Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a Governor-General Prime minister: Stephen Harper
Population
261,565
34,568,211
Life Expectancy
72.380 years
81.570 years
Capital City
Ottawa
Largest city
Port-Vila (population: 35,901)
Toronto (population: 4,612,190)
Human Development Index
0.686
0.967
GDP per capita
$41,500 US
Literacy Rate
74%
99%
Corruption Perception Index
2.9
8.7
Percentage of Women in Parliament
3.8%
24.9%
Wealthiest Citizens
NA
David Thomson & family ($13.0bn US)
Unemployment Rate
7.300%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished
Political System
parliamentary republic
constitutional monarchy that is also a parliamentary democracy and a federation
Independence date
1 July 1867 (union of British North American colonies); 11 December 1931 (recognized by UK)
Religions
Presbyterian 31.4%, Anglican 13.4%, Roman Catholic 13.1%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10.8%, other Christian 13.8%, indigenous beliefs 5.6% (including Jon Frum cargo cult), other 9.6%, none 1%, unspecified 1.3% (1999 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
local languages (more than 100) 72.6%, pidgin (known as Bislama or Bichelama) 23.1%, English 1.9%, French 1.4%, other 0.3%, unspecified 0.7% (1999 Census)
English (official) 59.3%, French (official) 23.2%, other 17.5%
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
1.100%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
18
Location
Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Australia
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
12,189 km sq
9,984,670 km sq
Coastline
2,528 km
202,080 km
Climate
tropical; moderated by southeast trade winds from May to October; moderate rainfall from November to April; may be affected by cyclones from December to April
varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north
