Geography
The province's mainland is a peninsula surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, including numerous bays and estuaries. Cape Breton Island, a large island to the northeast of the Nova Scotian mainland, is also part of the province, as is Sable Island, a small island notorious for its shipwrecks, approximately 175 km (95 nm) from the province's southern coast. Nova Scotia is Canada's second smallest province in area (after Prince Edward Island).

Population
Nova Scotia is the seventh most populated province in Canada with an estimated 936,988 residents as of January 1, 2006. It accounts for 3% of the population of Canada.  The population density is approximately 17.2 persons/km². Roughly 60% of the population live in rural parts of the province.

Employment
As of September 2006, Nova Scotia unemployment has dipped below the national average for the first time in recent history to 6.9 per cent.

Gross Domestic Product
Nova Scotia GDP is presently approximately $33 billion (Can) annually.

Other facts
Nova Scotia is in the Atlantic Standard Time zone.
The schooner Bluenose, which appears on the back of the Canadian ten-cent piece (dime) and current Nova Scotia licence plate was built in Lunenburg, a town on the South Shore.
500-1000 Nova Scotians today are fluent in Scottish Gaelic. Nearly all live in Antigonish County or on Cape Breton Island.