Population — Wages — Prices — Cost of Living — Tax Burden — House Prices
Canada and Australia are the two largest countries that select potential skilled immigrants using a points system.
Both countries have an enviable reputation as places where people enjoy a high quality of life and a high standard of living.
Both also withstood the financial turmoil of the last few years better than most.
Each has large reserves of minerals and, in Canada’s case oil. As worldwide demand for commodities has risen, so have the economic prospects of Australia and Canada.
We put these countries head-to-head, to see how they measure up on a number of measures including wages, house prices, taxes, unemployment, net inward migration rate, and climate.
Canada vs Australia
| Canada | Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 9.98 million sq km | 7.69 million sq km |
| Estimated Population 2014 | 35.4 million | 23.6 million |
| Largest City | Toronto (pop. 2.7 million) | Sydney (pop. 4.5 million) |
| Net migration rate in 2014 | 5.66 arrivals per 1,000 population | 5.74 arrivals per 1,000 population |
| Proportion of population born overseas | 21 percent | 24 percent |
| Ethnic Groups | European 66%, Amerindian 2%, other 6%, mixed background 26% |
White 92%, Asian 7%, Aboriginal, other 1% |
| GDP Per Person (Purchasing Power Parity) 2013 |
US$43,100 | US$43,000 |
| Average Weekly Earnings 2014 (All ages of workers, full-time and part-time, including overtime) | Can$937 per week | Aus$1114 per week |
| Average Weekly Earnings 2014 converted to US$ |
US$858 per week | US$1037 per week |
| Minimum Wage (per hour) 2014 | Varies from Can$9.95 per hour in Alberta to Can$11 per hour in Ontario and Nunavut | Federal Minimum Aus$16.87 |
| Unemployment Rate (Mid 2014) |
7.1% | 6.0% |
| Cost of Living Ranking (Mercer cost of living survey 2014) The lower the ranking, the higher the cost of living. |
Vancouver 96th; Toronto 101st; Montreal 123rd; Calgary 125th | Sydney 26th; Melbourne 33rd; Perth 37th; Brisbane 52nd |
| Homicide Rate 2012 | 1.56 per 100,000 people | 1.1 per 100,000 people |
| Tax Freedom Day † 2014 | 9 June | 10 April |
| Average Home Price (Mid 2014) | Can$413,000 | Aus$546,000 |
| Average Home Price converted to US$ (Mid 2014) |
$378,000 | $508,000 |
| Life expectancy at birth (males, 2014 est.) |
79.07 years | 79.60 years |
| Life expectancy at birth (females, 2014 est.) |
84.42 years | 84.64 years |
| Typical Climates | Temperate, semi-continental, continental, prairie, polar | Temperate, mediterranean, sub-tropical, tropical, desert |
|
† Tax freedom day is the day each year when the average income earner has paid all taxes to government and gets to keep all their income. The earlier the date, the lower the tax burden on the average citizen.
References