Statistical information Mexico 1990

Mexico in the World
top of pageBackground: The site of advanced Amerindian civilizations Mexico came under Spanish rule for three centuries before achieving independence early in the 19th century.
top of pageLocationGeographic coordinatesMap referenceAreaLand boundaries: 4,538 km total; Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,326 km
Coastline: 9,330 km
Maritime claimsContiguous zone: 24 nm
Continental shelf: natural prolongation of continental margin or 200 nm
Extended economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: varies from tropical to desert
Terrain: high, rugged mountains, low coastal plains, high plateaus, and desert
ElevationNatural 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 landMajor riversMajor watersheds area km²Total water withdrawalTotal renewable water resourcesNatural hazardsGeographyNote: strategic location on southern border of US
top of pagePopulation: 87,870,154 (July 1990), growth rate 2.2% (1990)
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 profileAge structureDependency ratiosMedian agePopulation growth rateBirth rate: 29 births/1000 population (1990)
Death rate: 5 deaths/1000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: - 2 migrants/1000 population (1990)
Population distributionUrbanizationMajor urban areasEnvironmentCurrent issues: subject to tsunamis along the Pacific coast and destructive earthquakes in the center and south; natural water resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; deforestation; erosion widespread; desertification; serious air pollution in Mexico City and urban centers along US-Mexico border
Air pollutantsSex ratioMothers mean age at first birthMaternal mortality ratioInfant mortality rate: 33 deaths/1000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 68 years male, 76 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 3.4 children born/woman (1990)
Contraceptive prevalence rateDrinking water sourceCurrent health expenditurePhysicians densityHospital bed densitySanitation facility accessHiv/AidsMajor infectious diseasesObesity adult prevalence rateAlcohol consumptionTobacco useChildren under the age of 5 years underweightEducation expendituresLiteracy: 88%
School life expectancy primary to tertiary educationYouth unemploymenttop of pageCountry 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 areasIndependence: 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 participationCitizenshipSuffrage: universal and compulsory (but not enforced) at age 18
Executive branch: Chief of State and Head of Government--President Carlos SALINAS de Gortari (since 1 December 1988)
Legislative branch: Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Suprema Corte de Justicia)
Political parties and leadersInternational organization participation: FAO, G-77, GATT, Group of Eight, 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
Diplomatic representationIn the us: Ambassador Gustavo PETRICIOLI Iturbide; Chancery at 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington DC 20,006; telephone (202) 728-1600; 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 John D. NEGROPONTE, 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 p52o (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 symbolsNational anthemNational heritagetop of pageEconomy overview: Mexico's economy is a mixture of state-owned industrial plants (notably oil), private manufacturing and services, and both large-scale and traditional agriculture. In the 1980s Mexico experienced severe economic
Real gdp purchasing power parityReal gdp growth rateReal gdp per capitaGross national savingGdp composition by sector of origin
Gdp composition by end useGdp composition by sector of originAgriculture products: accounts for 9% of GDP and over 25% of work force; large number of small farms at subsistence level; major food crops--corn, wheat, rice, beans; cash crops--cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; fish catch of 1.4 million metric tons among top 20 nations (1987)
Industries: food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, transportation equipment, tourism
Industrial production growth rate: 1.3% (1988)
Labor force:
26,100,000 (1988; 31.4%
services; 26% agriculture, forestry, hunting, and fishing, 13.9% commerce, 12.8% manufacturing, 9.5% construction, 4.8% transportation, 1.3% mining and quarrying, 0.3% electricity, (1986)
Unemployment rate: 20% (1989 est.)
Youth unemploymentPopulation below poverty lineGini indexHousehold income or consumption by percentage shareDistribution of family income gini indexBudget: revenues $36.1 billion; expenditures $56.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $7.7 biilion (1988)
Taxes and other revenuesPublic debtRevenueFiscal year: calendar year
Inflation rate consumer pricesCentral bank discount rateCommercial bank prime lending rateStock of narrow moneyStock of broad moneyStock of domestic creditMarket value of publicly traded sharesCurrent account balanceExports: $23.1 billion (f.o.b., 1989)
Commodities: crude oil, oil products, coffee, shrimp, engines, cotton
Partners: US 66%, EC 16%, Japan 11%
Imports: $23.3 billion (c.i.f., 1989)
Commodities: grain, metal manufactures, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment
Partners: US 62%, EC 18%, Japan 10%
Reserves of foreign exchange and goldDebt external: $95.1 billion (1989)
Stock of direct foreign investment at homeStock of direct foreign investment abroadExchange rates: market rate of Mexican pesos (Mex$) per US$1--2,660.3 (January 1990), 2,461.3 (1989), 2,273.1 (1988), 1,378.2 (1987), 611.8 (1986), 256.9 (1985)
top of pageElectricityCapacity: 26,900,000 kW capacity; 103,670 million kWh produced, 1,200 kWh per capita (1989)
CoalPetroleumCrude oilRefined petroleumNatural gasCarbon dioxide emissionsEnergy consumption per capitatop of pageTelephonesTelephone systemBroadcast mediaInternetBroadband fixed subscriptionstop of pageMilitary expendituresPercent of gdp: 0.5% of GDP (1987)
Military and security forcesMilitary service age and obligationSpace programTerrorist groupstop of pageNational air transport systemCivil aircraft registration country code prefixAirports: 1,785 total, 1,484 usable; 190 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 31 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 259 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
HeliportsPipelines: crude oil, 4,381 km; refined products, 8,345 km; natural gas, 13,254 km
RailwaysRoadwaysWaterways: 2,900 km navigable rivers and coastal canals
Merchant marine: 68 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,041,229 GRT/1,552,478 DWT; includes 5 short-sea passenger, 10 cargo, 2 refrigerated cargo, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 31 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 3 chemical tanker, 7 liquefied gas, 4 bulk, 4 combination bulk
Ports and terminalsMexico - Transnational issues 1990
top of pageDisputes internationalRefugees and internally displaced personsIllicit drugs: illicit cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis continues in spite of government eradication efforts; major link in chain of countries used to smuggle cocaine from South American dealers to US markets