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