Map of Mexico | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide19891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023 | More stats

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Background: The site of advanced Amerindian civilizations Mexico came under Spanish rule for three centuries before achieving independence early in the 19th century.


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Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area

Land boundaries:

Coastline: 9,330 km

Maritime claims
Extended economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: varies from tropical to desert

Terrain: mostly high, rugged mountains with low coastal plains and high plateaus

Elevation

Natural resources: crude oil, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber

Land use: 12% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 39% meadows and pastures; 24% forest and woodland; 24% other; includes 3% irrigated

Irrigated land

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography
Note: strategic location on southern border of US geoad0.gif" border="0" geoad1


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Population: 86,366,019 (July 1989), growth rate 2.2% (1989)

Nationality: noun - Mexican(s; adjective - Mexican

Ethnic groups: 60% mestizo (Indian-Spanish), 30% Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian, 9% white or predominantly white, 1% other

Languages: Spanish

Religions: 97% nominally Roman Catholic, 3% Protestant

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate: 30 births/1000 population (1989)

Death rate: 6 deaths/1000 population (1989)

Net migration rate: - 2 migrants/1000 population (1989)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: subject to tsunamis along the Pacific coast and destructive earthquakes in the center and south; natural water resources scarce in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; deforestation; erosion widespread; desertification

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 42 deaths/1000 live births (1989)

Life expectancy at birth: 67 years male, 73 years female (1989)

Total fertility rate: 3.6 children born/woman (1989)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: 88%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name: conventional long form: United Mexican States

Government type: federal republic operating under a centralized government

Capital: Mexico

Administrative divisions: 31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal; Aguascalientes, Baja California Norte, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Yucatan, Zacatecas

Dependent areas

Independence: 16 September 1810 (from Spain)

National holiday: Independence Day, 16 September (1810)

Constitution: 5 February 1917

Legal system: mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: universal over age 18; compulsory but unenforced

Executive branch: Chief of State and Head of Government - President Carlos SALINAS de Gortari (since December 1988)

Legislative branch: Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps

Judicial branch

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB - Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IRC, ISO, ITU, IWC - International Whaling Commission, LAIA, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO, Group of Eight

Diplomatic representation
In the us: Ambassador Gustavo PETRICIOLI Iturbide; Chancery at 2,829 16th Street NW, Washington DC 20,009; telephone (202) 234-6,000; there are Mexican Consulates General in Chicago, Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Houston, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Antonio, San Diego, and Consulates in Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Corpus Christi, Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Douglas (Arizona), Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), Kansas City (Missouri), Laredo, McAllen (Texas), Miami, Nogales (Arizona), Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Phoenix, Presidio (Texas), Sacramento, St. Louis, St. Paul (Minneapolis), Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, San Jose, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Seattle; US - Ambassador Charles J. PILLIOD, Jr.; Embassy at Paseo de la Reforma 305, Mexico 5, D.F. (mailing address is P. O. Box 3,087, Laredo, TX 78,044; telephone Õ52å (5) 211-0042; there are US Consulates General in Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Tijuana, and Consulates in Hermosillo, Matamoros, Mazatlan, Merida, and Nuevo Laredo

Flag description: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; the coat of arms (an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake is its beak) is centered in the white band

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Economic growth since the mid-1970s has been based primarily on expansion of the oil industry. In recent years, however, Mexico has experienced severe economic difficulties by accumulating large external debts as world prices for petroleum declined. During the period 1975-86 the average annual increase in real GDP fell from 5.6% to 1.3%. By 1987 per capita GDP had fallen to $1,640, the unemployment rate had risen to 18%, and the inflation rate set a new high of 159%. The US is Mexico's major trading partner, accounting for 70% of trade turnover. After petroleum, border assembly plants and tourism are the largest earners of foreign exchange.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita ppp

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: corn, cotton, wheat, coffee, sugarcane, sorghum, oilseed, pulses, and vegetables; an illegal producer of opium poppy and cannabis for the international drug trade

Industries: food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, transportation equipment, tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 4.1% (1987)

Labor force:

Unemployment rate: 19% (1988)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $41.1 billion; expenditures $62.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1987)

Public debt

Taxes and other revenues

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Current account balance

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $22.9 billion (f.o.b., 1988)
Commodities: crude oil, oil products, coffee, shrimp, engines, cotton
Partners: US 66%, EC 16%, Japan 11%

Imports: $18.6 billion (c.i.f., 1988)
Commodities: grain, metal manufactures, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment
Partners: US 62%, EC 18%, Japan 10%

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $100 billion (1988)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: market rate of Mexican pesos (Mex$) per US$1 - 2,295.0 (December 1988), 2,288.3 (1988), 1,405.8 (1987), 637.4 (1986), 310.2 (1985)


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Electricity access

Electricity production

Electricity consumption

Electricity exports

Electricity imports

Electricity installed generating capacity

Electricity transmission distribution losses

Electricity generation sources

Petroleum

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones fixed lines

Telephones mobile cellular

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet country code

Internet users

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: NA

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 1,811 total, 1,551 usable; 187 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 31 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 267 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Airports with paved runways

Airports with unpaved runways

Heliports

Pipelines: crude oil, 4,381 km; refined products, 8,345 km; natural gas, 13,254 km

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: 2,900 km navigable rivers and coastal canals

Merchant marine: 76 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,128,160 GRT/1,688,726 DWT; includes 5 short-sea passenger, 14 cargo, 2 refrigerated cargo, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 32 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 5 chemical tanker, 7 liquefied gas, 4 bulk, 5 combination bulk

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs