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Background:
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The site of advanced Amerindian civilizations, Mexico came
under Spanish rule for three centuries before achieving
independence early in the 19th century. A devaluation of the
peso in late 1994 threw Mexico into economic turmoil,
triggering the worst recession in over half a century. The
nation continues to make an impressive recovery. Ongoing
economic and social concerns include low real wages,
underemployment for a large segment of the population,
inequitable income distribution, and few advancement
opportunities for the largely Amerindian population in the
impoverished southern states. Elections held in July 2000
marked the first time since the 1910 Mexican Revolution that
the opposition defeated the party in government, the
Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Vicente FOX of the
National Action Party (PAN) was sworn in on 1 December 2000 as
the first chief executive elected in free and fair elections.
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Location:
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Middle America,
bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between
Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean,
between Guatemala and the US |
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Map references:
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North
America |
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Area:
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total:
1,972,550 sq km
land: 1,923,040 sq km
water: 49,510 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly less
than three times the size of Texas |
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Land boundaries:
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total:
4,353 km
border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US
3,141 km |
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Coastline:
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9,330 km |
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Climate:
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varies from
tropical to desert |
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Terrain:
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high, rugged
mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point:
Laguna Salada -10 m
highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m |
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Natural resources:
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petroleum,
silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber |
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Land use:
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arable land:
13.2%
permanent crops: 1.1%
other: 85.7% (1998 est.) |
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Irrigated land:
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65,000 sq km
(1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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tsunamis along
the Pacific coast, volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in
the center and south, and hurricanes on the Pacific, Gulf of
Mexico, and Caribbean coasts |
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Environment - current issues:
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scarcity of
hazardous waste disposal facilities; rural to urban migration;
natural fresh water resources scarce and polluted in north,
inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast;
raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in urban
areas; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification;
deteriorating agricultural lands; serious air and water
pollution in the national capital and urban centers along
US-Mexico border; land subsidence in Valley of Mexico caused
by groundwater depletion
note: the government considers the lack of clean water
and deforestation national security issues |
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of
the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected
agreements |
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Geography - note:
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strategic
location on southern border of US; corn (maize), one of the
world's major grain crops, is thought to have originated in
Mexico |
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Population:
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104,959,594 (July
2004 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years:
31.6% (male 16,913,290; female 16,228,552)
15-64 years: 62.9% (male 31,975,391; female 34,090,440)
65 years and over: 5.5% (male 2,618,713; female
3,133,208) (2004 est.) |
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Median age:
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total:
24.6 years
male: 23.7 years
female: 25.5 years (2004 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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1.18% (2004 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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21.44
births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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Death rate:
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4.73 deaths/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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-4.87 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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total:
21.69 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 19.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 23.63 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total
population: 74.94 years
male: 72.18 years
female: 77.83 years (2004 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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0.3% (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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150,000 (2001
est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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4,200 (2001 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun:
Mexican(s)
adjective: Mexican |
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Ethnic groups:
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mestizo
(Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly
Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1% |
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Religions:
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nominally
Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%, other 5% |
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Languages:
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Spanish, various
Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages |
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Literacy:
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definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.2%
male: 94%
female: 90.5% (2003 est.) |
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Country name:
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conventional
long form: United Mexican States
conventional short form: Mexico
local short form: Mexico
local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos |
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Government type:
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federal republic |
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Capital:
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Mexico (Distrito
Federal) |
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Administrative divisions:
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31 states (estados,
singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal);
Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche,
Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Colima, Distrito
Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco,
Mexico, Michoacan de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon,
Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro de Arteaga, Quintana Roo, San Luis
Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala,
Veracruz-Llave, Yucatan, Zacatecas |
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Independence:
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16 September 1810
(from Spain) |
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National holiday:
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Independence Day,
16 September (1810) |
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Constitution:
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5 February 1917 |
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Legal system:
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mixture of US
constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of
legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with
reservations |
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Executive branch:
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chief of
state: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December
2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and
head of government
election results: Vicente FOX Quesada elected
president; percent of vote - Vicente FOX Quesada (PAN) 42.52%,
Francisco LABASTIDA Ochoa (PRI) 36.1%, Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS
Solorzano (PRD) 16.64%, other 4.74%
elections: president elected by popular vote for a
six-year term; election last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held
NA July 2006)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note -
appointment of attorney general requires consent of the Senate
head of government: President Vicente FOX Quesada
(since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the
chief of state and head of government |
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Legislative branch:
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bicameral
National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the
Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; 96 are elected by
popular vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 are allocated on
the basis of each party's popular vote) and the Federal
Chamber of Deputies or Camara Federal de Diputados (500 seats;
300 members are directly elected by popular vote to serve
three-year terms; remaining 200 members are allocated on the
basis of each party's popular vote, also for three-year terms)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party -
NA%; seats by party - PRI 60, PAN 46, PRD 16, PVEM 5,
unassigned 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party -
NA%; seats by party - PRI 222, PAN 151, PRD 95, PVEM 17, PT 6,
CD 5, unassigned 4; note - special elections were held in
December 2003; the PRI and the PRD each won one seat and were
each assigned one additional proportional representation seat
elections: Senate - last held 2 July 2000 for all of
the seats (next to be held NA 2006); Chamber of Deputies -
last held 6 July 2003 (next to be held NA 2006) |
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Judicial branch:
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Supreme Court of
Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are appointed by
the president with consent of the Senate) |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Convergence for
Democracy or CD [Dante DELGADO Ranauro]; Institutional
Revolutionary Party or PRI [Roberto MADRAZO Pintado]; Mexican
Green Ecological Party or PVEM [Jorge Emilio GONZALEZ
Martinez]; National Action Party or PAN [Luis Felipe BRAVO
Mena]; Party of the Democratic Revolution or PRD [Leonel GODOY];
Workers Party or PT [Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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Confederation of
Employers of the Mexican Republic or COPARMEX; Confederation
of Industrial Chambers or CONCAMIN; Confederation of Mexican
Workers or CTM; Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce
or CONCANACO; Coordinator for Foreign Trade Business
Organizations or COECE; Federation of Unions Providing Goods
and Services or FESEBES; National Chamber of Transformation
Industries or CANACINTRA; National Peasant Confederation or
CNC; National Union of Workers or UNT; Regional Confederation
of Mexican Workers or CROM; Revolutionary Confederation of
Workers and Peasants or CROC; Roman Catholic Church |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of
mission: Ambassador-designate Carlos Alberto de ICAZA
Gonzalez
FAX: [1] (202) 728-1698
consulate(s): Albuquerque, Brownsville (Texas),
Calexico (California), Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Douglas
(Arizona), Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California),
Indianapolis (Indiana), Kansas City (Missouri), Las Vegas,
McAllen (Texas), Omaha, Orlando, Oxnard (California),
Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), Presidio (Texas), Raleigh,
Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, Santa Ana (California),
Seattle, Tucson, Yuma (Arizona)
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago,
Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Houston, Laredo (Texas), Los Angeles,
Miami, New Orleans, New York, Nogales (Arizona), Phoenix,
Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose,
San Juan (Puerto Rico)
chancery: 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC
20006
telephone: [1] (202) 728-1600 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of
mission: Ambassador Antonio O. GARZA
embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc,
06500 Mexico, Distrito Federal
mailing address: P. O. Box 9000, Brownsville, TX
78520-0900
telephone: [52] (55) 5080-2000
FAX: [52] (55) 5080-2005, 5080-2834
consulate(s) general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara,
Monterrey, Tijuana
consulate(s): Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nuevo
Laredo, Nogales |
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Economy - overview:
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Mexico has a free
market economy with a mixture of modern and outmoded industry
and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector.
Recent administrations have expanded competition in seaports,
railroads, telecommunications, electricity generation, natural
gas distribution, and airports. Per capita income is
one-fourth that of the US; income distribution remains highly
unequal. Trade with the US and Canada has tripled since the
implementation of NAFTA in 1994. Real GDP growth was a weak
-0.3% in 2001, 0.9% in 2002, and 1.2% in 2003, with the US
slowdown the principal cause. Mexico implemented free trade
agreements with Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and the
European Free Trade Area in 2001, putting more than 90% of
trade under free trade agreements. The government is cognizant
of the need to upgrade infrastructure, modernize the tax
system and labor laws, and provide incentives to invest in the
energy sector, but progress is slow. |
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GDP:
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purchasing power
parity - $942.2 billion (2003 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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1.2% (2003 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power
parity - $9,000 (2003 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture:
4%
industry: 26.3%
services: 69.7% (2003 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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40% (2003 est.) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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4% (2003 est.) |
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Labor force:
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41.5 million
(2003) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture 18%,
industry 24%, services 58% (2003) |
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Unemployment rate:
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3.3% plus
underemployment of perhaps 25% (2003) |
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Budget:
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revenues:
$174 billion
expenditures: $176 billion, including capital
expenditures of $NA (2004 est.) |
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Industries:
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food and
beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum,
mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables,
tourism |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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2.5% (2003 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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198.6 billion kWh
(2001) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel:
78.7%
hydro: 14.2%
other: 2.9% (2001)
nuclear: 4.2% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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186.7 billion kWh
(2001) |
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Electricity - exports:
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77 million kWh
(2001) |
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Electricity - imports:
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2.068 billion kWh
(2001) |
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Oil - production:
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3.59 million
bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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1.507 million
bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - exports:
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1.881 million
bbl/day (2001) |
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Oil - imports:
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374,700 bbl/day
(2001) |
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Oil - proved reserves:
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15.11 billion bbl
(1 January 2003) |
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Natural gas - production:
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36.87 billion cu
m (2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - consumption:
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38.84 billion cu
m (2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - exports:
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254 million cu m
(2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - imports:
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2.967 billion cu
m (2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - proved reserves:
