Canada Environment - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Environment - current issues

metal smelting, coal-burning utilities, and vehicle emissions impacting agricultural and forest productivity; air pollution and resulting acid rain severely affecting lakes and damaging forests; ocean waters becoming contaminated due to agricultural, industrial, mining, and forestry activities

Environment - international agreements

party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Marine Life Conservation

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 6.48 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 544.89 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 101.82 megatons (2020 est.)

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 4.888 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

industrial: 28.07 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

agricultural: 2.639 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Total renewable water resources

2.902 trillion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Climate

varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north

Land use

agricultural land: 6.8% (2018 est.)

arable land: 4.7% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.5% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 1.6% (2018 est.)

forest: 34.1% (2018 est.)

other: 59.1% (2018 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

forest revenues: 0.08% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

coal revenues: 0.08% of GDP (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 81.7% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 0.95% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 25,103,034 tons (2014 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually: 5,168,715 tons (2008 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 20.6% (2008 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Canada on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Canada 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Canada 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.