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Communications

Airports [time series]

1,416 total, 1,168 usable; 455 with permanent-surface runways; 4 with runways over 3,659 m; 30 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 338 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air [time series]

636 major transport aircraft; Air Canada is the major carrier

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

884,272 km total; 712,936 km surfaced (250,023 km paved), 171,336 km earth

Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]

3,000 km, including Saint Lawrence Seaway

Merchant marine [time series]

70 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 500,904 GRT/727,118 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 3 short-sea passenger, 2 passenger-cargo, 10 cargo, 2 railcar carrier, 1 refrigerated cargo, 8 roll-on/roll-off, 1 container, 28 petroleum tanker, 5 chemical tanker, 1 specialized tanker, 8 bulk; note - does not include ships used exclusively in the Great Lakes

Pipelines [time series]

crude and refined oil 23,564 km; natural gas 74,980 km

Ports [time series]

Halifax, Montreal, Quebec, Saint John (New Brunswick), Saint John's (Newfoundland), Toronto, Vancouver

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

93,544 km total; two major transcontinental freight railway systems - Canadian National (government owned) and Canadian Pacific Railway; passenger service - VIA (government operated)

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

excellent service provided by modern media; 18.0 million telephones; broadcast stations - 900 AM, 29 FM, 53 (1,400 repeaters) TV; 5 coaxial submarine cables; over 300 earth stations operating in INTELSAT (including 4 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) and domestic systems

Defense Forces

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Canadian Armed Forces (including Mobile Command, Maritime Command, Air Command, Communications Command, Canadian Forces Europe, Training Commands), Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

exchange rate conversion - $11.4 billion, 1.7% of GDP (FY91); $10.5 billion, NA% of GDP (FY 92)

Manpower availability [time series]

males 15-49, 7,366,675; 6,387,459 fit for military service; 190,752 reach military age (17) annually

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

accounts for about 3% of GDP; one of the world's major producers and exporters of grain (wheat and barley); key source of US agricultural imports; large forest resources cover 35% of total land area; commercial fisheries provide annual catch of 1.5 million metric tons, of which 75% is exported

Budget [time series]

revenues $111.8 billion; expenditures $138.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY90 est.)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

Canadian dollar (plural - dollars); 1 Canadian dollar (Can$) = 100 cents

Economic aid [time series]

donor - ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $7.2 billion

Electricity [time series]

106,464,000 kW capacity; 479,600 million kWh produced, 17,872 kWh per capita (1991)

Exchange rates [time series]

Canadian dollars (Can$) per US$1 - 1.1565 (January 1992), 1.1457 (1991), 1.1668 (1990), 1.1840 (1989), 1.2307 (1988), 1.3260 (1987)

Exports [time series]

$124.0 billion (f.o.b., 1991) commodities: newsprint, wood pulp, timber, crude petroleum, machinery, natural gas, aluminum, motor vehicles and parts; telecommunications equipment partners: US, Japan, UK, Germany, South Korea, Netherlands, China

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$247 billion (1987)

Fiscal year [time series]

1 April - 31 March

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

purchasing power equivalent - $521.5 billion, per capita $19,400; real growth rate -1.1% (1991 est.)

Illicit drugs [time series]

illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic drug market; use of hydroponics technology permits growers to plant large quantities of high-quality marijuana indoors; growing role as a transit point for heroin and cocaine entering the US market

Imports [time series]

$118 billion (c.i.f., 1991) commodities: crude petroleum, chemicals, motor vehicles and parts, durable consumer goods, electronic computers; telecommunications equipment and parts partners: US, Japan, UK, Germany, France, Mexico, Taiwan, South Korea

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate -3.8% (August 1991); accounts for 34% of GDP

Industries [time series]

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

4.2% (November 1991, annual rate)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

As an affluent, high-tech industrial society, Canada today closely resembles the US in per capita output, market-oriented economic system, and pattern of production. 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. In the 1980s, Canada registered one of the highest rates of real growth among the OECD nations, averaging about 3.2%. With its great natural resources, skilled labor force, and modern capital plant, Canada has excellent economic prospects. However, the continuing constitutional impasse between English- and French-speaking areas has observers discussing a possible split in the confederation; foreign investors are becoming edgy.

