Canada

Canada
Status	Independent State
Social and Moral Index	17th best
Capital	Ottawa
Land Area	9 093 510km21
Location	North America, The Americas
Population	37.1m2
Life Expectancy	82.66yrs (2017)3
GNI	$46 808 (2017)4
ISO3166-1 Codes	CA, CAN, 1245
Internet Domain	.ca6
Currency	Dollar (CAD)7
Telephone	+18

1. Overview
2. Canada National and Social Development
3. Canada's Demographics and Migration
4. Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance
5. Canada's Health
6. Responsibility Towards The Environment
7. Canada's Modernity and Learning
8. Canada's Culture, Peace and Inequality
9. Religion and Beliefs
10. Canada's Biggest Political Problem: First Past the Post Voting System
11. Links

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1. Overview

#UK #USA

“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 the world's longest unfortified border. Canada faces the political challenges of meeting public demands for quality improvements in health care, education, social services, and economic competitiveness, 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.”

CIA's The World Factbook (2013)₉

“Canada is more than its hulking mountain, craggy-coast good looks: it also cooks extraordinary meals, rocks cool culture and unfurls wild, moosespotting road trips. The globe´s second-biggest country has an endless variety of landscapes. Sky-high mountains, glinting glaciers, spectral rainforests and remote beaches are all here, spread across six times zones. It´s the backdrop for plenty of ah-inspiring moments - and for a big provincial menagerie. That´s big as in polar bears, grizzly bears, whales and, everyone´s favorite, moose.

The arts are an integral part of Canada´s cultural landscape, from the International Fringe Theater Festival in Edmonton to mega museums such as Ottawa´s National Gallery. Montreal´s Jazz Festival and Toronto´s starstudded Film Festival draw global crowds.

Sip a café au lait and tear into a flaky croissant at a sidewalk bistro in Montréal; head to an Asian night market and slurp noodles in Vancouver; join a wild-fiddling Celtic party on Cape Breton Island; kayak between rainforest-cloaked aboriginal villages on Haida Gwaii: Canada is incredibly diverse across its breadth and within its cities. You´ll hear it in the music, see it in the arts and taste it in the cuisine.”

"The World" by Lonely Planet (2014)₁₀

2. Canada National and Social Development

#economics #human_development #wealth

UN HDI (2021)11
Pos.		Higher is better Value11
1	Switzerland	0.962
2	Norway	0.961
3	Iceland	0.959
	...
12	Singapore	0.939
13=	Belgium	0.937
13=	New Zealand	0.937
15	Canada	0.936
16	Liechtenstein	0.935
17	Luxembourg	0.930
18	UK	0.929
19=	S. Korea	0.925
	The Americas Avg	0.75
	World Avg	0.72
q=191.

Gross National Income Per-Capita (2021)11
Pos.		Higher is better PPP $11
1	Liechtenstein	$146 830
2	Singapore	$90 919
3	Qatar	$87 134
	...
21	Andorra	$51 167
22	Finland	$49 452
23	Australia	$49 238
24	Canada	$46 808
25	Saudi Arabia	$46 112
26	France	$45 937
27	UK	$45 225
28	S. Korea	$44 501
	The Americas Avg	$16 628
	World Avg	$20 136
q=193.

Social & Moral Development Index12
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank12
1	Denmark	25.2
2	Norway	28.2
3	Netherlands	30.1
	...
14	New Zealand	39.4
15	Liechtenstein	40.8
16	Australia	41.0
17	Canada	41.6
18	Monaco	42.3
19	Italy	42.8
20	Ireland	43.0
21	Spain	43.1
	The Americas Avg	81.5
	World Avg	88.4
q=199.

The United Nations produces an annual Human Development Report which includes the Human Development Index. The factors taken into account include life expectancy, education and schooling and Gross National Income (GNI) amongst many others..

The Social and Moral Development Index concentrates on moral issues and human rights, violence, public health, equality, tolerance, freedom and effectiveness in climate change mitigation and environmentalism, and on some technological issues. A country scores higher for achieving well in those areas, and for sustaining that achievement in the long term. Those countries towards the top of this index can truly said to be setting good examples and leading humankind onwards into a bright, humane, and free future. See: Which are the Best Countries in the World? The Social and Moral Development Index.

3. Canada's Demographics and Migration

#birth_control #demographics #fertility #health #immigration #life_expectancy #longevity #migration #overpopulation #population #yemen

Population Datasets:

Canada's population is predicted to rise to 39.85 million by 2030. This rise is despite a low fertility rate, meaning, that this country is helping to alleviate problems with growing population in neighbouring countries by accepting immigrants, very likely as a requirement of maintaining an active workforce. This country has a fertility rate of 1.33. The fertility rate is, in simple terms, the average amount of children that each woman has. The higher the figure, the quicker the population will grow, although, to calculate the rate you also need to take into account morbidity - the rate at which people die. If people live healthy and long lives and morbidity is low, then, 2.0 approximates to the replacement rate (two new children for each set of parents who die), which would keep the population stable. If all countries had such a fertility rate, population growth would end. The actual replacement rate in most developed countries is around 2.1. The highest fertility rate ever detected in a single year was in Yemen in 1985, at 8.86.₁₃

Population2
Pos.		2018 Population2
1	China	1.4b
2	India	1.4b
3	USA	327.1m
	...
36	Iraq	38.4m
37	Poland	37.9m
38	Afghanistan	37.2m
39	Canada	37.1m
40	Morocco	36.0m
41	Saudi Arabia	33.7m
42	Uzbekistan	32.5m
43	Peru	32.0m
	World Avg	39.0m
q=195.

Life Expectancy Higher is better11
Pos.		2021 Years11
1	Monaco	85.9
2	Hong Kong	85.5
3	Japan	84.8
	...
12	Italy	82.9
13	Singapore	82.8
14	Iceland	82.7
15	Canada	82.7
16	Luxembourg	82.6
17	France	82.5
18	New Zealand	82.5
19	Israel	82.3
	World Avg	71.28
q=195.

Fertility Rate 2.0 is best14
Pos.		202214
1	US Virgin Islands	2.00
2	Ecuador	2.00
3	Nepal	2.01
	...
113	Bosnia & Herzegovina	1.35
114	Jamaica	1.34
115	Micronesia	2.67
116	Canada	1.33
117	Marshall Islands	2.67
118=	Mauritius	1.32
118=	Finland	1.32
120	Thailand	1.32
	World Avg	2.47
q=208.

Old-Age Dependency Ratio Lower is better15
Pos.		2016 Per 10015
1	Uganda	04.3
2	Mali	04.5
3=	Chad	04.7
	...
168	Estonia	37.9
169	Belgium	38.1
170	Switzerland	38.3
171	Canada	38.5
172	Croatia	39.7
173	Malta	39.9
174=	France	40.5
174=	Austria	40.5
	World Avg	18.3
q=185.

• The Population of the Earth
• Abortion, Birth Control and Contraception

Migration Datasets:

Immigrants16
Pos.		2017 %16
1	UAE	88.4%
2	Kuwait	75.5%
3	Qatar	65.2%
	...
20	Israel	23.6%
21	Palau	23.0%
22	New Zealand	22.7%
23	Canada	21.5%
24	Kazakhstan	20.0%
25	Austria	19.0%
26	Sweden	17.6%
27	Equatorial Guinea	17.5%
	World Avg	9.4%
q=195.

Emigrants17
Pos.		2010 %17
1	Dominica	104.8%
2	Palestine	68.4%
3	Samoa	67.3%
	...
131	Peru	3.7%
132	Czechia	3.6%
133	Mauritania	3.5%
134	Canada	3.5%
135	Algeria	3.4%
136	Sweden	3.4%
137	Ghana	3.4%
138	Nepal	3.3%
	World Avg	11.5%
q=192.

4. Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance

#canada #canada_freedom #equality #freedom #gender_equality #human_rights #morals #politics #prejudice #tolerance

Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance (2025)18
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank18
1	Sweden	7.8
2	Netherlands	8.7
3	Denmark	8.8
4	Norway	9.2
5	Iceland	15.7
6	Canada	16.7
7	Finland	17.4
8	Luxembourg	17.8
9	Belgium	18.7
10	New Zealand	18.9
	The Americas Avg	71.80
	World Avg	89.80
q=199.

When it comes to ensuring human rights and freedom, Canada leads the world, setting excellent examples. Canada does the best in its average Freedom in the World rating. It comes in the best 20 in commentary in Human Rights Watch reports₁₉ (amongst the best in The Americas), the rate of gender bias (from 7 indicators)₂₀ (the best in The Americas), supporting personal, civil & economic freedoms₂₁ (amongst the lowest in The Americas), its success in fighting anti-semitic prejudice₂₂ (amongst the best in The Americas), combatting modern slavery₂₃ and in opposing gender inequality₂₄ (one of the lowest in The Americas). And finally, it does better than average in supporting press freedom₂₅ (one of the highest in The Americas), LGBT equality in the 2020s₂₆, its nominal commitment to Human Rights₂₇ and in freethought₂₈. Canada actively seeks to protect human rights at home and internationally, and has developed a culture that is tolerant, where it is frowned upon to behave in a prejudiced manner. Although Human Rights Watch does have some criticism when it comes to protecting the rights of Indigenous peoples and the placement of children in immigration detention₂₉.

For tables, charts and commentary, see:

• Human Rights and Freedom in Canada

5. Canada's Health

#alcohol #birth_control #canada #demographics #health #life_expectancy #longevity #mental_health #obesity #overpopulation #parenting #population #smoking #suicide #vaccines

Compared to The Americas (2025)30
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank30
1	Canada	57.4
2	Turks & Caicos Islands	62.6
3	St Martin	66.7
4	Cuba	67.0
5	USA	68.9
6	British Virgin Islands	69.7
7	Antigua & Barbuda	69.8
8	Greenland	72.3
9	Barbados	73.9
10	Costa Rica	75.4
11	Grenada	81.0
12	Uruguay	81.6
13	Colombia	84.3
	The Americas Avg	92.66
q=41.

