Country summary | |
---|---|
Capital |
Ottawa |
Borders |
US 8,893 km (includes 2,477 km with Alaska) |
Government type |
a parliamentary democracy, a federation, and a constitutional monarchy |
Population |
33,487,208 (July 2010 est.)[1] |
Population growth % |
0.82 (2010 est.)[1] |
Life expectancy |
81.23 years[1] |
Unemployment |
8.3% (2009 est.)[1] |
7[2] | |
8[3] | |
8[4] |
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 faces the political challenges of meeting public demands for quality improvements in health care and education services, as well as responding to the particular concerns of predominantly francophone Quebec. Canada also aims to develop its diverse energy resources while maintaining its commitment to the environment.[1]
Economical characteristics[]
- Currency: Canadian Dollar (ISO code: CAD)
- Central bank discount rate: 1.75% (December 31 2008)[1]
- Commercial banks lending rate: 4.73% (December 31 2008)[1]
- Stock of money (M1): $356.2 billion (December 31 2008)[1]
- Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $1.299 trillion (December 31 2008)[1]
Statistics[]
Statistic/Year | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GDP (million USD)[5] | 661 265 | 724 919 | 715 424 | 734 662 | 865 873 | 992 242 | 1 132 720 | 1 278 640 | 1 429 700 | 1 501 330 |
Govt. debt (% of GDP)[6] | 65.980 | 59.922 | 57.828 | 54.670 | 51.865 | 48.573 | 45.174 | |||
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)[7] | 21.359 | 20.873 | 20.392 | 19.754 | 19.764 | 19.726 | 19.642 | 19.255 | 19.578 | |
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)[8] | 20.195 | 19.044 | 18.725 | 18.577 | 18.617 | 18.415 | 18.073 | 17.863 | 17.762 | |
Debt to revenue (years) | 3.089 | 2.871 | 2.836 | 2.768 | 2.624 | 2.462 | 2.300 |
References[]
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 CIA - The World Facebook. "Canada", from The World Facebook. Referenced 2010-09-21.
- ↑ Heritage Foundation. "Canada", Economic Freedom Score. A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-21.
- ↑ Transparency International. "Canada", Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. A lower ranking is better; but please note that the numbers cannot be compared between countries or years due to different methodology. Referenced 2010-09-21.
- ↑ Doing Business. "Canada", Doing Business 2010 (part of The World Bank Group). A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-21.
- ↑ World Bank. "Canada: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-21.
- ↑ World Bank. "Canada: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-21.
- ↑ World Bank. "Canada: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-21.
- ↑ World Bank. "Canada: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-21.
External links[]
- Canada on Wikipedia
- Central bank of Canada
- BBC country profile
- Libertarian Outsider Edgar Z. Friedenberg by Jeff Riggenbach, September 2010 (about Canadian society)
- 75 years of funny money by Martin Masse, March 2010
- Ombudsman wants review of federal contracting rules by Kathryn May, July 2010
- Canada's 75 Billion Dollar Bank Bailout by Michel Chossudovsky, January 2009