Unemployment rate [time series]

10.3% (November 1991)

Geography

Climate [time series]

varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north

Coastline [time series]

243,791 km

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly larger than US

Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]

maritime boundary disputes with the US

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

80% of population concentrated within 160 km of US border; continuous permafrost in north a serious obstacle to development

Area (Land area) [time series]

9,220,970 km2

Land boundaries [time series]

8,893 km with US (includes 2,477 km with Alaska)

Land use [time series]

arable land 5%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 3%; forest and woodland 35%; other 57%; includes NEGL% irrigated

Maritime claims [time series]

Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm Territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources [time series]

nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, potash, silver, fish, timber, wildlife, coal, crude oil, natural gas

Note [time series]

second-largest country in world (after Russia); strategic location between Russia and US via north polar route

Terrain [time series]

mostly plains with mountains in west and lowlands in southeast

Area (Total area) [time series]

9,976,140 km2

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

10 provinces and 2 territories*; Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories*, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon Territory*

Capital [time series]

Ottawa

Political parties (Communists) [time series]

3,000

Constitution [time series]

amended British North America Act 1867 patriated to Canada 17 April 1982; charter of rights and unwritten customs

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

Ambassador Derek BURNEY; Chancery at 501 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001; telephone (202) 682-1740; there are Canadian Consulates General in Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle US: Ambassador Peter TEELEY; Embassy at 100 Wellington Street, K1P 5T1, Ottawa (mailing address is P. O. Box 5000, Ogdensburg, NY 13669-0430); telephone (613) 238-5335 or (613) 238-4470; FAX (613) 238-5720; there are US Consulates General in Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, and Vancouver

Executive branch (Elections) [time series]

House of Commons: last held 21 November 1988 (next to be held by November 1993); results - Progressive Conservative Party 43.0%, Liberal Party 32%, New Democratic Party 20%, other 5%; seats - (295 total) Progressive Conservative Party 159, Liberal Party 80, New Democratic Party 44, independents 12

Executive branch [time series]

British monarch, governor general, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet

Flag [time series]

three vertical bands of red (hoist side), white (double width, square), and red with a red maple leaf centered in the white band

Independence [time series]

1 July 1867 (from UK)

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court

Executive branch (Leaders) [time series]

Chief of State: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Raymond John HNATSHYN (since 29 January 1990) Head of Government: Prime Minister (Martin) Brian MULRONEY (since 4 September 1984); Deputy Prime Minister Donald Frank MAZANKOWSKI (since June 1986)

Legal system [time series]

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 [time series]

bicameral Parliament (Parlement) consists of an upper house or Senate (Senat) and a lower house or House of Commons (Chambre des Communes)

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

none

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

ACCT, AfDB, AG (observer), APEC, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, C, CCC, CDB, COCOM, CP, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, FAO, G-7, G-8, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, MTCR, NACC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

National holiday [time series]

Canada Day, 1 July (1867)

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

Progressive Conservative Party, Brian MULRONEY; Liberal Party, Jean CHRETIEN; New Democratic Party, Audrey McLAUGHLIN

Suffrage [time series]

universal at age 18

Government type (Type) [time series]

confederation with parliamentary democracy

People

Birth rate [time series]

14 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate [time series]

7 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

British Isles origin 40%, French origin 27%, other European 20%, indigenous Indian and Eskimo 1.5%

Infant mortality rate [time series]

7 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Labor force [time series]

13,380,000; services 75%, manufacturing 14%, agriculture 4%, construction 3%, other 4% (1988)

Languages [time series]

English and French (both official)

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

74 years male, 81 years female (1992)

Literacy [time series]

99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1981 est.)

Nationality [time series]

noun - Canadian(s); adjective - Canadian

Net migration rate [time series]

6 migrants/1,000 population (1992)

Organized labor [time series]

30.6% of labor force; 39.6% of nonagricultural paid workers

Population [time series]

27,351,509 (July 1992), growth rate 1.3% (1992)

Religions [time series]

Roman Catholic 46%, United Church 16%, Anglican 10%

Total fertility rate [time series]

1.8 children born/woman (1992)