United States vs Canada
The United States and Canada share the longest international border in the world — about 8,900 km including Alaska — and it has been undefended and largely unfortified for over two centuries.
| 🇺🇸 United States | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
|---|---|---|
| Capital | Washington, D.C. | Ottawa |
| Continent | North America | North America |
| Population | 339,900,000 | 40,100,000 |
| Area | 9,833,517 km² | 9,984,670 km² |
| Currency | United States Dollar | Canadian Dollar |
| Main language | English | English |
United States's population is roughly 8× Canada's.
Canada is the larger country by land area, in fact the second largest in the world, but the US has roughly nine times its population, almost all of it concentrated within a few hundred kilometres of the shared border. That geography shapes everything from trade (each is the other's largest trading partner for long stretches) to television signals and sports leagues that routinely cross the line.
The two countries diverged sharply in how they handled independence from Britain — one by revolution, the other by a slow, negotiated transfer of powers completed only in 1982 — and that history still shows up in small constitutional differences, like Canada keeping the British monarch as head of state.