Statistical information Mexico 1994

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. 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.
top of pageLocation: Middle America, between Guatemala and the US
Geographic coordinatesMap reference:
North America, Standard Time Zones of the WorldAreaTotal area total: 1,972,550 km²
Land: 1,923,040 km²
Land boundaries: total 4,538 km, Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,326 km
Coastline: 9,330 km
Maritime claimsContiguous zone: 24 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm or the natural prolongation of continental margin
Exclusive 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: petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber
Land useArable land: 12%
Permanent crops: 1%
Meadows and pastures: 39%
Forest and woodland: 24%
Other: 24%
Irrigated land: 51,500 km² (1989 est.)
Major riversMajor watersheds area km²Total water withdrawalTotal renewable water resourcesNatural hazards: subject to tsunamis along the Pacific coast, destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Gulf and Caribbean coasts
GeographyNote: strategic location on southern border of US
top of pagePopulation: 92,202,199 (July 1994 est.)
Growth rate: 1.94% (1994 est.)
Nationality: noun:Mexican(s)
Ethnic groups: mestizo (Indian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, Caucasian or predominantly Caucasian 9%, other 1%
Languages: Spanish, various Mayan dialects
Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%
Demographic profileAge structureDependency ratiosMedian agePopulation growth rate: 1.94% (1994 est.)
Birth rate: 27.17 births/1000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate: 4.73 deaths/1000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate: -3.09 migrant(s)/1000 population (1994 est.)
Population distributionUrbanizationMajor urban areasEnvironmentCurrent issues: natural water resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; untreated sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in urban areas; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification; serious air pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border
Air pollutantsSex ratioMothers mean age at first birthMaternal mortality ratioInfant mortality rate: 27.4 deaths/1000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birthTotal population: 72.94 years
Male: 69.36 years
Female: 76.7 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.17 children born/woman (1994 est.)
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: age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
Total population: 87%
Male: 90%
Female: 85%
School life expectancy primary to tertiary educationYouth unemploymenttop of pageCountry nameConventional long form: United Mexican States
Conventional short form:local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos
local short form
Government type: federal republic operating under a centralized government
Capital: Administrative divisions:31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal; Aguascalientes, Baja California, 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
Administrative divisionsDependent 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: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced)
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government:President Carlos SALINAS de Gortari (since 1 December 1988; election last held on 6 July 1988 (next to be held 21 August 1994; results - Carlos SALINAS de Gortari (PRI) 50.74%, Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (FDN) 31.06%, Manuel CLOUTHIER (PAN) 16.81%; other 1.39%; note - several of the smaller parties ran a common candidate under a coalition called the National Democratic Front (FDN)
Legislative branch: National Defense (including Army and Air Force), Navy (including Marines)
Senate Camara de Senadores: elections last held on 18 August 1991 (next to be held 21 August 1994); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats in full Senate - (64 total; Senate will expand to 128 seats following next election) PRI 62, PRD 1, PAN 1
Chamber of Deputies Camara de Diputados: elections last held on 18 August 1991 (next to be held 21 August 1994); results - PRI 53%, PAN 20%, PFCRN 10%, PPS 6%, PARM 7%, PMS (now part of PRD) 4%; seats - (500 total) PRI 320, PAN 89, PRD 41, PFCRN 23, PARM 15, PPS 12
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia)
Political parties and leadersInternational organization participation: AG (observer), BCIE, CARICOM (observer), CCC, CDB, CG, EBRD, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-6, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS, NAM (observer), OAS, OECD, ONUSAL, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTI, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representationFrom the us chief of mission: Ambassador James JONES
From the us chancery: 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,006
From the us telephone: [52] (5) 211-0042
From the us consulates general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana
From the us consulates: Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nuevo Laredo
From the us embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 6,500 Mexico, D.F.
