What you should know about Canada.
Canada is the worlds second largest country by total area and shares land borders with the US to the south and northwest. The country comprises ten provinces and three territories. It is a bilingual and multicultural country, with both English and French as official languages at the federal level. Canada maintains a diversified economy that is heavily reliant upon its abundant natural resources and upon trade—particularly with the US
Overall Canada is thinly populated with 9 inhabitants per square kilometer. The most densely populated part of the country is along the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence River in the southeast. In eastern Canada, most people live in large urban centers on the flat Saint Lawrence Lowlands.
Canada is one of the world's wealthiest nations with a high per-capita income. It is one of the world's top 10 trading nations. Canada is a mixed market ranking lower than the U.S. but higher than most western European nations on the index of economic freedom. Since the early 1990s, the Canadian economy has been growing rapidly with low unemployment and large government surpluses. Today Canada closely resembles the U.S. in its market-oriented economic system, pattern of production, and high living standards. As of October 2007, Canada's national unemployment rate of 5.9% is its lowest in 33 years. Provincial unemployment rates vary from a low of 3.6% in Alberta to a high of 14.6% in Newfoundland and Labrador.
As with other developed countries the Canadian economy is dominated by the service industry, which employs about three quarters of Canadians. However, Canada is unusual among developed countries in the importance of the primary sector, with the logging and oil industries being two of Canada's most important. Canada is one of the few developed nations that are net exporters of energy due to vast offshore deposits of natural gas and large oil and gas resources. The vast Athabasca Oil Sands give Canada the world's second largest oil reserves behind Saudi Arabia. In large parts of Canada hydroelectricity is a cheap and clean source of renewable energy.
Canada is one of the world's most important suppliers of agricultural products, with the Canadian Prairies one of the most important suppliers. Canada is the world's largest producer of zinc and uranium and a world leader in many other natural resources. Canada also has a sizeable manufacturing sector located mainly in southern Ontario and Quebec, with automobiles and aeronautics representing particularly important industries.
Economic integration with the US is high and American television shows, movies and corporations have become omnipresent. Since 2001, Canada has successfully avoided economic recession and has maintained the best overall economic performance in the G8. Main cities in Canada include Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton.
Canada 's total population reached 2006 31,6mio up 5.4% since 2001.Population growth comes mainly from immigration. About three-quarters of Canada's population live within 150kilometres of the US border.
Canada has the highest per capita immigration rate in the world driven by economic policy and family reunification. Canada also accepts large numbers of refugees.. Newcomers settle mostly in the major urban areas of Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.
Canadian provinces and territories are responsible for education. Each system is similar, while reflecting regional history, culture and geography. The mandatory school age ranges between 5–7 to 16–18 years. Postsecondary education is also administered by provincial and territorial governments, who provide most of the funding; the federal government administers additional research grants, student loans and scholarships. In 2002 51% Canadians aged between 25 and 34 had post-secondary education
98.5% of Canadians speak English or French (67.5% speak English only, 13.3% speak French only, and 17.7% speak both). Ontario has the largest French-speaking population outside Quebec. French is the official language in Quebec In Ontario, French has some legal status.