Health (2025)30
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank30
1	Monaco	12.4
2	Liechtenstein	30.1
3	San Marino	30.6
	...
19	Italy	54.8
20	Sri Lanka	55.1
21	Slovenia	56.5
22	Canada	57.4
23	UK	57.5
24	Ireland	58.2
25	New Zealand	58.4
26	Austria	58.8
	World Avg	96.86
q=204.

The countries with the best overall approach to public health, in terms of both public policy and individual lifestyle choices, are Monaco, Liechtenstein and San Marino₃₁. These countries are worth emulating. And, although often through no fault of the average citizen, the worst countries are Angola, Somalia and S. Sudan₃₁.

36 datasets are used to calculate points for each country, including multiple decades of data on its average life expectancy, its alcohol consumption rate, its fertility rate, its smoking rate, its suicide rate, its food aid and health contributions and WHO compliance, the prevalence of overweight adults, obesity rate, its adolescent birth rate, its immunizations take-up and childhood mortality (so far). The regions with the best average results per country are Scandinavia, Europe and The Mediterranean₃₁, whereas the worst are Micronesia, Africa and Melanesia₃₁.

For more, see:

• "Countries With the Healthiest Cultures and Health Policies" by Vexen Crabtree (2025).

Health Datasets:

Canada does relatively well in encouraging good health, compared to many other countries. Canada comes in the best 20 in its food aid and health contributions and WHO compliance₃₂ (the lowest in The Americas) and in its average life expectancy₁₁ (the highest in The Americas). It does better than average when it comes to its adolescent birth rate₃₃ (the lowest in The Americas), childhood mortality in the 2020s (so far)₃₄ and in its smoking rate₃₅. Canada still has work to do. Canada does worse than average in its suicide rate₃₆, its fertility rate₁₄, its alcohol consumption rate₃₇, its immunizations take-up₃₈ (amongst the lowest in The Americas) and in the prevalence of overweight adults₃₉ (one of the worst in The Americas). The number of overweight adults has increased by 14% between 1976 and 2016. Life expectancy in Canada in 1990 was the seventh highest in the world, at 77.4yrs. It improved this by another +4.9yrs in the 30 years from 1990, although less than the global average of +7.9yrs. Canada's peak fertility rate was 3.81 in 1960.

Life Expectancy Higher is better11
Pos.		2021 Years11
1	Monaco	85.9
2	Hong Kong	85.5
3	Japan	84.8
	...
12	Italy	82.9
13	Singapore	82.8
14	Iceland	82.7
15	Canada	82.7
16	Luxembourg	82.6
17	France	82.5
18	New Zealand	82.5
19	Israel	82.3
	The Americas Avg	72.58
	World Avg	71.28
q=195.

Alcohol Consumption Lower is better37
Pos.		2016 Per Capita37
1	Bangladesh	0.0
2	Kuwait	0.0
3	Libya	0.0
	...
131	Netherlands	8.7
132=	Croatia	8.9
132=	Cameroon	8.9
132=	Canada	8.9
135	Rwanda	9.0
136	Iceland	9.1
137	Sweden	9.2
138=	Chile	9.3
	The Americas Avg	6.9
	World Avg	6.2
q=189.

Fertility Rate 2.0 is best14
Pos.		202214
1	US Virgin Islands	2.00
2	Ecuador	2.00
3	Nepal	2.01
	...
113	Bosnia & Herzegovina	1.35
114	Jamaica	1.34
115	Micronesia	2.67
116	Canada	1.33
117	Marshall Islands	2.67
118=	Mauritius	1.32
118=	Finland	1.32
120	Thailand	1.32
	The Americas Avg	1.80
	World Avg	2.47
q=208.

Smoking in the 2020s Lower is better35
Pos.		Total %35
1	Nigeria	3.3%
2	Ghana	3.4%
3	Panama	5.2%
	...
41=	Zimbabwe	11.3%
41=	Bahamas	11.3%
43	Guatemala	12.0%
44	Canada	12.1%
45	Brazil	12.2%
46	Congo, DR	12.2%
47	New Zealand	12.3%
48	Honduras	12.4%
	The Americas Avg	12.7%
	World Avg	20.0%
q=165.

Suicide Rate36
Pos.		2013 Per 100k36
1	Haiti	0
2	Grenada	0
3	Egypt	0.1
	...
52	Trinidad & Tobago	21.7
53	USA	22.2
54	Chile	22.4
55	Canada	22.7
56	Iceland	23.5
57	New Zealand	23.6
58	Ireland	23.7
59	Norway	23.8
	The Americas Avg	13.57
	World Avg	20.93
q=91.

Food Aid, Health Contributions & WHO Compliance Lower is better32
Pos.		2017 Rank32
1	Sweden	1
2	Ireland	2
3	Denmark	3
4	UK	4
5	Norway	5
6	Switzerland	6
7	Germany	7
8	Canada	8
9	Netherlands	9
10	USA	10
11	Luxembourg	11
12	Finland	12
	The Americas Avg	94.3
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Overweight Adults Lower is better39
Pos.		1976 %39
1	Bangladesh	4.7
2	Vietnam	5.1
3	Nepal	5.4
	...
154	Uruguay	40.5
155=	UK	40.6
155=	Iceland	40.6
155=	Canada	40.6
158	Poland	40.8
159	Jordan	41.0
160=	Lebanon	41.2
160=	Greece	41.2
	The Americas Avg	30.7
	World Avg	27.1
q=191.

