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Canada The World Fact Book - Economy |
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| Economy Overview: | As an affluent, high-tech industrial society in the trillion-dollar class, Canada resembles the US in its market-oriented economic system, pattern of production, and affluent living standards. Since World War II, the impressive growth of the manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy into one primarily industrial and urban. The 1989 US-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (which includes Mexico) touched off a dramatic increase in trade and economic integration with the US. Given its great natural resources, skilled labor force, and modern capital plant, Canada enjoys solid economic prospects. Top-notch fiscal management has produced consecutive balanced budgets since 1997, although public debate continues over the equitable distribution of federal funds to the Canadian provinces. Exports account for roughly a third of GDP. Canada enjoys a substantial trade surplus with its principal trading partner, the US, which absorbs 80% of Canadian exports each year. Canada is the US's largest foreign supplier of energy, including oil, gas, uranium, and electric power. During 2007, Canada enjoyed good economic growth, moderate inflation, and the lowest unemployment rate in more than three decades. | |
| GDP (purchasing power parity): | $1.274 trillion (2007 est.) | |
| GDP (official exchange rate): | $1.406 trillion (2007 est.) | |
| GDP - real growth rate: | 2.7% (2007 est.) | |
| GDP - per capita (PPP): | $38,200 (2007 est.) | |
| GDP - composition by sector: |
agriculture: 2.1% industry: 28.8% services: 69.1% (2007 est.) |
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| Labor Force: | 17.9 million (2007 est.) | |
| Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture 2%, manufacturing 13%, construction 6%, services 76%, other 3% (2006) | |
| Unemployment Rate: | 5.9% (2007 est.) | |
| 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) | |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%: 2.6% highest 10%: 24.8% (2000) |
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| Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 32.1 (2005) | |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 2.4% (2007 est.) | |
| Investment (gross fixed): | 22% of GDP (2007 est.) | |
| Budget: |
revenues: $565.8 billion expenditures: $551.2 billion (2007 est.) |
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| Public Debt: | 64% of GDP (2007 est.) | |
| Agriculture Products: | wheat, barley, oilseed, tobacco, fruits, vegetables; dairy products; forest products; fish | |
| Industries: | transportation equipment, chemicals, processed and unprocessed minerals, food products, wood and paper products, fish products, petroleum and natural gas | |
| Industrial production growth rate: | 1.6% (2007 est.) | |
| Electricity Production: | 609.6 billion kWh (2005) | |
| Electricity - production by source: |
fossil fuel: 28% hydro: 57.9% nuclear: 12.9% other: 1.3% (2001) |
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| Electricity Consumption: | 540.2 billion kWh (2005) | |
| Electricity - exports: | 42.93 billion kWh (2005) | |
| Electricity - imports: | 19.33 billion kWh (2005) | |
| Oil Production: | 3.092 million bbl/day (2005) | |
| Oil - consumption: | 2.29 million bbl/day (2005) | |
| Oil - exports: | 2.274 million bbl/day (2004) | |
| Oil - imports: | 1.185 million bbl/day (2004) | |
| Oil - proved reserves: |
178.8 billion bbl note: includes oil sands (1 January 2006 est.) |
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| Natural gas - production: | 178.2 billion cu m (2005 est.) | |
| Natural gas - consumption: | 92.76 billion cu m (2005 est.) | |
| Natural gas - exports: | 101.9 billion cu m (2005 est.) | |
| Natural gas - imports: | 9.403 billion cu m (2005) | |
| Natural gas - proved reserves: | 1.537 trillion cu m (1 January 2006 est.) | |
| Current account balance: | $28.46 billion (2007 est.) | |
| Exports: | $440.1 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.) | |
| Exports - commodities: | motor vehicles and parts, industrial machinery, aircraft, telecommunications equipment; chemicals, plastics, fertilizers; wood pulp, timber, crude petroleum, natural gas, electricity, aluminum | |
| Exports - Partners: | US 81.6%, UK 2.3%, Japan 2.1% (2006) | |
| Imports: | $394.4 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.) | |
| Imports - Commodities: | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, crude oil, chemicals, electricity, durable consumer goods | |
| Imports - partners: | US 54.9%, China 8.7%, Mexico 4% (2006) | |
| Economic aid - donor: | ODA, $3.9 billion (2007) | |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $39.31 billion (2007 est.) | |
| Debt - external: | $758.6 billion (30 June 2007) | |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: | $398.4 billion (2006 est.) | |
| Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: | $458.1 billion (2006 est.) | |
| Market value of publicly traded shares: | $1.481 trillion (2005) | |
| Currency (code): | Canadian dollar (CAD) | |
| Currency code: | CAD | |
| Exchange Rates: | Canadian dollars per US dollar - 1.0724 (2007), 1.1334 (2006), 1.2118 (2005), 1.301 (2004), 1.4011 (2003) | |
| Fiscal Year: | 1 April - 31 March | |
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