Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a Governor-General Prime minister: Stephen Harper
Population
6,541,591
34,300,083
Life Expectancy
76.400 years
81.480 years
Capital City
Asuncion
Ottawa
Largest city
Asuncion (population: 1,482,200)
Toronto (population: 4,612,190)
Human Development Index
0.752
0.967
GDP per capita
$5,500 US
$41,100 US
Literacy Rate
94%
99%
Corruption Perception Index
2.4
8.7
Percentage of Women in Parliament
13.6%
24.9%
Wealthiest Citizens
NA
David Thomson & family ($13.0bn US)
Unemployment Rate
6.600%
7.500%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished
Political System
constitutional republic
constitutional monarchy that is also a parliamentary democracy and a federation
Independence date
14 May 1811 (from Spain)
1 July 1867 (union of British North American colonies); 11 December 1931 (recognized by UK)
Religions
Roman Catholic 89.6%, Protestant 6.2%, other Christian 1.1%, other or unspecified 1.9%, none 1.1% (2002 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
Spanish (official), Guarani (official)
English (official) 59.3%, French (official) 23.2%, other 17.5%
guarani (PYG) per US dollar - 4,337.7 (2008 est.), 5,031 (2007), 5,672.8 (2006), 6,178 (2005), 5,974.6 (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
1.000%
1.100%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
18
Location
Central South America, northeast of Argentina
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
406,752 km sq
9,984,670 km sq
Coastline
0 km
202,080 km
Climate
subtropical to temperate; substantial rainfall in the eastern portions, becoming semiarid in the far west
varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north
