World in Figures
The Economist sent out its 2007 Pocket edition of the World in Figures book. It is always interesting to look at the world issues with statistical data.
Here’s an interesting set -
The largest countries (’000 Sq Km) in the world are:
1. Russia 17,075
2. Canada 9,971
3. China 9,561
4. United States 9,373
5. Brazil 8,512
6. Australia 7,682
7. India 3,287
8. Argentina 2,767
9. Kazakhstan 2,717
10. Sudan 2,506
The largest populations (Millions, 2004) are:
1. China 1,313,3
2. India 1,081.2
3. United States 297.0
4. Indonesia 222.6
5. Brazil 180.7
6. Pakistan 157.3
7. Bangladesh 149.7
8. Russia 142.4
9. Japan 127.8
10. Nigeria 127.1
Canada has a miniscule population of only 31.7 Million people with the second largest territory of 9,971,000 Sq. Km. Bangladesh has 149.7 Million people residing in a miniscule country of 143,998 Sq. Km.
I have an uncle who lives in Alberta, Canada. He tells me stories of how you drive through the province and see “Temporarily Closed” signs at local McDonald’s, because they have no workforce to work there. A booming oil economy sucks up all available workforce, leaving many small businesses unable to operate.
Makes me wonder. Am I the only one who looks at the statistics above, and feels that some rebalancing would be appropriate? Could Canada not strike a deal with over-populated countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, China and India, and staff up?
This segment is a part in the series : World in Figures
. Mobile Telephone . Computer . Telephone . Color TV
Hello Sramana,
As a Canadian, I can assure you we have a very open immigration/migrant worker policy. While countries like in Europe are saying they are “too full”, Canada continues to welcome (particularly, people of those countries you have listed above) people who will contribute and make the multicultural fabric of this country great. On average, 200,000 immigrants are offered Canadian citizenship a year.
Canada is booming, and is heavily preoccupied with a green economy. The main issue for our next election (we currently have a Conservative government, and in my opinion, it has created some set backs in many areas, including sustainability) will be about fulfilling the three tenets of sustainability: social, economical and environmental responsibility.
As a result, anyone with those skill sets and is looking to immigrate, should consider Canada.
As an aside, Alberta is not terribly representative of the direction of Canada’s economy, nor social or cultural directions.
Eliza,
I think, the Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis are perhaps not as aware of the opportunities in Canada. One entrepreneurial opportunity could be to assemble these opportunities and market them to people in those nations?
Sramana