- At 9,970,000 square kilometres, Canada is the
world's second largest country, surpassed only by the Russian
Federation. Canada's land size is 10% of the land surface of the
world.
- Driving at a speed of 100 kilometres per hour,
for 8 hours per day, it takes 10 days to drive from Canada's Atlantic
coast to Canada's Pacific coast. Travelling in an aircraft flying
at a speed of 800 kilometres per hour, it takes approximately
8 hours to fly from Canada's east coast to Canada's west coast.
- Canada has 300,000 kilometres of surfaced roads
and 530,000 kilometres of unpaved roads. The Trans-Canada Highway,
completed in 1962, is the longest national highway in the world
at 7,775 kilometres!
- Canada has 6 time zones. During a Federal Government
election, the polling stations in eastern Canada are already closed
and the ballots have been counted, while residents in western
Canada are still voting!
- Canada has a population of only 31 million
people yielding a population density of approximately three persons
per square kilometre! Canada's immigration levels average 250,000
per year, by far the highest per-capita level in the world.
- Canada is abundantly wealthy in natural resources.
Principal resources include coal, copper, gold, iron ore, natural
gas, nickel, oil, potash, uranium, water, wood, and zinc. Canada
is the steward of 10 percent of the world's forest (forests cover
half of the Canadian landscape, 418 million hectares or 4.18 million
square kilometres). Canada's inland waters derive nine percent
of the world's fresh water.
- Canada is the eighth-largest trading nation
among the industrialized market economies. Canada's per capita
purchasing power is second only to the United States.
- For six straight years, the United Nations
has ranked Canada the best country in the world in which to live.
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