OFFICIAL NAME: Canada

DATE OF FORMATION: 1867

POPULATION: 31.7 million

DENSITY: 9 people per square mile

LANGUAGES: English, French, Chinese, Italian, German, Ukrainian, Portuguese, Inuktitut, Cree

RELIGIONS: Roman Catholic 44%, Protestant 29%, Other and nonreligious 27%

ETHNIC MIX: Most Canadians are descended from immigrants from Britain, France, Ireland, and other European countries. Many now identify themselves simply as Canadian. In the 2001 census, which allowed multiple ethnic-origin answers, 6.7 million people chose only "Canadian" and 5 million more included it among their choices. Other responses included 14.3 million English, Scots, Irish, or Welsh, 4.7 million French, 8.7 million other European, 3 million Asian, and 1.3 million Amerindian, Métis, or Inuit.

GOVERNMENT: Multiparty elections

CURRENCY: Canadian dollar