# Canada and United States compared Canada and United States side by side: 47 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 1 events their chronicles record of each other. Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/can-vs-usa Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates) Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation. ## Formation - Canada: 1867 — The Dominion of Canada is formed - United States: 4 July 1776 — The Second Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence ## Economy | Metric | Canada | Observed | United States | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | GDP | $2.24 T | 2024 | $28.75 T | 2024 | | GDP per capita | $54,340 | 2024 | $84,534 | 2024 | | GDP growth | 1.6% | 2024 | 2.8% | 2024 | | Inflation | 2.4% | 2024 | 2.9% | 2024 | | Trade openness | 65.1% | 2024 | 25.4% | 2024 | ## Society | Metric | Canada | Observed | United States | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population | 41 m | 2024 | 340 m | 2024 | | Life expectancy | 82.1 yrs | 2024 | 78.9 yrs | 2024 | | Urban population | 82.7% | 2024 | 80.1% | 2024 | | Fertility rate | 1.3 | 2024 | 1.6 | 2024 | ## Governance | Metric | Canada | Observed | United States | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 83.2 | 2024 | 72.4 | 2024 | | Political stability | 76.1 | 2024 | 64.3 | 2024 | | Government effectiveness | 85.5 | 2024 | 77.8 | 2024 | | Regulatory quality | 76.3 | 2024 | 76.2 | 2024 | | Rule of law | 82.1 | 2024 | 73.5 | 2024 | | Control of corruption | 80.9 | 2024 | 69.9 | 2024 | ## Health | Metric | Canada | Observed | United States | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 11.3% | 2024 | 16.7% | 2023 | | Physicians | 2.82 | 2023 | 3.68 | 2022 | | Under-5 mortality | 5.4 | 2024 | 6.5 | 2024 | | Measles immunisation | 92.0% | 2024 | 92.0% | 2024 | | Safe drinking water | 96.9% | 2024 | 97.6% | 2024 | ## Education | Metric | Canada | Observed | United States | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Education spending | 4.8% | 2022 | 5.4% | 2021 | | Primary enrolment | 95.0% | 2023 | 97.0% | 2022 | | Secondary enrolment | 104.3% | 2023 | 97.5% | 2022 | | Tertiary enrolment | 76.3% | 2023 | 79.4% | 2022 | ## Technology | Metric | Canada | Observed | United States | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | R&D spending | 1.8% | 2024 | 3.4% | 2023 | | Researchers (per million) | 5,624 | 2022 | 4,937 | 2022 | | Internet users | 94.4% | 2024 | 94.7% | 2024 | | Mobile subscriptions | 94 | 2024 | 113 | 2024 | | High-tech exports | 16.8% | 2024 | 24.3% | 2024 | ## Geography | Metric | Canada | Observed | United States | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Land area | 8,788,700 km² | 2023 | 9,147,420 km² | 2023 | | Forest area | 39.5% | 2023 | 33.9% | 2023 | | Agricultural land | 6.5% | 2023 | 46.1% | 2023 | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 14.0 | 2024 | 13.6 | 2024 | | Renewable energy | 23.8% | 2021 | 10.9% | 2021 | ## Resources | Metric | Canada | Observed | United States | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 4.9% | 2021 | 1.3% | 2021 | | Oil rents | 2.8% | 2021 | 0.6% | 2021 | | Mineral rents | 1.2% | 2021 | 0.1% | 2021 | | Forest rents | 0.1% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 | | Copper (mined) | 500 kt | 2025 | 1.0 Mt | 2025 | | Iron ore | 69 Mt | 2025 | 38 Mt | 2025 | | Gold (mined) | 200 t | 2025 | 160 t | 2025 | | Lithium (mined) | 5,600 t | 2025 | — | — | | Cobalt (mined) | 3,500 t | 2025 | 300 t | 2025 | | Nickel (mined) | 140 kt | 2025 | 10.0 kt | 2025 | | Rare earths | — | — | 51.0 kt | 2025 | | Zinc (mined) | — | — | 670 kt | 2025 | | Phosphate rock | — | — | 20 Mt | 2025 | ## Military | Metric | Canada | Observed | United States | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 1.3% | 2024 | 3.4% | 2024 | | Defense spending | $29 B | 2024 | $997 B | 2024 | | Armed forces | 72,000 | 2020 | 1.4 m | 2020 | Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/CAN.md and https://terralore.co/country/USA.md. ## Entangled histories (1 event) Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources. - 1763: **Treaty of Paris cedes New France to Britain** — The Treaty of Paris ended the Seven Years' War, with France ceding its North American mainland territories to Britain and bringing the French Catholic population of Canada under British rule. (from the Canada chronicle; sources: British North America Act; Quebec Act, 1774) ## Sources - World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org - Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators - Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho - Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org - R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org - ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics - Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center - Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/CAN/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/USA/chronicle.md. Citation template: Terralore, "Canada and United States compared", terralore.co/compare/can-vs-usa, retrieved .