Overviews
An Overview of Canada for Travelers
Home to hockey, Canada is a country of beautiful cities and wide open spaces. If you are considering taking a trip to the country, here is an overview of some things you might want to know.
The official name of the country is simply Canada. It covers an area of landmass over 3.8 million square miles in size and is the second largest country by square mileage in the world. The capital is Ottawa with a population of over 1.1 million people. Other major cities include Toronto with 4.8 million residents, Montreal with just fewer than 3.5 million people and the beautiful city of Vancouver with a population of roughly 2 million people. With its far northern location, Canada is a country with a cool climate. The farther north one goes, the colder it becomes until artic conditions apply.
Citizens of Canada are known as Canadians. The most recent study put the total population at more than 32.4 million Canadians. Of this figure, ethnicity breaks down into a wide variety of groups with no group forming a majority. Specifically, Canadians are comprised of 28 percent British-Irish heritage, 23 percent French, 15 percent general European and a whopping 26 percent are classified as mixed. Following the transfer of Hong Kong from British rule to Chinese, many citizens of Hong Kong immigrated to Canada, particularly the Vancouver area.
Religious preferences share the break down found in ethnicity. 44 percent of Canadians claim the Roman Catholic faith as their own, while 29 percent are Protestant. Other Christian and Muslim denominations are claimed by roughly 8 percent of the population.
English and French are the languages spoken in Canada. Literacy rates are 99 percent. Average life expectancy for a Canadian man is 77 years while a Canadian woman will live to 82 years of age on average.
Canada is a country with an odd segmentation. Whereas most countries tend to be divided towards eastern and western population centers, Canada can be said to be more of a north and south designation. Specifically, most of the population lives along the border with the United States and practically nobody lives in the far north given the cold.
Canada tends to be overshadowed by its neighbor to the south. This is unfortunate as the country is beautiful, the people are friendly and life is lived at a comfortable pace.
Richard Monk is with FactsMonk.com - a site with facts about everything. Visit us to read more about Canada. |
Richard Monk
Similar articles
An Overview of China for Travelers
China is often left out of discussions of early civilization which is a mistake since it was one of the first. If you are taking a trip to China, here is some background information your should know. Read more →An Overview of Mexican Celebrations for Travelers
Mexico is very popular travel destination for travelers. If you are considering a trip, timing it to coincide with one of the celebration periods is a good idea. Read more →Bus Travel in the U.S. - An Overview for Visitors
Bus travel takes a different role in the car-driven culture of the United States than it does in most countries. Because the area of the US is so vast, flying is often the most attractive transportation option for traveling between cities and can be priced quite competitively when factoring in time and convenience. Read more →Overview of Cozumel in Mexico
The island of Cozumel is only 12 miles (19 km) off the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula's east coast and 44 miles (71 km) south of Cancun. For years, Cozumel was a quiet sleepy island that didn't get many visitors until Jacques Cousteau did a documentary on it after discovering the world class scuba diving at the Palancar Reefs nearby. Read more →Aphorism
Travel and society polish one, but a rolling stone gathers no moss, and a little moss is a good thing on a man.