I believe we should look at facts and figures while comparing Canada and India.

India:

Population: 1,049,700,118 (July 2003 est.)
Median age: total: 24.1 years
Net migration rate: -0.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 63.62 years
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write -total population: 59.5%;male: 70.2%;female: 48.3% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,540 (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate: 8.8% (2002)
Exports: $44.5 billion f.o.b. (2001)
Imports: $53.8 billion f.o.b. (2001)
Debt - external: $100.6 billion (2001 est.)


Canada:

Population: 32,207,113 (July 2003 est.)
Median age: total: 37.8 years
Net migration rate: 6.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 79.83 years
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write -`total population: 97% (1986 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $29,400 (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate: 7.6% (2002 est.)
Exports: $260.5 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Imports: $229 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Debt - external $1.9 billion (2000)





My Analysis:
India has relatively younger population (compared to Canada) which means more people in the workforce. Net migration rate is negative which indicates due to natural market forces more people leave india than those who come to India.

Please take note of the very high net positive migration in case of Canada ( 6.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population ). This is very high when compared to other western countries which take immigrants:
USA (Net migration rate: 3.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population )
Australia (Net migration rate: 4.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population)
UK(Net migration rate: 2.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population)
New Zealand Net migration rate: 4.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population)

It is basically this high rate of immigration coupled with Canadian immigration dept. policies which are very slow to adapt to changes in market demand for people of various skills that is causing distress to people who immigrate to Canada.

However the silver lining I see is, market forces will eventually push more industries to come to Canada as labor is cheaper and abundant when compared to south of the border.

Take a look at the GDP per person. Again while India's overall GDP is higher than that of canada, per capita GDP way below that of Canada.

Also important is the Export - Import balance and External Debt:
Canada fares better in both the cases.


My conclusion, Canada is still a better place for the next few years. However, your decision to move to canada should be based on other facts which may be more important such as - How much your occupation is in demand, whether your degree is recognized in Canada (most Indian engineering degrees are not) etc.

In short, if you are a Electrician - please move to Canada . If you are an electrical engineer, think twice before giving up your job in India

Canada is the only G-7 country that had exported more than it has imported in the last 10 years thanks to liberal govt. policies
In India, no matter who is in govt. you can never expect that. I became a fan of liberals ever since I came to know about their fiscal policies

India is the economic super power in the making. We are where China was probably a decade ago. Today China is an important force in Global economy. With the WTO implimetation India export will automatically grow more than that of China (Remember China had most favored nation status from USA for almost a decade that had enabled it to export a lot more than india, while India had constraints with the quota system for garment exports). From 2005 when the quota system for Garment exports is removed due to WTO India is all set to gain more than China.

In the next one or two decades, the combined purchasing power of Indian consumers will be higher than that of countries like Canada (e.g. more cars will be sold in India than in canada etc.) . This would mean multinational companies will setup their bases in india and will be more interested indoimng business in india than that of Canada.

Already the combined purchasing power of Indians is significantly more than that of USA (with a population 10 times that of Canada) in items like tooth pastes, soaps etc.

My 2 cents.

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That is one of the best comparisons I have ever seen

Can I ask you to list those number details for US although I know it is out of context but just out of curiousity

Thanks maple_asian

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We will find a way or we will make one

Hi Smiley

The source of these statistics are from CIA World facts book published annually and has a more comprehensive list of statistics.
Website:
http://www.bartleby.com/151/

I happened to come across this website couple of months ago when I wanted to see how India is faring when compared to rest of the world. Despite being in the news with high economic growth rate when compared to G-7 and other western countries, India continues to lag behind in a lot of things. It would take us couple of decades to close the gap in properity with other countries.


Here are the statistics for the US.

US

Population: 290,342,554 (July 2003 est.)
Median age: total: 35.8 years (2002)
Net migration rate: 3.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.14 years
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write - 97% (1979 est.)


GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity - $37,600 (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate: 5.8% (2002)
Exports: $687 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Imports: $1.165 trillion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Debt—external: $862 billion (1995 est.)


