to sea on west coast; sandy beaches along most coastal areas |
Total fertility rate | 1.61 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.9 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7% (2004) | 9.5% (2000) |
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) |
none |