to the world: 6 paved: 415,600 km (includes 17,000 km of expressways)
unpaved: 626,700 km (2008)
Waterways:
636 km country comparison to the world: 78 note: Saint Lawrence Seaway of 3,769 km, including the Saint Lawrence River of 3,058 km, shared with United States (2008)
Merchant marine:
total: 184 country comparison to the world: 36 by type: bulk carrier 66, cargo 12, carrier 1, chemical tanker 14, combination ore/oil 1, container 2, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 64, petroleum tanker 12, roll on/roll off 6
foreign-owned: 15 (France 1, Netherlands 1, Norway 4, US 9)
registered in other countries: 223 (Australia 7, Bahamas 102, Barbados 13, Cambodia 2, Cyprus 2, Honduras 1, Hong Kong 70, Liberia 4, Malta 1, Marshall Islands 4, Norway 1, Panama 5, Spain 5, US 1, Vanuatu 5) (2010)
Ports and terminals:
Fraser River Port, Halifax, Hamilton, Montreal, Port-Cartier, Quebec
City, Saint John (New Brunswick), Sept-Isles, Vancouver
Military ::Canada
Military branches:
Canadian Forces: Land Forces Command (LFC), Maritime Command (MARCOM), Air Command (AIRCOM), Canada Command (homeland security) (2010)
Military service age and obligation:
17 years of age for male and female voluntary military service (with parental consent); 16 years of age for reserve and military college applicants; Canadian citizenship or permanent residence status required; maximum 34 years of age; service obligation 3–9 years (2008)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16–49: 8,051,656
females age 16–49: 7,780,644 (2010 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16–49: 6,642,190
females age 16–49: 6,402,896 (2010 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 220,538
female: 208,033 (2010 est.)
Military expenditures:
1.1% of GDP (2005 est.) country comparison to the world: 126
Transnational Issues ::Canada
Disputes - international:
managed maritime boundary disputes with the US at Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the Gulf of Maine including the disputed Machias Seal Island and North Rock; Canada, the US, and other countries dispute the status of the Northwest Passage; US works closely with Canada to intensify security measures for monitoring and controlling legal and illegal movement of people, transport, and commodities across the international border; sovereignty dispute with Denmark over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between Ellesmere Island and Greenland; commencing the collection of technical evidence for submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in support of claims for continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from its declared baselines in the Arctic, as stipulated in Article 76, paragraph 8, of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
Illicit drugs:
illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic drug market and export to US; use of hydroponics technology permits growers to plant large quantities of high-quality marijuana indoors; increasing ecstasy production, some of which is destined for the US; vulnerable to narcotics money laundering because of its mature financial services sector
page last updated on January 20, 2011
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@Cape Verde (Africa)
Introduction ::Cape Verde
Background:
The uninhabited islands were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th century; Cape Verde subsequently became a trading center for African slaves and later an important coaling and resupply stop for whaling and transatlantic shipping. Following independence in 1975, and a tentative interest in unification with Guinea-Bissau, a one-party system was established and maintained until multi-party elections were held in 1990. Cape Verde continues to exhibit one of Africa's most stable democratic governments. Repeated droughts during the second half of the 20th century caused significant hardship and prompted heavy emigration. As a result, Cape Verde's expatriate population is greater than its domestic one. Most Cape Verdeans have both African and Portuguese antecedents.
Geography ::Cape Verde
Location:
Western Africa, group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Senegal
Geographic coordinates:
16 00 N, 24 00 W
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 4,033 sq km country comparison to the world: 175 land: 4,033 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly larger than Rhode Island
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
965 km
Maritime claims:
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate:
temperate; warm, dry summer; precipitation meager and erratic
Terrain:
steep, rugged, rocky, volcanic
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mt. Fogo 2,829 m (a volcano on Fogo Island)
Natural resources:
salt, basalt rock, limestone, kaolin, fish, clay, gypsum
Land use:
arable
