ate: varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in
north

Terrain: mostly plains with mountains in west and lowlands in
southeast
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Logan 5,950 m

Natural resources: nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum,
potash, silver, fish, timber, wildlife, coal, petroleum, natural gas

Land use:
arable land: 9%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 3%
forest and woodland: 45%
other: 43%

Irrigated land: 8,400 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
current issues: air pollution and resulting acid rain severely
affecting lakes and damaging forests; metal smelting, coal-burning
utilities, and vehicle emissions impacting on agricultural and
forest productivity; ocean waters becoming contaminated due to
agricultural, industrial, mining, and forestry activities
natural hazards: continuous permafrost in north is a serious
obstacle to development; cyclonic storms form east of the Rocky
Mountains, a result of the mixing of air masses from the Arctic,
Pacific, and North American interior, and produce most of the
country's rain and snow
international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic
Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine
Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified -
Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea, Tropical Timber 94

Geographic note: second-largest country in world (after Russia);
strategic location between Russia and US via north polar route;
nearly 90% of the population is concentrated within 161 km of the
US/Canada border

People
------

Population: 28,820,671 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 21% (male 3,032,458; female 2,889,603)
15-64 years: 67% (male 9,663,955; female 9,660,648)
65 years and over: 12% (male 1,501,542; female 2,072,465) (July 1996
est.)

Population growth rate: 1.06% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 13.33 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 7.17 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 4.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: