Census Snapshot:
Canada, Mexico and the U.S.

Research by Julia McCue

Copyright © 2001 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

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North America is the fourth most-populous continent in the world. Of the three countries that comprise North America, the United States has by far the largest population and is the third most-populous country in the world. Mexico and Canada rank 11th and 34th in national populations.

The distribution of ages in the United States and Canada are very similar. Canada has a lower birth rate and higher life expectancy than the U. S. but the populations of both countries bulge out with the largest age groups between 30 and 50.

Like Canada and the U. S. as a whole, Maine's population is largest among the middle aged. Maine's birth rate in 1999 was the lowest in the country with 10.9 births per 1,000 population.

A graph of Mexico's age ranges makes an almost perfect pyramid with by far the largest age group being children under the age of 10. Although Mexico's life expectancy is the shortest on the continent and it has the highest rate of infant deaths, its birth rate is high enough to give it the greatest rate of annual growth of the three countries.

	Canada	Mexico	United States
Population	31,278,097	100,349,766	100,349,766
Life expectancy	79.4	71.5	77.1
Birth rate	11	23	14
Infant deaths per 1000 live births	5	26	7
Annual % growth	1.0	1.5	0.9

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