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Infant Mortality Rate
# of infant deaths for every 1,000 live births
Western Europe
Western & Central Africa
World Average
Life Expectancy
Average length (in years) a person lives
Western Europe
Western & Central Africa
World Average
Literacy Rate
Age 15 and older can read and write
Western Europe
Western & Central Africa
World Average
GDP Per Capita
The value of all goods and services produced within a country in a given year,
divided by total population
Western Europe
Western & Central Africa
World Average
Arable Farmland
Land that can be used for growing crops (in hectares)1 hectare=2.4 acres
Germany
Burkina Faso
World Total
Intentional Homicide Rate
The number of intentional deaths per 100,000 people in a given area
Western Europe
Southern Africa
World Average
Are We Lucky?
• The United States and Canada are
unique in the world “geographically
speaking”.
Are We Lucky?
• Both are physically large, but not
overpopulated.
• Both have a high standard of living.
Government and Economics
• Both democratic.
• People have rights and a say in the
government system
– U.S. = republic
– Canada =
• Both are on the free enterprise side of
the spectrum.
Political Stability
• Both the U.S. and Canada have a
history of peaceful coexistence.
• (though we could definitely take them)
• The longest unguarded border in
the world is the U.S. / Canada
border.
• Why don’t we have an immigration
issue with Canada?
So, are we lucky, or did we earn
this?
Geographic Advantages
• A variety of latitudes
provides several
climatic regions and
growing climates.
Geographic Advantages
• Good water
resources.
– Great Lakes
– St. Lawrence Seaway
– Mississippi and
Colorado River
systems
– Etc.
– isolated
Geographic Advantages
• Productive soils.
– Especially in the Great
Plains region.
• Top soil – what is
needed to grow crops is
deep in most areas.
• Glaciation – pushed
most of Eastern
Canadian top soil down
into the U.S.
Geographic Advantages
• Abundant mineral
resources.
– Compared to other
world regions.
Technology and Infrastructure
• To overcome large
distances
• Canada and the U.S.
built trans-continental
railroads in the 1800s.
• We later built highways.
We benefit one another
• Who do you think
the U.S. exports the
most goods to?
• Answer: Canada
• Canada ranks 2nd to
Japan in U.S.
imports.
We benefit one another
• Culture
• U.S. culture
influences Canada
and vice-versa.
• Food, clothing,
music, film, etc.
Canadian ‘imports’ to the US
Are We Lucky?