The CIA's assessment of the Canadian Economy

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, its principal trading partner. Canada enjoys a substantial trade surplus with the US, which absorbs nearly 80% of Canadian exports each year. Canada is the US's largest foreign supplier of energy, including oil, gas, uranium, and electric power. Given its great natural resources, skilled labor force, and modern capital plant, Canada enjoyed solid economic growth from 1993 through 2007. Buffeted by the global economic crisis, the economy dropped into a sharp recession in the final months of 2008, and Ottawa posted its first fiscal deficit in 2009 after 12 years of surplus. Canada's major banks, however, emerged from the financial crisis of 2008-09 among the strongest in the world, owing to the country's tradition of conservative lending practices and strong capitalization.


GDP (purchasing power parity):

$1.279 trillion (2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 15

$1.312 trillion (2008 est.)

$1.305 trillion (2007 est.)

note: data are in 2009 US dollars

GDP (official exchange rate):
$1.336 trillion (2009 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
-2.5% (2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 153
0.5% (2008 est.)
2.2% (2007 est.)


GDP - per capita (PPP):
$38,200 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 27
$39,500 (2008 est.)
$39,600 (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 2.3%
industry: 26.4%
services: 71.3% (2008 est.)

Labor force:
18.39 million (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 32

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 2%
manufacturing: 13%
construction: 6%
services: 76%
other: 3% (2006)

Unemployment rate:
8.3% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 93
6.2% (2008 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)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
32.1 (2005)
country comparison to the world: 100
31.5 (1994)

Investment (gross fixed):
20.9% of GDP (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 80

Budget:

revenues: $521.6 billion

expenditures: $578.7 billion (2009 est.)



Public debt:

75.4% of GDP (2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 18

64.9% of GDP (2008 est.)



Inflation rate (consumer prices):

0.3% (2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 32

2.4% (2008 est.)



Central bank discount rate:

1.75% (31 December 2008)

country comparison to the world: 109

4.5% (31 December 2007)



Commercial bank prime lending rate:

4.73% (31 December 2008)

country comparison to the world: 137

6.1% (31 December 2007)



Stock of money:

$356.2 billion (31 December 2008)

country comparison to the world: 6

$391.6 billion (31 December 2007)



Stock of quasi money:

$1.299 trillion (31 December 2008)

country comparison to the world: 5

$1.381 trillion (31 December 2007)



Stock of domestic credit:

$2.335 trillion (31 December 2008)

country comparison to the world: 9

$2.382 trillion (31 December 2007)



Market value of publicly traded shares:

$NA (31 December 2009)

country comparison to the world: 10

$1.002 trillion (31 December 2008)

$2.187 trillion (31 December 2007)



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:

-13% (2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 152



Electricity - production:

620.7 billion kWh (2007 est.)

country comparison to the world: 7



Electricity - consumption:

536.1 billion kWh (2007 est.)

country comparison to the world: 8



Electricity - exports:

55.73 billion kWh (2008 est.)



Electricity - imports:

23.5 billion kWh (2008 est.)



Oil - production:

3.289 million bbl/day (2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 6



Oil - consumption:

2.151 million bbl/day (2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 11



Oil - exports:

2.421 million bbl/day (2008 est.)

country comparison to the world: 4



Oil - imports:

1.165 million bbl/day (2008 est.)

country comparison to the world: 15



Oil - proved reserves:

178.1 billion bbl

country comparison to the world: 2

note: includes oil sands (1 January 2009 est.)



Natural gas - production:

161.3 billion cu m (2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 4



Natural gas - consumption:

94.62 billion cu m (2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 7



Natural gas - exports:

94.67 billion cu m (2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 3



Natural gas - imports:

16.59 billion cu m (2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 16



Natural gas - proved reserves:

1.64 trillion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 21



Current account balance:

-$36.13 billion (2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 186

$7.61 billion (2008 est.)



Exports:

$323.4 billion (2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 11

$459.1 billion (2008 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 75.02%, UK 3.37%, China 3.09% (2009)



Imports:

$327.2 billion (2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 11

$415.2 billion (2008 est.)



Imports - commodities:

machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, crude oil, chemicals, electricity, durable consumer goods



Imports - partners:

US 51.1%, China 10.88%, Mexico 4.56% (2009)



Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

$54.36 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 28

$43.87 billion (31 December 2008 est.)



Debt - external:

$833.8 billion (30 June 2009)

country comparison to the world: 12

$781.1 billion (31 December 2008)



Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:

$494.6 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 9

$412.3 billion (31 December 2008 est.)



Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:

$576.2 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 11

$520.4 billion (31 December 2008 est.)



Exchange rates:

Canadian dollars (CAD) per US dollar - 1.1548 (2009), 1.0364 (2008), 1.0724 (2007), 1.1334 (2006), 1.2118 (2005)