The Canadian World Almanac and Book of Facts 1991

P.J. Hammel is a professor of Education at the University of
Saskatchewan.

This book is identical to the World Almanac and Book of Facts in those
sections that deal with the world as a whole. Although the following
sections appear in different positions, they are identical in content
and format: “Historical Anniversaries,” “Historical Figures,”
“News Events of the Year,” (a chronology), “World Facts,” and
“History of the World.” And the “Nations of the World” sections
in the two books are virtually identical, except that the Canadian
edition includes the United States, while the World edition includes
Canada. The 1991 calendar and the Metric Conversion Chart not only are
identical but also appear in the same location.

The Canadian World Almanac is also somewhat similar to the World
edition in its emphasis on national information, with the Canadian
edition, not surprisingly, emphasizing Canadian information and
statistics. For example, the “Provinces of Canada” section in the
Canadian edition is complemented by the “States of the Union”
section in the World edition as is the “Canadian Cities” section in
the former by a “Cities of the U.S.” section in the latter. Where
the Canadian volume presents an entire section on Canada (Constitution,
government, elections, prime ministers, geography, population, etc.)
early in the work, similar information regarding the United States is
scattered throughout the World edition.

The Canadian World Almanac also contains unique sections covering such
topics as Canadian social trends, Canada’s official languages, women
in Canada, and Canada’s economy, as well as a section on crime and
justice, and one on social security that provide only Canadian data. It
also includes a separate section of U.S. statistics. The “Sports”
section is, as usual, both similar to and different from its World
Almanac counterpart. Information about U.S. professional and some world
sports is identical. Although both editions include a world “Notable
Sports Personalities” section, the Canadian edition precedes it with a
separate “Notable Canadian Sports Personalities” section.
Information about the Canadian Football League and about Canada’s
Triple Crown (under Horse Racing) along with much of the hockey
information is unique to the Canadian version.