Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II Prime minister: Portia Simpson-Miller
Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a Governor-General Prime minister: Stephen Harper
Population
2,889,187
34,300,083
Life Expectancy
73.430 years
81.480 years
Capital City
Kingston
Ottawa
Largest city
Kingston (population: 937,700)
Toronto (population: 4,612,190)
Human Development Index
0.771
0.967
GDP per capita
$9,100 US
$41,100 US
Literacy Rate
87.9%
99%
Corruption Perception Index
3.1
8.7
Percentage of Women in Parliament
13.6%
24.9%
Wealthiest Citizens
NA
David Thomson & family ($13.0bn US)
Unemployment Rate
12.700%
7.500%
Death Penalty
Legal
Abolished
Political System
constitutional parliamentary democracy
constitutional monarchy that is also a parliamentary democracy and a federation
Independence date
6 August 1962 (from UK)
1 July 1867 (union of British North American colonies); 11 December 1931 (recognized by UK)
Religions
Protestant 62.5% (Seventh-Day Adventist 10.8%, Pentecostal 9.5%, Other Church of God 8.3%, Baptist 7.2%, New Testament Church of God 6.3%, Church of God in Jamaica 4.8%, Church of God of Prophecy 4.3%, Anglican 3.6%, other Christian 7.7%), Roman Catholic 2.6%, other or unspecified 14.2%, none 20.9%, (2001 census)
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
English, English patois
English (official) 59.3%, French (official) 23.2%, other 17.5%
Jamaican dollars (JMD) per US dollar - 72.236 (2008 est.), 69.034 (2007), 65.768 (2006), 62.51 (2005), 61.197 (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
0.600%
1.100%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
11
18
Location
Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba
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
10,991 km sq
9,984,670 km sq
Coastline
1,022 km
202,080 km
Climate
tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior
varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north
