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. 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.


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Location: Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatamala and the US

Geographic coordinates

Map reference: North America

Area
Total area total: 1,972,550 km²
Land: 1,923,040 km²
Comparative: slightly less than three times the size of Texas

Land boundaries: total 4,538 km, Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,326 km

Coastline: 9,330 km

Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the 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

Elevation

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

Land use
Arable land: 12%
Permanent crops: 1%
Meadows and pastures: 39%
Forest and woodland: 24%
Other: 24%

Irrigated land: 51,500 km² (1989 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography
Note: strategic location on southern border of US


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Population: 93,985,848 (July 1995 est.)
Growth rate: 1.9% (1995 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Mexican(s)
Adjective: Mexican

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 profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 37% (female 17,028,091; male 17,631,110)
15-64 years: 59% (female 28,429,663; male 26,866,886)
65 years and over: 4% (female 2,184,998; male 1,845,100) (July 1995 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 1.9% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 26.64 births/1000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 4.64 deaths/1000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: -3.03 migrant(s)/1000 population (1995 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: 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; serious air pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border
Current issues natural hazards: tsunamis along the Pacific coast, destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Gulf and Caribbean coasts
Current issues international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Desertification

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 26 deaths/1000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 73.34 years
Male: 69.74 years
Female: 77.11 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.09 children born/woman (1995 est.)

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: age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
Total population: 88%
Male: 90%
Female: 85%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: United Mexican States
Conventional short form: Mexico
Local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos
Local short form: Mexico

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, 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

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: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced)

Executive branch
Chief of state and head of government: President Ernesto ZEDILLO Ponce de Leon (since 1 December 1994); election last held on 21 August 1994 (next to be held NA); results - Ernesto ZEDILLO Ponce de Leon (PRI) 50.18%, Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (PRD) 17.08%, Diego FERNANDEZ de Cevallos (PAN) 26.69%; other 6.049%
Cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president

Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso de la Union)
Senate Camara de Senadores: elections last held on 21 August 1994 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats in full Senate - (128 total; Senate expanded from 64 seats at the last election) PRI 93, PRD 25, PAN 10
Chamber of Deputies Camara de Diputados: elections last held on 24 August 1994 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (500 total) PRI 300, PAN 119, PRD 71, PFCRN 10

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia)

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: AG (observer), APEC, BCIE, CARICOM (observer), CCC, CDB, CG, EBRD, ECLAC, FAO, G- 6, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM (observer), OAS, OECD, ONUSAL, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Jesus SILVA HERZOG Flores
In the us chancery: 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,006
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 728-1600
In the us consulates general: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico)
In the us consulates: Albuquerque, Austin, Boston, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Corpus Christi, Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), Loredo, McAllen (Texas), Midland (Texas), Nogales (Arizona), Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Phoenix, Sacramento, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, San Jose, Santa Ana, Seattle
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador James R. JONES
From the us embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 6,500 Mexico, Distrito Federal
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 3,087, Laredo, TX 78,044-3,087
From the us telephone: [52] (5) 211-0042
From the us FAX: [52] (5) 511-9,980, 208-3,373
From the us consulates general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana
From the us consulates: Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, 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 in its beak) is centered in the white band

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Mexico, under the guidance of new President Ernesto ZEDILLO, entered 1995 in the midst of a severe financial crisis. Mexico's membership in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the United States and Canada, its solid record of economic reforms, and its strong growth in the second and third quarters of 1994 - at an annual rate of 3.8% and 4.5% respectively - seemed to augur bright prospects for 1995. However, an overvalued exchange rate and widening current account deficits created an imbalance that ultimately proved unsustainable. To finance the trade gap, Mexico City had become increasingly reliant on volatile portfolio investment. A series of political shocks in 1994 - an uprising in the southern state of Chiapas, the assassination of a presidential candidate, several high profile kidnappings, the killing of a second high-level political figure, and renewed threats from the Chiapas rebels - combined with rising international interest rates and concerns of a devaluation to undermine investor confidence and prompt massive outflows of capital. The dwindling of foreign exchange reserves, which the central bank had been using to defend the currency, forced the new administration to change the exchange rate policy and allow the currency to float freely in the last days of 1994. The adjustment roiled Mexican financial markets, leading to a 30% to 40% weakening of the peso relative to the dollar. ZEDILLO announced an emergency economic program that included federal budget cuts and plans for more privatizations, but it failed to restore investor confidence quickly. While the devaluation is likely to help Mexican exporters, whose products are now cheaper, it also raises the specter of an inflationary spiral if domestic producers increase their prices and workers demand wage hikes. Although strong economic fundamentals bode well for Mexico's longer-term outlook, prospects for solid growth and low inflation have deteriorated considerably, at least through 1995.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 3.5% (1994 est.)

Real gdp per capita ppp

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: accounts for 7% of GDP; 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: 4.5% (1994 est.)

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: 9.8% (1994 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $96.99 billion (1994 est.)
Expenditures: $96.51 billion (1994 est.), including capital expenditures of $NA (1994 est.)

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: $60.8 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.), includes in-bond industries
Commodoties: crude oil, oil products, coffee, silver, engines, motor vehicles, cotton, consumer electronics
Partners: US 82%, Japan 1.4%, EC 5% (1993 est.)

Imports: $79.4 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.), includes in-bond industries
Commodoties: 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 4.7%, EC 11% (1993 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $128 billion (1994 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: market rate of Mexican pesos (Mex$) per US$1 - 6.736 (average in March 1995), 5.5133 (January 1995), 3.3751 (1994), 3.1156 (1993), 3,094.9 (1992), 3,018.4 (1991), 2,812.6 (1990)
Note: the new peso replaced the old peso on 1 January 1993; 1 new peso = 1,000 old pesos


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Electricity access

Electricity production: 122 billion kWh
Consumption per capita: 1,239 kWh (1993)

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: 6,410,000 telephones; highly developed system with extensive microwave radio relay links; privatized in December 1990
Local: adequate phone service for business and government, but, at a density of less than 7 telephones/100 persons, the population is poorly served
Intercity: includes 120 domestic satellite terminals and an extensive network of microwave radio relay links
International: 5 INTELSAT (4 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) earth stations; connected into Central America Microwave System; launched Solidarity I satellite in November 1993

Broadcast media

Internet country code

Internet users

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP

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: 2,055
With paved runways over 3047 m: 9
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 25
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 82
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 75
With paved runways under 914 m: 1,262
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2438 m: 60
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 539

Airports with paved runways
Over 3047 m: 9
2438 to 3047 m: 25
15-24 to 2437 m: 82
914 to 1523 m: 75
Under 914 m: 1,262

Airports with unpaved runways
Over 3047 m: 1
2438 to 3047 m: 2
15-24 to 2438 m: 60
914 to 1523 m: 539

Heliports

Pipelines: crude oil 28,200 km; petroleum products 10,150 km; natural gas 13,254 km; petrochemical 1,400 km

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: 2,900 km navigable rivers and coastal canals

Merchant marine
Total: 59 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 949,271 GRT/1,340,595 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 2, chemical tanker 4, container 7, liquefied gas tanker 7, oil tanker 30, refrigerated cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2, short-sea passenger 4

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: claims Clipperton Island (French possession)

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: illicit cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis continues in spite of government eradication program; major supplier of heroin and marijuana to the US market; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine and marijuana from South America; increasingly involved in the production and distribution of methamphetamine