Canada
Capital city
Ottawa
Inhabitants
27,367 millions
Territory
Canada is the 2nd
largest country with more than 9,9 million km². Seven
percent of the world's area and nine percent of the world's fresh water
provision belong to Canada.
The provinces
There are 10 provinces. (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, British
Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland)
The national symbol
Since the 18th century
the maple leaf has been connected with Canada. The leaf is regarded as the most
important national symbol of Canada since 1965. Since then Canada has also got
its own flag.
The national money
The currency is the
Canadian dollar 1 can$ = 100 cents
Geographical nature
The Canadian landscape
is very different. Plains with fertile farm land can be found as well as huge
mountain ranges, lakes and rivers.
Canada's mountains
The huge mountain ranges
in the eastern areas are the Torgat Mountains, the Appalachians and the
Laurentians. In the west there are the Rocky Mountains and the Mackenzie
Mountains. The Pelly Mountains and Mount St. Elias are in the north. The
highest mountain is Mount Logan in the Yukon - territory.
The big lakes
There are a lot of big
lakes in Canada. The biggest is Great Bear Lake.
The rivers
Canada's longest river
is the Mackenzie River in the Northwest - territories. Other big rivers are the
St. Lawrence River, the Churchill River, the Nelson
River.
Trade and industry
In the St. Lawrence -
valley dairy farming and potato farming is managed. Wheat is grown in the
prairies. The timber industry is very important. Canada has a lot of mineral
resources like oil, natural gas, iron ore, uranium, copper and nickel. The most
important branches of industry are food and drink industry, construction of motor
vehicles, paper, textiles and clothing industry also chemical, electrical, oil
and coal industry. The basis of the Canadian industry is the cheap power supply
with water power.
The railway network is
95.700 km long and the road network is 900.000 km.
The most important shipping route is the St Lawrence Sea Route.
Important seaports are Vancouver, Montreal, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto,
Halifax and Gander.
National parks and
historical places
The Canadian government
set up more than 100 historical places, which played a part in the country's
history.
Canada's 37 national
parks are spread over the whole country. The oldest one is the Banff National
Park on the east side of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta. It opened in 1885. The
Vuntut National Park in the north of Yukon opened in 1993.
The population
In June 1996 Canada had
28,8 million inhabitants, which is 0,5 percent of the
population of the earth.
Big cities
Toronto is the biggest
city in Canada with its 4,26 million residents
followed by Montreal (3,33 million), Vancouver (1,83 million), Ottawa - Hull
(1,01 million) and Edmonton (860.000).
Urban and rural
population
76,7
percent of all Canadians live in a city, only 23,4 percent have their home in
the country.
In Toronto, Montreal and
Vancouver live 31 percent of the Canadian population.
Life expectancy
Compared to other
countries Canada's average life expectancy is very high: men - 74,9 years and women - 81,2 years.
Standard of living
There are only five
countries (USA, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Germany and Japan) where the standard
of living is higher than in Canada. But Canada has a higher life expectancy and
regarded to education Canada leaves Japan behind. More than
65. per cent of the Canadians have a house of
their own and Canada has one of the best telecommunication systems. 99 per cent
of the Canadians have a telephone.
Social contributions
Every Canadian is
entitled to a free medical supply. The Canadian government spent 48 millions
dollar for the medical supply from 1993 to 1994. Only the USA spend more money on medical supply.
Canada's languages
English and French
Education
The education differs
from province to province. So the attendance of primary school covers six to
eight years. The university basis study could take three to four years.
Sports
The most played sports
are swimming, ice hockey, basketball, golf, cross - country skiing and skiing.
The popular sports are football and baseball.
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