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969.2 billion cu
m (1 January 2003) |
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Agriculture - products:
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corn, wheat,
soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef,
poultry, dairy products; wood products |
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Exports:
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$164.8 billion
f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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manufactured
goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables,
coffee, cotton |
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Exports - partners:
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US 89%, Canada
1.7%, Spain 0.9% (2002) |
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Imports:
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$168.9 billion
f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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metalworking
machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery,
electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for
motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts |
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Imports - partners:
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US 63.2%, Japan
5.5%, China 3.7% (2002) |
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Debt - external:
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$159.3 billion
(2003 est.) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$1.166 billion
(1995) |
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Currency:
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Mexican peso (MXN) |
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Currency code:
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MXN |
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Exchange rates:
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Mexican pesos per
US dollar - 10.79 (2003), 9.66 (2002), 9.34 (2001), 9.46
(2000), 9.56 (1999) |
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Fiscal year:
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calendar year |
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Telephones - main lines in use:
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15,958,700 (2003) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
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28.125 million
(2003) |
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Telephone system:
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general
assessment: low telephone density with about 15.2 main
lines per 100 persons; privatized in December 1990; the
opening to competition in January 1997 improved prospects for
development, but Telemex remains dominant
domestic: adequate telephone service for business and
government, but the population is poorly served; mobile
subscribers far outnumber fixed-line subscribers; domestic
satellite system with 120 earth stations; extensive microwave
radio relay network; considerable use of fiber-optic cable and
coaxial cable
international: country code - 52; satellite earth
stations - 32 Intelsat, 2 Solidaridad (giving Mexico improved
access to South America, Central America, and much of the US
as well as enhancing domestic communications), numerous
Inmarsat mobile earth stations; linked to Central American
Microwave System of trunk connections; high capacity
Columbus-2 fiber-optic submarine cable with access to the US,
Virgin Islands, Canary Islands, Morocco, Spain, and Italy
(1997) |
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Radio broadcast stations:
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AM 850, FM 545,
shortwave 15 (2003) |
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Television broadcast stations:
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236 (plus
repeaters) (1997) |
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Internet country code:
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.mx |
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Internet hosts:
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1,107,795 (2002) |
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Internet users:
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10.033 million
(2002) |
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Railways:
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total:
19,510 km
standard gauge: 19,510 km 1.435-m gauge (2002) |
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Highways:
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total:
329,532 km
paved: 108,087 km (including 6,429 km of expressways)
unpaved: 221,445 km (1999 est.) |
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Waterways:
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2,900 km
note: navigable rivers and coastal canals |
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Pipelines:
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crude oil 28,200
km; petroleum products 10,150 km; natural gas 13,254 km;
petrochemical 1,400 km |
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Ports and harbors:
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Acapulco,
Altamira, Bahias de Huatulco, Cabo San Lucas, Coatzacoalcos,
Dos Bocas, Ensenada, Guaymas, Lazaro Cardenas, Manzanillo,
Mazatlan, Puerto Progreso, Puerto Madero, Puerto Vallarta,
Salina Cruz, Tampico, Topolobampo, Tuxpan, Veracruz (2003) |
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Merchant marine:
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total: 50
ships (1,000 GRT or over) 649,389 GRT/942,766 DWT
by type: bulk 1, cargo 3, chemical tanker 3,
combination ore/oil 1, liquefied gas 5, petroleum tanker 25,
roll on/roll off 9, short-sea/passenger 3
foreign-owned: Denmark 1, Germany 1, Greece 1, Marshall
Islands 1, Netherlands 2
registered in other countries: 13 (2003 est.) |
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Airports:
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1,827 (2003 est.) |
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Airports - with paved runways:
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total: 231
over 3,047 m: 12
2,438 to 3,047 m: 28
914 to 1,523 m: 80
under 914 m: 27 (2003 est.)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 84 |
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Airports - with unpaved runways:
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total:
1,596
under 914 m: 1,071 (2003 est.)
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 454
1,524 to 2,437 m: 69 |
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Heliports:
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2 (2003 est.) |
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Military branches:
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National Defense
Secretariat (Sedena) (including Army and Air Force), Navy
Secretariat (including Naval Air and Marines) |
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Military manpower - military age:
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18 years of age
(no conscription; all-volunteer force)
note: starting in 2000, females were allowed to
volunteer for military service (2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - availability:
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males age
15-49: 27,374,153 (2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service:
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males age
15-49: 19,755,614 (2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
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males:
1,055,368 (2004 est.) |
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Military expenditures - dollar figure:
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$5,168.3 million
(2003) |
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Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
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0.9% (2003) |
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Disputes - international:
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prolonged
drought, population growth, and outmoded practices and
infrastructure in the border region have strained
water-sharing arrangements with the US; nationals from Central
America slip into Mexico seeking work or transit into the US;
undocumented Mexican nationals continue to enter the United
States |
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Illicit drugs:
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illicit
cultivation of opium poppy (cultivation in 2001 - 4,400
hectares; potential heroin production - 7 metric tons) and of
cannabis (in 2001 - 4,100 hectares); government eradication
efforts have been key in keeping illicit crop levels low;
major supplier of heroin and largest foreign supplier of
marijuana and methamphetamine to the US market; continues as
the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine from
South America, accounting for about 70 percent of estimated
annual cocaine movement to the US; major drug syndicates
control majority of drug trafficking throughout the country;
producer and distributor of ecstasy; significant
money-laundering center |
This page was last updated on 11 May, 2004
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