Adult Obesity Lower is better40
Pos.		2022 %40
1	Vietnam	2.1%
2	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	2.2%
3	Ethiopia	2.4%
	...
113	Portugal	27.1%
114	Peru	27.2%
115	Swaziland	27.3%
116	Canada	27.3%
117	Azerbaijan	27.5%
118	Bolivia	27.8%
119	Armenia	27.9%
120	Guyana	28.0%
	The Americas Avg	32.0%
	World Avg	24.7%
q=199.

Children's Health Datasets:

Adolescent Birth Rate Lower is better33
Pos.		2022 Per 100033
1	Hong Kong	1.6
2	Denmark	1.8
3	S. Korea	2.1
	...
22	Ireland	5.9
23	Andorra	5.9
24	Spain	6.3
25	Canada	6.6
26	Tunisia	6.6
27	Maldives	6.8
28	Cyprus	6.8
29	Qatar	6.9
	The Americas Avg	48.1
	World Avg	43.8
q=195.

Infant Immunizations 2011-2015 Higher is better38
Pos.		2015 Avg %38
1=	Hungary	99.0
1=	China	99.0
3	Uzbekistan	98.9
	...
139	Dominican Rep.	86.3
140	Panama	86.1
141	Belarus	85.3
142=	Canada	85.2
142=	Guatemala	85.2
144	Togo	84.3
145	Zambia	84.2
146	Congo, (Brazzaville)	83.6
	The Americas Avg	91.3
	World Avg	88.3
q=194.

Infant Mortality (2020s) Lower is better34
Pos.		Total Per 100034
1	San Marino	2.11
2	Finland	2.59
3	Luxembourg	2.60
	...
34	Croatia	5.02
35	Poland	5.05
36	Hungary	5.12
37	Canada	5.40
38	Latvia	5.56
39	New Zealand	5.66
40	Cuba	6.25
41	Slovakia	6.31
	The Americas Avg	18.99
	World Avg	32.19
q=195.

6. Responsibility Towards The Environment

#canada #canada_environment #canada_environmentalism #climate_change #environmentalism #internationalism #the_environment

Responsibility Towards The Environment (2025)41
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank41
1	Sri Lanka	34.9
2	Uruguay	43.2
3	Switzerland	45.0
	...
110	Venezuela	86.1
111	Taiwan	86.1
112	Macedonia	86.9
113	Canada	87.2
114	Guyana	87.4
115	Gabon	87.9
	The Americas Avg	92.66
	World Avg	84.93
q=199.

Canada ranks 113th in the world with regard to its responsibility towards the environment. This rank is derived from 21 data sets. Canada does the second-best in its sign-up rate to major international accords on protecting the environment. It comes in the best 20 in its score on the Green Future Index₄₂ (amongst the highest in The Americas). It does better than average for its environmental performance₄₃ (the best in The Americas) and in the rate of rational beliefs on the environment in the population₄₄ (but amongst the worst in The Americas). Canada got off to an early start in its efforts, when the environmentalist lobby group Greenpeace was founded in Vancouver in 1971₄₅. But, things could still be better. Canada does worse than average for its forested percent change 2000-2020₄₆ and in reducing annual meat consumption per person₄₇. And finally, it sits amongst the bottom 20 in energy to GDP efficiency₄₈ (one of the highest in The Americas). In 2015 it was noted that the Conservative Party of Canada only pays "lip service" to preventing climate change, but at least, it does this in the face of its large tar sands oil industry₄₉. In 2021, things got worse, not better, when party members voted not to recognize the climate crisis as real₅₀.

For tables, charts and commentary, see:

• Canada and the Environment

7. Canada's Modernity and Learning

#australia #canada #education #english #intelligence #it_security #maths #metric #modernity #religion #religiosity #research #science #secularisation #technology #the_internet

Compared to The Americas (2025)51
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank51
1	Canada	30.9
2	Argentina	34.3
3	Chile	41.0
4	Brazil	44.0
5	Uruguay	46.1
6	Mexico	53.2
7	Cuba	54.3
8	Peru	55.0
9	Costa Rica	55.8
10	Ecuador	57.6
11	Bolivia	60.5
12	Colombia	61.0
13=	Dominican Rep.	65.7
	The Americas Avg	77.96
q=36.

Modernity & Learning (2025)51
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank51
1	Vatican City	1.0
2	Finland	4.8
3	Belgium	8.5
	...
30	Australia	29.2
31	Lithuania	29.6
32	Israel	30.4
33	Canada	30.9
34	Hong Kong	31.2
35	Greece	32.7
36	Kosovo	33.2
37	Romania	33.5
	World Avg	80.33
q=194.

