Canada is the second largest country in the world by area, and is located at the northernmost tip of North America. Canada is officially bilingual (English and French) at the federal level. Due to its large-scale reception of immigrants from many countries, Canada is one of the most ethnically diverse and culturally pluralistic countries in the world, with a population of approximately 35 million as of December 2012.

Canada occupies much of the northern part of North America, having land borders with the United States to the south and the U.S. state of Alaska to the northwest. Canada stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and the Arctic Ocean in the north. Greenland belongs to the Kingdom of Denmark to the northeast, Saint Pierre and Miquelon of France are to the south of the Canadian island of Newfoundland. By total area, Canada is the second largest country in the world, after Russia.