Canada

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 the particular concerns of predominantly francophone Quebec. Canada also aims to develop its diverse energy resources while maintaining its commitment to the environment.
== Economical characteristics ==
* Currency: Canadian Dollar (ISO code: CAD)
* Central bank discount rate: 1.75% (December 31 2008)
* Commercial banks lending rate: 4.73% (December 31 2008)
* Stock of money (M1): $356.2 billion (December 31 2008)
* Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $1.299 trillion (December 31 2008)
===Statistics===
Statistic/Year 	1999 	2000 	2001 	2002 	2003 	2004 	2005 	2006 	2007 	2008
GDP (million USD)World Bank. "Canada: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-21. 	661 265	724 919	715 424	734 662	865 873	992 242	1 132 720	1 278 640	1 429 700	1 501 330
Govt. debt (% of GDP)World Bank. "Canada: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-21. 	65.980 	59.922 	57.828 	54.670 	51.865 	48.573 	45.174 	 	 	
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)World Bank. "Canada: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-21. 	21.359 	20.873 	20.392 	19.754 	19.764 	19.726 	19.642 	19.255 	19.578 	
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)World Bank. "Canada: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-21.	20.195 	19.044 	18.725 	18.577 	18.617 	18.415 	18.073 	17.863 	17.762 	
Debt to revenue (years) 	3.089 	2.871 	2.836 	2.768 	2.624 	2.462 	2.300 	 	 	
==References==
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
==External links==
* Canada on Wikipedia
* Central bank of Canada
* BBC country profile
* Libertarian Outsider Edgar Z. Friedenberg by Jeff Riggenbach, September 2010 (about Canadian society)
* 75 years of funny money by Martin Masse, March 2010
* Ombudsman wants review of federal contracting rules by Kathryn May, July 2010
* Canada's 75 Billion Dollar Bank Bailout by Michel Chossudovsky, January 2009
Category:Countries