The most modern countries, with the best results from education, the highest levels of research, and with the easiest access to information on the Internet, are The Vatican City, Finland and Belgium₅₂. The worst countries are S. Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia₅₂. Despite improves in global education, access to tertiary (adult) education is becoming increasingly unequal between the rich haves and the poor have-nots₅₃.

“Education, at all levels and ages, is the single most vital support for equality as well as being a country's most vital economic and social resource. [...] Every successful aspirant to modernisation and economic development, from Japan to South Korea, China to Chile, has got there with a big emphasis on education.”

Bill Emmott (2017)₅₄

23 datasets are used to calculate points for each country, including multiple decades of data on Research and Development, Intellectual Endeavours, metric system adoption rate, Religiosity, IQ, Secondary Education, Length of Schooling, Maths, Science & Reading, the percent of citizens with access to the internet, Freedom On The Internet, IT Security, IPv6 Uptake and digital quality of life. The regions with the best average results per country are Scandinavia, Baltic States and Europe₅₂, whereas the worst are Melanesia, Africa and Micronesia₅₂.

For more, see:

• " Which Countries are Most Modern, With the Best Education and Internet Access?" by Vexen Crabtree (2025).

Modernity Datasets:

Research & Development Higher is better
Pos.		2016 % RDP PPP
1	S. Korea	4.2955
2	Israel	4.1155
3	Japan	3.5855
	...
19	Iceland	1.8955
20=	Norway	1.7055
20=	UK	1.7055
22	Canada	1.6155
23	Ireland	1.5255
24	Estonia	1.4355
25	Hungary	1.3755
26	Italy	1.2955
	The Americas Avg	0.47
	World Avg	0.84
q=126.

Intellectual Endeavours Lower is better32
Pos.		2017 Rank32
1	Ukraine	1
2	Czechia	2
3	Hungary	3
	...
26	Singapore	26
27	Greece	27
28	Serbia	28
29	Canada	29
30	Romania	30
31	Cyprus	31
32	Ireland	32
33	Croatia	33
	The Americas Avg	99.8
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Metric System Adoption Rate Higher is better56
Pos.		2025 %56
1=	Slovakia	100
1=	Poland	100
1=	Portugal	100
	...
47=	Bulgaria	95
47=	Estonia	95
47=	Brazil	95
47=	Canada	95
47=	Bosnia & Herzegovina	95
47=	Bolivia	95
47=	Djibouti	95
47=	Turkmenistan	95
	The Americas Avg	90
	World Avg	92
q=187.

Canada officially adopted metric in 1970₅₇. Progression:

• 1960 (20%): Pre-metric; science/engineering metric.
• 1970 (50%): Metrication program starts; government/education shift.
• 1980 (95%): Officially metric; minor informal imperial (height/weight colloquial).
• 2000 (95%): No major change; road signs metric.
• 2025 (95%).

Religiosity Lower is better58
Pos.		2018 %58
1	China	3
2	Estonia	6
3	Czechia	7
	...
29=	Spain	22
30=	Slovakia	23
30=	Ukraine	23
32	Canada	27
33=	Uzbekistan	29
33=	Uruguay	29
35	Poland	30
36	Serbia	34
	The Americas Avg	65.4
	World Avg	54.3
q=106.

IQ Higher is better59
Pos.		200659
1=	Hong Kong	108
1=	Singapore	108
3	S. Korea	106
	...
19=	Estonia	99
19=	Sweden	99
19=	Belgium	99
19=	Canada	99
23=	Andorra	98
23=	Czechia	98
23=	Spain	98
23=	France	98
	The Americas Avg	85.3
	World Avg	85.6
q=138.

Education Datasets:

In 1990-1993, education in Canada was the 2nd-longest in the world, peaking at 17.2 years, beaten only by Australia. Throughout the 1990s, it did reduce this by almost a year, and likewise in the 2000s it was also one of only twelve countries to see a reduction.₆₀

Secondary Education Higher is better61
Pos.		201861
1=	Luxembourg	100.0%
1=	Estonia	100.0%
1=	Austria	100.0%
1=	Canada	100.0%
1=	Finland	100.0%
1=	Iceland	100.0%
7	Uzbekistan	99.9%
8	Czechia	99.8%
9	Slovakia	99.3%
10	Latvia	99.2%
11	Kazakhstan	98.6%
12	Kyrgyzstan	98.4%
	The Americas Avg	63.0%
	World Avg	63.0%
q=169.

Length of Schooling Higher is better62
Pos.		2021 Years62
1	Australia	21.1
2	New Zealand	20.3
3	Greece	20.0
	...
25	Singapore	16.5
26	S. Korea	16.5
27	Switzerland	16.5
28	Canada	16.4
29	Bahrain	16.3
30	Lithuania	16.3
31	USA	16.3
32	Italy	16.2
	The Americas Avg	14.2
	World Avg	13.5
q=193.

Maths, Science & Reading Higher is better63
Pos.		2015 Score63
1	Singapore	1655
2	Hong Kong	1598
3	Japan	1586
4	Macau	1582
5	Estonia	1573
6=	Taiwan	1571
6=	Canada	1571
8	Finland	1568
9	S. Korea	1557
10	China	154364
11=	Ireland	1528
11=	Slovenia	1528
	The Americas Avg	1287
	World Avg	1389
q=70.

