1. North America

2. THE PEOPLE 69% - married 41% - children 44% one child 39% two children
50% of households are married couples with 22% having children under 18
Smaller households than in the past
2008 = 61% had 1 or 2 children
1970 = 46% had 1 or 2 children
Canada family characteristics similar
Canada & U.S. BOTH have aging populations
69% - married
41% - children
44% one child
39% two children
17% three or more children

3. the united states Education & Healthcare
Network of private & public schools
Attending school req’d until age 16
USA has 99% literacy rate
Healthcare is available to many, but some are unable to purchase health insurance
The government is in the process for providing healthcare for all citizens

4. Education & Healthcare of Canada
99% literacy rate
Network of public & private schools, each province is responsible for organizing and administering public education
Required for students 6 to 16
Gov’t pays for healthcare for all citizens
Each province finances & manages its own health care systems
High life expectancies = increased healthcare costs = limited benefits or raising taxes

5. Economic activities
Market Economies – allows people to own, operate, and profit from their own businesses
Hire employees & pay them for their work
Laws in place to protect private property rights, employment opportunities, and the health and safety of workers
Both countries developed with mostly industrial economies
Postindustrial Economies – place less emphasis on heavy industry and traditional manufacturing and more emphasis on service and high-tech business

10. POSTINDUSTRIAL ECONOMIES: HIGH TECH INDUSTRIES
Less dependent on location
Located in areas similar to that of a person’s choice where to live: weather, proximity to work, access to recreational facilities
Example: Silicon Valley – the 3rd largest high tech center after New York & Washington, D.C.
Located near a cosmopolitan area, year round pleasant weather and offices near housing

11. Post industrial economies
77% of the region’s workers are employed in service jobs such as government, education, healthcare & banking
Many of these service jobs located in the central business district of urban areas
Central business district - a traditional business and commercial center referred to as downtown

12. Economic activities: manufacturing
20% of both US & Canadian economies
Companies began moving from the Manufacturing Belt south to the Sunbelt
Rust Belt, area left behind as new industries moved south to the Sunbelt. Many old, unused factories being converted for new industries, a process called retooling

13. Economic activities: manufacturing examples
Sunbelt – transportation equipment & machinery
California/Washington – aircraft and aerospace equipment
Midwest – automobiles
California/Northeast – food processing
Canada/Quebec – wood base product (timber resources)

15. Economic activity: agriculture
Commercial agriculture – producing agricultural commodities
Most farms are still owned by families, rather than large corporations, many have formed cooperative operations
Approx. 920 million acres in US used for agriculture
Approx. 167 million acres in Canada used for agriculture
Size of farms has decreased in U.S. due to:
High cost of farming
Unpredictable consumer demand
Risk of natural disaster
Time/hard work to run a farm

16. Key agriculture products
Cattle ranches – Western, Southern, Midwestern, North-Central United States/ Prairie Provinces, Quebec, and Ontario
Wheat Belt – Great Plains United States/Prairie Provinces of Canada
Corn – Corn Belt stretches from Ohio to Nebraska/Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba
Agriculture Technology:
Dairy farming in the United States can occur in every American state & many Canadian provinces as a result of:
Improved feed sources & automation

18. Trade & iNTERDEPENDENCE
Global Economy – merging of economies in which countries are interconnected and become dependent on one another for goods and services
Exports & Imports
U.S. spends more on imports than it earns from exports = TRADE DEFICIT
Large consumer population & growing industries that are costly
High tariffs on U.S. imports which increases price of US products & decreases sales abroad
Canada exports more than it spends on imports = TRADE SURPLUS
NAFTA