Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a Governor-General Prime minister: Stephen Harper
President: Bashar al-Assad
Population
34,300,083
22,530,746
Life Expectancy
81.480 years
74.920 years
Capital City
Ottawa
Damascus
Largest city
Toronto (population: 4,612,190)
Aleppo (population: 1,602,260)
Human Development Index
0.967
0.736
GDP per capita
$41,100 US
$5,100 US
Literacy Rate
99%
79.6%
Corruption Perception Index
8.7
2.1
Percentage of Women in Parliament
24.9%
12.4%
Wealthiest Citizens
David Thomson & family ($13.0bn US)
NA
Unemployment Rate
7.500%
12.300%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Legal
Political System
constitutional monarchy that is also a parliamentary democracy and a federation
republic under an authoritarian military-dominated regime
Independence date
1 July 1867 (union of British North American colonies); 11 December 1931 (recognized by UK)
17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)
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)
Sunni Muslim 74%, other Muslim (includes Alawite, Druze) 16%, Christian (various denominations) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo)
Languages
English (official) 59.3%, French (official) 23.2%, other 17.5%
crude oil, minerals, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, textiles, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat
External Debt
$1,181,000,000,000 $
$7,074,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Canadian dollars (CAD) per US dollar - 1.0364 (2008 est.), 1.0724 (2007), 1.1334 (2006), 1.2118 (2005), 1.301 (2004)
Syrian pounds (SYP) per US dollar - 46.5281 (2008 est.), 50.0085 (2007), 51.689 (2006), 50 (2005), 48.5 (2004) note: data for 2004-06 are the public sector rate; data for 2002-03 are the parallel market rate in 'Amman and Beirut; the official rate for repaying loans was 11.25 Syrian pounds per US dollars during 2004-06,
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.100%
5.900%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
18
0
Location
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
Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey
Area
9,984,670 km sq
185,180 km sq
Coastline
202,080 km
193 km
Climate
varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north
mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather with snow or sleet periodically in Damascus