Technology and Information Datasets:

Internet Users Higher is better65
Pos.		201665
1	Iceland	100%
2	Faroe Islands	99%
3	Norway	98%
	...
18	Japan	91%
19	New Zealand	89%
20=	USA	89%
20=	Canada	89%
20=	Belgium	89%
23	Czechia	88%
24	Germany	88%
25	Aruba	88%
	The Americas Avg	56.4%
	World Avg	48.1%
q=201.

IT Security Lower is better66
Pos.		201366
1=	Ireland	0.11
1=	Luxembourg	0.11
1=	Belize	0.11
	...
40	Kuwait	0.93
41	Saudi Arabia	0.93
42	Malaysia	0.96
43	Canada	0.96
44	Tajikistan	1.01
45	Brazil	1.02
46	Indonesia	1.05
47	British Virgin Islands	1.08
	The Americas Avg	0.84
	World Avg	0.98

IPv6 Uptake Higher is better67
Pos.		2017 Ratio67
1	Belgium	55.4
2	Germany	41.8
3	Switzerland	35.1
	...
10	UK	24.7
11	Japan	22.1
12	France	18.8
13	Canada	18.3
14	Peru	18.3
15	Ecuador	18.2
16	Estonia	17.6
17	Malaysia	16.5
	The Americas Avg	3.36
	World Avg	3.82
q=176.

Digital Quality of Life Higher is better68
Pos.		202468
1	Germany	77.9%
2	Finland	76.9%
3	France	73.9%
	...
22	Ireland	65.9%
23	Israel	65.4%
24	Norway	64.5%
25	Canada	63.4%
26	Italy	63.3%
27	Czechia	63.2%
28	Latvia	63.2%
29	Portugal	62.8%
	The Americas Avg	44.7%
	World Avg	48.4%
q=121.

8. Canada's Culture, Peace and Inequality

#canada #capitalism #charitability #charity #corruption #culture #economics #equality #extremism #happiness #health #human_development #inequality #internationalism #life_expectancy #morals #peace #politics #poverty #religious_violence #social_development #terrorism

National Culture Datasets:

World Giving Index Higher is better69
Pos.		2022 %69
1	Indonesia	68.0
2	Kenya	61.0
3	USA	59.0
4	Australia	55.0
5	New Zealand	54.0
6	Myanmar	52.0
7=	Sierra Leone	51.0
7=	Canada	51.0
9	Zambia	50.0
10=	Ukraine	49.0
10=	Ireland	49.0
12=	Czechia	48.0
	The Americas Avg	43.7
	World Avg	39.6
q=125.

Corruption Higher is better70
Pos.		2022 Points70
1	Denmark	90.0
2=	Finland	87.0
2=	New Zealand	87.0
	...
14=	Estonia	74.0
14=	Uruguay	74.0
14=	Iceland	74.0
14=	Canada	74.0
18=	UK	73.0
18=	Japan	73.0
18=	Belgium	73.0
21	France	72.0
	The Americas Avg	42.97
	World Avg	42.98
q=180.

In 1996-1997, Canada scored the 5th-best for the second iteration of the Corruption Perception Index, out of the 54 countries for which they gathered data, and throughout the 2010s it had the 9th-best position, on average.

Happiness Higher is better71
Pos.		2024 Score71
1	Finland	7.7
2	Denmark	7.5
3	Iceland	7.5
	...
15	Ireland	6.9
16	Lithuania	6.8
17	Austria	6.8
18	Canada	6.8
19	Slovenia	6.8
20	Czechia	6.8
21	UAE	6.8
22	Germany	6.8
	The Americas Avg	6.31
	World Avg	5.58
q=147.

Creativity & Culture Lower is better32
Pos.		2017 Rank32
1	Belgium	1
2	Netherlands	2
3	Estonia	3
	...
22	Norway	22
23	Lithuania	23
24	St Lucia	24
25	Canada	25
26	Italy	26
27	Mauritius	27
28	Malta	28
29	Singapore	29
	The Americas Avg	80.2
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Passport Reach (2020s) Higher is better72
Pos.		Total Q72
1	Singapore	192.2
2	Japan	192.0
3	S. Korea	190.7
	...
23=	Malta	185.7
23=	Australia	185.7
23=	USA	185.7
26	Canada	185.2
27	Hungary	184.3
28	Poland	184.0
29	Lithuania	183.0
30	Slovakia	182.8
	The Americas Avg	132.4
	World Avg	108.8
q=195.

Open Trading, Aid & Development Lower is better32
Pos.		2017 Rank32
1	Ireland	1
2	Denmark	2
3	Sweden	3
	...
24	Jordan	24
25	Mauritius	25
26	Zimbabwe	26
27	Canada	27
28	Trinidad & Tobago	28
29	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	29
30	Burkina Faso	30
31	Lebanon	31
	The Americas Avg	100.5
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Peace Versus Instability Datasets:

Global Peace Index Lower is better73
Pos.		2023 Score73
1	Iceland	1.12
2	Denmark	1.31
3	Ireland	1.31
	...
8	Slovenia	1.33
9	Japan	1.34
10	Switzerland	1.34
11	Canada	1.35
12	Czechia	1.38
13	Finland	1.40
14	Croatia	1.45
15	Germany	1.46
	The Americas Avg	2.13
	World Avg	2.07
q=163.

