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| | Background A land of vast distances and rich natural resources, Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867 while retaining ties to the British crown. Economically and technologically the nation has developed in parallel with the US, its neighbor to the south across an unfortified border. Canada faces the political challenges of meeting public demands for quality improvements in health care and education services, as well as responding to separatist concerns in predominantly francophone Quebec. Canada also aims to develop its diverse energy resources while maintaining its commitment to the environment. The People | Population | 33,390,141 (July 2007 est.) | | Age structure | 0-14 years: 17.3% (male 2,967,383/female 2,824,189)
15-64 years: 69.2% (male 11,604,723/female 11,490,839)
65 years and over: 13.5% (male 1,927,035/female 2,575,972) (2007 est.) | | Life expectancy at birth | total population: 80.34 years
male: 76.98 years
female: 83.86 years (2007 est.) | Population growth rate | 0.869% (2007 est.) | | Ethnic groups | British Isles origin 28%, French origin 23%, other European 15%, Amerindian 2%, other, mostly Asian, African, Arab 6%, mixed background 26% | | 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) | | Population below poverty line | 10.8%; note - this figure is the Low Income Cut-Off (LICO), a calculation that results in higher figures than found in many comparable economies; Canada does not have an official poverty line (2005) | | People living with HIV/AIDS | 56,000 (2003 est.) | | HIV/AIDS - deaths | 1,500 (2003 est.) | | Mobile phones in use | 17.017 million (2005) | | Internet users | 22 million (2005) |
Data (Background & The People) provided by The World Factbook |
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