Indian Ocean (2004) | Canada (2005) | |
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* |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | - | wheat, barley, oilseed, tobacco, fruits, vegetables; dairy products; forest products; fish |
Airports | - | 1,326 (2004 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.) |
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.) |
Area | total: 68.556 million sq km
note: includes Andaman Sea, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Flores Sea, Great Australian Bight, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Java Sea, Mozambique Channel, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Savu Sea, Strait of Malacca, Timor Sea, and other tributary water bodies |
total: 9,984,670 sq km
land: 9,093,507 sq km water: 891,163 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 5.5 times the size of the US | somewhat larger than the US |
Background | The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, but larger than the Southern Ocean and Arctic Ocean). Four critically important access waterways are the Suez Canal (Egypt), Bab el Mandeb (Djibouti-Yemen), Strait of Hormuz (Iran-Oman), and Strait of Malacca (Indonesia-Malaysia). The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Indian Ocean south of 60 degrees south. | 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. |
Birth rate | - | 10.84 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $151 billion
expenditures: $144 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | - | Ottawa |
Climate | northeast monsoon (December to April), southwest monsoon (June to October); tropical cyclones occur during May/June and October/November in the northern Indian Ocean and January/February in the southern Indian Ocean | varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north |
Coastline | 66,526 km | 202,080 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 |
Country name | - | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Canada |
Death rate | - | 7.73 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $570 billion (2004) |
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 |
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 |
Disputes - international | some maritime disputes (see littoral states) | 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 |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $2 billion (2004) |
Economy - overview | The Indian Ocean provides major sea routes connecting the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia with Europe and the Americas. It carries a particularly heavy traffic of petroleum and petroleum products from the oilfields of the Persian Gulf and Indonesia. Its fish are of great and growing importance to the bordering countries for domestic consumption and export. Fishing fleets from Russia, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan also exploit the Indian Ocean, mainly for shrimp and tuna. Large reserves of hydrocarbons are being tapped in the offshore areas of Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, and western Australia. An estimated 40% of the world's offshore oil production comes from the Indian Ocean. Beach sands rich in heavy minerals and offshore placer deposits are actively exploited by bordering countries, particularly India, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 487.3 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | - | 36.13 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | - | 13 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | - | 548.9 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Java Trench -7,258 m
highest point: sea level 0 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Logan 5,959 m |
Environment - current issues | endangered marine species include the dugong, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in the Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea | 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 |
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% |
Exchange rates | - | Canadian dollars per US dollar - 1.301 (2004), 1.4011 (2003), 1.5693 (2002), 1.5488 (2001), 1.4851 (2000) |
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 |
Exports | - | 1.37 million bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | - | motor vehicles and parts, industrial machinery, aircraft, telecommunications equipment; chemicals, plastics, fertilizers; wood pulp, timber, crude petroleum, natural gas, electricity, aluminum |
Exports - partners | - | US 85.2%, Japan 2.1%, UK 1.6% (2004) |
Fiscal year | - | 1 April - 31 March |
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 |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 2.3%
industry: 26.4% services: 71.3% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $31,500 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 2.4% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 20 00 S, 80 00 E | 60 00 N, 95 00 W |
Geography - note | major chokepoints include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca, southern access to the Suez Canal, and the Lombok Strait | 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 |
Heliports | - | 319 (2004) |
Highways | - | total: 1,408,800 km
paved: 497,306 km (including 16,900 km of expressways) unpaved: 911,494 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 23.8% (1994) |
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) |
Imports - commodities | - | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, crude oil, chemicals, electricity, durable consumer goods |
Imports - partners | - | US 58.9%, China 6.8%, Mexico 3.8% (2004) |
Independence | - | 1 July 1867 (union of British North American colonies); 11 December 1931 (independence recognized) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 2% (2004 est.) |
Industries | - | transportation equipment, chemicals, processed and unprocessed minerals, food products; wood and paper products; fish products, petroleum and natural gas |
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.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 1.9% (2004 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 |
Irrigated land | - | 7,200 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) |
Labor force | - | 17.37 million (2004) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 3%, manufacturing 15%, construction 5%, services 74%, other 3% (2000) |
Land boundaries | - | total: 8,893 km
border countries: US 8,893 km (includes 2,477 km with Alaska) |
Land use | - | arable land: 4.96%
permanent crops: 0.02% other: 95.02% (2001) |
Languages | - | English (official) 59.3%, French (official) 23.2%, other 17.5% |
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 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 80.1 years
male: 76.73 years female: 83.63 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97% (1986 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | body of water between Africa, the Southern Ocean, Asia, and Australia | 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 |
Map references | Political Map of the World | North America |
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 |
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 branches | - | Canadian Armed Forces: Land Forces Command, Maritime Command, Air Command, Canada Command (homeland security) to be operational in early 2006 (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $9,801.7 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.1% (2003) |
National holiday | - | Canada Day, 1 July (1867) |
Nationality | - | noun: Canadian(s)
adjective: Canadian |
Natural hazards | occasional icebergs pose navigational hazard in southern reaches | 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 |
Natural resources | oil and gas fields, fish, shrimp, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules | iron ore, nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, potash, diamonds, silver, fish, timber, wildlife, coal, petroleum, natural gas, hydropower |
Net migration rate | - | 5.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | - | 32,805,041 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA |
Population growth rate | - | 0.9% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Chennai (Madras; India), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Durban (South Africa), Jakarta (Indonesia), Kolkata (Calcutta; India) Melbourne (Australia), Mumbai (Bombay; India), Richards Bay (South Africa) | Fraser River Port, Goderich, Montreal, Port Cartier, Quebec, Saint John's (Newfoundland), Sept Isles, Vancouver |
Radio broadcast stations | - | AM 245, FM 582, shortwave 6 (2004) |
Railways | - | total: 48,683 km
standard gauge: 48,683 km 1.435-m gauge (2004) |
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) |
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.) |
Suffrage | - | 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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 19,950,900 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 13,221,800 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 80 (plus many repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | surface dominated by counterclockwise gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the southern Indian Ocean; unique reversal of surface currents in the northern Indian Ocean; low atmospheric pressure over southwest Asia from hot, rising, summer air results in the southwest monsoon and southwest-to-northeast winds and currents, while high pressure over northern Asia from cold, falling, winter air results in the northeast monsoon and northeast-to-southwest winds and currents; ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge and subdivided by the Southeast Indian Ocean Ridge, Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge, and Ninetyeast Ridge | mostly plains with mountains in west and lowlands in southeast |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.61 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 7% (2004) |
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) |