Peacekeeping & Security Lower is better32
Pos.		2017 Rank32
1	Samoa	1
2	S. Africa	2
3	Tunisia	3
	...
38	Togo	38
39	Argentina	39
40	China	40
41	Canada	41
42	Azerbaijan	42
43	Senegal	43
44	Switzerland	44
45	Bolivia	45
	The Americas Avg	82.3
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Refugees & UN Treaties Lower is better32
Pos.		2017 Rank32
1	Austria	1
2	Germany	2
3	Netherlands	3
	...
8	Finland	8
9	Denmark	9
10	Switzerland	10
11	Canada	11
12	UK	12
13	Belgium	13
14	Italy	14
15	Spain	15
	The Americas Avg	91.5
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Impact of Terrorism Lower is better74
Pos.		2019 Score74
1	Togo	0.00
2	Mongolia	0.00
3	Swaziland	0.00
	...
94	Algeria	3.41
95	Sweden	3.45
96	Sri Lanka	3.57
97	Canada	3.59
98	Belgium	3.64
99	Angola	3.78
100	Tunisia	3.94
101	Tajikistan	3.95
	The Americas Avg	2.16
	World Avg	2.78
q=150.

Economic Inequality and Poverty Datasets:

Poverty (2020s) Lower is better75
Pos.		Total %75
1	Malaysia	0.01%
2	Bhutan	0.01%
3	Cyprus	0.02%
	...
21	Norway	0.24%
22	Germany	0.24%
23	S. Korea	0.25%
24	Canada	0.25%
25	Albania	0.34%
26	Croatia	0.36%
27	Estonia	0.39%
28	Portugal	0.40%
	The Americas Avg	4.07%
	World Avg	11.40%
q=106.

Inequality in Life Expectancy Lower is better76
Pos.		201976
1	Iceland	2.40
2=	Singapore	2.50
2=	Hong Kong	2.50
	...
32=	Poland	4.30
32=	New Zealand	4.30
34	Belarus	4.40
35=	Canada	4.60
35=	Malta	4.60
37	Serbia	4.90
38	Slovakia	5.00
39	Cuba	5.10
	The Americas Avg	12.03
	World Avg	14.59
q=184.

Income Inequality (Gini Coefficient) Lower is better77
Pos.		2023 %77
1	Slovakia	24.1%78
2	Slovenia	24.3%78
3	Belarus	24.4%79
	...
42=	Malta	31.4%79
43	France	31.5%78
44	Taiwan	31.6%78
45	Canada	31.7%80
46=	Lebanon	31.8%81
46=	Estonia	31.8%78
48	Egypt	31.9%80
49	Mauritania	32.0%80
	The Americas Avg	44.0%
	World Avg	36.5%
q=167.

9. Religion and Beliefs

#afterlife #belief #buddhism #canada #catholicism #christianity #god #heaven #hell #hinduism #islam #judaism #religion #religiosity #secularisation #universalism

From 2010 to 2020, 21% of Canada's Christians stopped describing themselves as Christian (from 67% to 53%) and in the population as a whole, 10.8% fewer said they belonged to a religion.

Religiosity (2018)58
Pos.		Lower is better %58
1	China	3
2	Estonia	6
3	Czechia	7
	...
29=	Spain	22
30=	Slovakia	23
30=	Ukraine	23
32	Canada	27
33=	Uzbekistan	29
33=	Uruguay	29
35	Poland	30
36	Serbia	34
37=	Israel	36
37=	Portugal	36
39	Azerbaijan	38
40	Chile	41
41=	Croatia	42
41=	Moldova	42
43	Argentina	43
44	Mexico	45
	World Avg	54.3
q=106.

Disbelief In God (2007)82
Pos.		Higher is better %82
1	Vietnam	81
2	Japan	65
3	Sweden	64
	...
20	Australia	25
21	Taiwan	24
22=	New Zealand	22
22=	Canada	22
24=	Latvia	20
24=	Ukraine	20
24=	Mongolia	20
27	Austria	18
28=	Slovakia	17
28=	Switzerland	17
28=	Belarus	17
31=	Greece	16
31=	Iceland	16
33=	Spain	15
33=	Israel	15
35	Armenia	14
	World Avg	9.9
q=137.

Pew Forum polling over the decades has found the following adherency rates:₈₃:

	2010	2020
Christian	67.2%	53.3%
Unaffiliated	23.9%	34.6%
Muslim	3.25%	4.89%
Other	1.96%	2.98%
Buddhist	1.11%	1.74%
Hindu	1.59%	1.52%
Jewish	1%	0.923%

It appears that when asked "What religion are you" many give pollsters the 'correct' answer despite how they actually feel, and despite what they actually believe. Although 65.4% of the populace say they belong to a religion, only 27% say that they are religious when the question is phrased as "Is religion an important part of your daily life?".