Canada:

Population: 32,207,113 (July 2003 est.)
Median age: total: 37.8 years
Net migration rate: 6.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 79.83 years
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write -`total population: 97% (1986 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $29,400 (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate: 7.6% (2002 est.)
Exports: $260.5 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Imports: $229 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Debt - external: $365.0 (2002 est.)

NOTE: I think Canada's external debt is not properly stated in CIA fact book. I had found the correct figure (I hope) in US govt. website which again is based on Canadian govt. statistics (Website: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/8197.pdf)


Canadian govt. had one of the highest debts during the last decade (When tories were in power). After liberals took over they had steadily reduced the external debt to a managable status. Recently Canada got a 'AAA' rating from international financial institutions because of the reducing external debt.

A good indicator of Canada's economic status is available at the following document (Annual Financial Report) published by Canadian govt.
http://www.fin.gc.ca/afr/2003/afr03_e.pdf


But what concerns me more is Bush's fiscal policy South of the border which is leading to run-away defecit in US trade with rest of the world especially China.

One may ask why we should worry. Well the answer is, if you remove the surplus generated by Canada's trade with USA, Canada actually imports more from rest of the world than it exports. A recession in US economy will automatically trigger a recession in Canadian economy although may not be to the same extent.

And people dealing with Toronto stock market would have already noticed that when US economy coughs, Toronto Stock Exchange gets fever.

This means most of the Canadians owe the bread and butter in their plates c to the trade-surplus with the U.S. (And I am sick of the blind U.S. bashing by some Canadian Politicians who don't seem to know the facts). We need USA more than they need us. Besides, we should be happy that we don't have a hostile neighbour in the south.



maple_asian

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Quote:

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Orginally posted by maple_asian

We need USA more than they need us. Besides, we should be happy that we don't have a hostile neighbour in the south.



maple_asian

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One more way of comparing Canada and India is by using the United Nations Human development Index (HDI). Canada Ranks 4th on HDI Ranking while India ranks 127th.

An excerpt from a good article I found on the net on HDI:
-----------------
Countries are often labeled "rich" or "poor." But how can one objectively measure a country's well-being beyond the size of its economy? Enter the Human Development Index, one of the broadest measures of how any country — and its citizens — are doing. Our Globalist Chart and analysis highlight the key findings from the UN's 2004 Human Development Index.


The full article can be found at:
http://www.theglobalist.com/DBWeb/StoryId.aspx?StoryId=4135
-----------------

The original report is available at:
http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2004/pdf/presskit/HDR04_PKE_HDI.pdf

Now before you start making a decision that India is a lot under developed, a word of caution:
The HDI is based on a lot factors which may not be of much importance to an individual. For example, you may like to work in Saudi Arabia if you are paid twice your salary in Canada. Now HDI is based on several factors like political freedom etc. (Hence Saudi Arabia would lose its overall ranking) This(political freedom) may not be important to you if you think money is more important. Similarly having drinking water supplied to kitchen 24 hours may not be a necessity for many people in India. But in Canada it is a necessity.

Ultimately it is your life style and your priorities that would decide which country is better for you


Regards,
maple_asian

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"This means most of the Canadians owe the bread and butter in their plates c to the trade-surplus with the U.S. (And I am sick of the blind U.S. bashing by some Canadian Politicians who don't seem to know the facts). We need USA more than they need us. Besides, we should be happy that we don't have a hostile neighbour in the south"


Thanks Maple_asian. That was a Great post. I could't agree with you more . I hope canadian politicians were so "economics" educated to undertsand this and not call America "bastards" and "Morons" when their own subsistence and existence depends on them. And also as we all know More than canada's 80% population is within 200 miles of US border and we all know why ?

Thanks again

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We will find a way or we will make one

This is in response to Kap's earlier post about people on this board discouraging other people from coming to Canada.

Look, people are trying to give people a true picture of the job situation etc. etc. in Canada. If you or other people choose to be cynical about the advice provided here they don't have to take it.

You have said that now people are 'scared' and 'family' people are coming here alone leaving families behind to 'check out the situation.

I think that is a smart move. I think anybody who thinks that if they get out of India and move to some other place life will get better is dumb.