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 3,087, Laredo, TX 78,044-3,087
From the us FAX: [52] (5) 511-9,980, 208-3,373
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 in its beak) is centered in the white band
National symbolsNational anthemNational heritagetop of pageEconomy overview: Mexico's economy, made up predominantly of private manufacturing and services and both large-scale and traditional agriculture, is beginning to rebound from the economic difficulties of the 1980s but still faces key challenges. During the 1980s, the accumulation of large external debts, falling world petroleum prices, rapid population growth, and mounting inflation and unemployment plagued the economy. In recent years, the government has responded by implementing sweeping economic reforms. Strict fiscal and monetary discipline have brought inflation under control, reduced the internal debt, and produced budgetary surpluses in 1992 and 1993. The tight money policies, however, have restricted growth:barely 0.4% in 1993 after a rise of 2.6% in 1992 and 3.6% in 1991. Another aspect of the reform has been the privatization of more than 80% of Mexico's businesses, including all of the commercial banks. Seeking out increased trade and investment opportunities, the government negotiated the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the United States and Canada, which entered into force on 1 January 1994. Within Latin America, Mexico has completed bilateral free trade agreements with Chile and Costa Rica, and is continuing negotiations with Colombia and Venezuela for a trilateral deal in addition to holding trade discussions with various other nations. In January of 1993, Mexico replaced its old peso at the rate of 1,000 old to 1 new peso. Despite its hard-won economic progress and the prospects of long-term gains under NAFTA, Mexico still faces difficult problems, including sluggish growth, unemployment, continuing social inequalities, serious pollution, and the prospect of increased competition with the opening of trade.
Real gdp purchasing power parityReal gdp growth rate: 0.4% (1993)
Real gdp per capita: $8,200 (1993 est.)
Gross 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
Industries: food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism
Industrial production growth rate: 2.8% (1992 est.), accounts for 28% of GDP
Labor force: 26.2 million (1990)
By occupation services: 31.7%
By occupation agriculture forestry hunting and fishing: 28%
By occupation commerce: 14.6%
By occupation manufacturing: 11.1%
By occupation construction: 8.4%
By occupation transportation: 4.7%
By occupation mining and quarrying: 1.5%
Unemployment rate: 10.7% (1992 est.)
Youth unemploymentPopulation below poverty lineGini indexHousehold income or consumption by percentage shareDistribution of family income gini indexBudget: revenues:$58.1 billion
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: $50.5 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.), includes in-bond industries
Commodities: crude oil, oil products, coffee, silver, engines, motor vehicles, cotton, consumer electronics
Partners: US 74%, Japan 8%, EC 4% (1992 est.)
Imports: $65.5 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.), includes in-bond industries
Commodities: metal-working machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts
Partners: US 74%, Japan, 11%, EC 6% (1992)
Reserves of foreign exchange and goldDebt external: $125 billion (1993 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment at homeStock of direct foreign investment abroadExchange rates: market rate of Mexican pesos (Mex$) per US$1 - 3.3556 (March 1994), 3,094.9 (1992), 3,018.4 (1991), 2,812.6 (1990), 2,461.3 (1989)
Note: the new peso replaced the old peso on 1 January 1993; 1 new peso = 1,000 old pesos
top of pageElectricityCapacity: 27,000,000 kW
Production: 120.725 billion kWh
Consumption per capita: 1,300 kWh (1992)
CoalPetroleumCrude oilRefined petroleumNatural gasCarbon dioxide emissionsEnergy consumption per capitatop of pageTelephonesTelephone systemBroadcast mediaInternetBroadband fixed subscriptionstop of pageMilitary expendituresDollar figure: $NA, NA% of GDP
Military and security forcesMilitary service age and obligationSpace programTerrorist groupstop of pageNational air transport systemCivil aircraft registration country code prefixAirports: 1,993
Usable: 1,585
With permanentsurface runways: 202
With runways over 3659 m: 3
With runways 2440-3659 m: 35
With runways 1220-2439 m: 286
HeliportsPipelines: crude oil 28,200 km; petroleum products 10,150 km; natural gas 13,254 km; petrochemical 1,400 km
RailwaysRoadwaysWaterways: 2,900 km navigable rivers and coastal canals
Merchant marine: 58 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 853,161 GRT/1,269,018 DWT, cargo 3, chemical tanker 4, container 4, liquefied gas 7, oil tanker 32, refrigerated cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2, short-sea passenger 4
Ports and terminalsMexico - Transnational issues 1994
top of pageDisputes international: claims Clipperton Island (French possession)
Refugees and internally displaced personsIllicit drugs: illicit cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis continues in spite of active government eradication program; major supplier to the US market; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine and marijuana from South America