For more on this phenomenon, see:

• "Institutionalized Religions Have Their Numbers Inflated by National Polls" by Vexen Crabtree (2009)

The CIA World Factbook has slightly different data, and states: Roman Catholic 42.6%, Protestant 23.3% (United Church 9.5%, Anglican 6.8%, Baptist 2.4%, Lutheran 2%), other Christian 4.4%, Muslim 1.9%, other and unspecified 11.8%, none 16% (2001 census)₈₄.

The Afterlife: Ipsos-NA in 2011 gathered some statistics on Canada₈₅. Despite the large numbers of Christians, not many have traditional beliefs in the afterlife - just 18%. More people don't know what to believe (25%). Some believe that upon death, you simply cease to exist (18%). Also, 3% specifically believe in heaven but not in hell (which is nice - making them possible "universalists"). 8% believe in reincarnation.

Freedom of Thought: The International Humanist and Ethical Union produced a report in 2012 entitled "Freedom of Thought" (2012)₈₆, in which they document bias and prejudice at the national level that is based on religion, belief and/or lack of belief. Their entry for Canada states:

“The constitution and other laws and policies protect freedom of religion or belief. However six of the ten provinces provide partial or full funding to religious schools. Most of these publicly funded religious schools are Roman Catholic. Although five provinces allow other denominations to run publicly funded schools. Publicly funded religious schools can discriminate on religious grounds in hiring and in accepting students. Around 16 percent of the Canadian population claims no religious affiliation, yet in the vast low-population expanses of Canada, the religious school may well be the only public school within a reasonable distance for many non-religious students.

Ontario is the only province that funds Catholic religious education while providing no funding for other religious schools. One third of Ontario's public schools (around 1,400) are Catholic schools, and they receive 100% of their funding from the government. Catholic schools discriminate against non-Catholics in hiring staff. Catholic schools can also exclude non-Catholic children.”

"Freedom of Thought" by IHEU (2012)₈₇

Links:

• A List of All Religions and Belief Systems
• Secularisation Theory: Will Modern Society Reject Religion? What is Secularism?

10. Canada's Biggest Political Problem: First Past the Post Voting System ₈₈

#canada #democracy #democratic_challenges #elections #india #poland #politics #UK #USA #voting

First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) was a historical voting system₈₉ devised in the Middle Ages. It is very simple - the local candidate with the highest number of votes wins, and, government is formed from all the winners₈₉. But FPTP didn't survive the era of Political Parties, where its simplicity results in skewed elected bodies that don't represent the overall wishes of the country_90,91,92,93 as in the 2015 General Election, where the Liberal Party formed a majority government with just 39.5% of the vote₉₄, and the opposite in 2011, when the Conservative Party done the same with just 39.6% popular support₉₄.

FPTP causes:

(1) A great deal of votes to be 'lost' because there's no mechanism to count party votes overall and assign a correct number of seats at the national level.

(2) 'Gerrymandering' by which constituency sizes and shapes are manipulated in order to get local victories, because total votes-by-party are disregarded.

(3) Votes in populous constituencies to be worth less; it was this that meant that "in 1996, when the BC Liberals received more votes than the BC NDP, but the BC NDP won a majority government. It's hard to say this outcome is what voters wanted"₉₄ - PR would fix this by assigning a correct number of seats according to the overall total vote within all constituencies, without discarding votes en masse.

(4) The need for tactical voting rather than true voting.

(5) Undue support for popular (but small) local parties, unfairly boosting their influence at the national levelas seen in the 2019 elections: the Green Party received 1.8 million votes but only got 3 of 338 seats in government because their voters were spread all over the country and didn't outright win many individual ridings; whereas the Bloc Quebecois party received 2.1 million votes (not much more) and yet got an astounding 32 seats - because their supported was geographically concentrated.

(6) Almost permanently squeezes-out most parties from government except the largest ones and therefore leads to two-party systems that have been so deleterious for political quality-control.

“Provincially, in 1987, 60% of New Brunswick voters voted Liberal [and they] won [...] all 58/58 seats. There was no other party in the New Brunswick legislature [and] nobody to even ask questions of the governing party on behalf of the 40% of voters who hadn´t voted for them.”

Fair Vote Canada (n.d.)₉₄

The overall effect is a democratic loss as representation does not endure in government for a large portion of the populace, and so FPTP "can enflame underlying tensions, competitions, domination, clan politics, exclusion, hence conflicts"₉₅.

These problems are mitigated by Proportional Representation (PR) voting systems, where total votes for each party are used to assign an appropriate number of national seats, eliminating the 'lost votes' and most of the skew problems. PR has been adopted by all developed democracies except the UK and the USA₉₀, who both suffer from two-party political divisions that diminish their democratic legitimacy and effectiveness. About a fifth of Africa still uses FPTP, and some other developed countries such as Canada, India and Poland still use it for some elements of government. It is maintained mostly by archaic top-tier parties who have a vested interest in keeping FPTP₈₉ in order to continue long-term informal power-swapping practices with minimum competition.

For more, see:

• "First Past the Post (FPTP) Voting System Damages Party-Based Democracies" by Vexen Crabtree (2024).