Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a Governor-General Prime minister: Stephen Harper
Population
42,192,494
34,300,083
Life Expectancy
77.140 years
81.480 years
Capital City
Buenos Aires
Ottawa
Largest city
Buenos Aires (population: 13,076,300)
Toronto (population: 4,612,190)
Human Development Index
0.86
0.967
GDP per capita
$17,700 US
$41,100 US
Literacy Rate
97.2%
99%
Corruption Perception Index
2.9
8.7
Percentage of Women in Parliament
39.8%
24.9%
Wealthiest Citizens
Gregorio Perez Companc & family ($1.8bn US)
David Thomson & family ($13.0bn US)
Unemployment Rate
7.200%
7.500%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished
Political System
republic
constitutional monarchy that is also a parliamentary democracy and a federation
Independence date
9 July 1816 (from Spain)
1 July 1867 (union of British North American colonies); 11 December 1931 (recognized by UK)
Religions
nominally Roman Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4%
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)
Languages
Spanish (official), Italian, English, German, French
English (official) 59.3%, French (official) 23.2%, other 17.5%
Exports
soybeans and derivatives, petroleum and gas, vehicles, corn, wheat
Argentine pesos (ARS) per US dollar - 3.1636 (2008 est.), 3.1105 (2007), 3.0543 (2006), 2.9037 (2005), 2.9233 (2004)
Canadian dollars (CAD) per US dollar - 1.0364 (2008 est.), 1.0724 (2007), 1.1334 (2006), 1.2118 (2005), 1.301 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.800%
1.100%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
6
18
Location
Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay
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
Area
2,780,400 km sq
9,984,670 km sq
Coastline
4,989 km
202,080 km
Climate
mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest
varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north
