Map of Mexico | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
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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 Guatemala and the US

Geographic coordinates: 23 00 N, 102 00 W

Map reference: North America

Area
Total: 1,972,550 km²
Land: 1,923,040 km²
Water: 49,510 km²
Comparative: slightly less than three times the size of Texas

Land boundaries
Total: 4,538 km
Border countries: (3) 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
Extremes lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m
Extremes highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m

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

Land use
Arable land: 12%
Permanent crops: 1%
Permanent pastures: 39%
Forests and woodland: 26%
Other: 22% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 61,000 km² (1993 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Gulf and Caribbean coasts

Geography
Note: strategic location on southern border of US


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Population: 97,563,374 (July 1997 est.)
Growth rate: 1.84% (1997 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Mexican(s)
Adjective: Mexican

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

Languages: Spanish, various Mayan dialects

Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 36% (male 17,849,251; female 17,236,639)
15-64 years: 60% (male 28,241,361; female 29,883,766)
65 years and over: 4% (male 1,982,329; female 2,370,028) (July 1997 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 1.84% (1997 est.)

Birth rate: 25.8 births/1000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate: 4.52 deaths/1000 population (1997 est.)

Net migration rate: -2.92 migrant(s)/1000 population (1997 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

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
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: 0.97 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 23.9 deaths/1000 live births (1997 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 74 years
Male: 70.39 years
Female: 77.78 years (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.97 children born/woman (1997 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
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 89.6%
Male: 91.8%
Female: 87.4% (1995 est.)

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: President Ernesto ZEDILLO Ponce de Leon (since 1 December 1994); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
Head of government: President Ernesto ZEDILLO Ponce de Leon (since 1 December 1994); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 21 August 1994 (next to be held NA 2000)
Election results: Ernesto ZEDILLO Ponce de Leon elected president; percent of vote - Ernesto ZEDILLO Ponce de Leon (PRI) 50.18%, Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (PRD) 17.08%, Diego FERNANDEZ DE CEVALLOS (PAN) 26.69%, other 6.049%

Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats, expanded from 64 seats at the last election; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (500 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
Elections: Senate - last held 21 August 1994 (next to be held 6 July 1997 for one-quarter of the seats); Chamber of Deputies - last held 24 August 1994 (next to be held 6 July 1997)
Election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party in expanded Senate - PRI 93, PRD 25, PAN 10; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRI 300, PAN 119, PRD 71, PT 10

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia), judges are appointed by the president with consent of the Senate

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: AG (observer), APEC, BCIE, BIS (pending member), Caricom (observer), CCC, CDB, EBRD, ECLAC, FAO, G- 6, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, 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, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

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, Phoenix, 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), Laredo, McAllen (Texas), Midland (Texas), Nogales (Arizona), Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, 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 has a free market economy with a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. The Mexican economy enters 1997 in the midst of an economic recovery that began to pick up steam in mid-1996. After plummeting more than 6% in 1995 in the aftermath of the peso crisis, economic activity in Mexico grew by an estimated 5.1% in 1996. Many private forecasters who had scoffed at the ZEDILLO administration's 3% growth target for 1996 are now projecting economic expansion of 4-5% for 1997. Strong export growth continues to drive the economy; total exports were up roughly 16% in 1996 compared to 1995. By the end of 1996, however, Mexican government statistics showed that increased domestic consumption and investment spending were also beginning to contribute to the recovery. Despite these positive economic trends, structural problems and vulnerabilities remain. Low savings rates will keep Mexico dependent on foreign capital; national savings as a share of GDP plunged from a peak of 25% in 1983 to less than 14% in 1994. Additionally, Mexico City is still struggling to bail out a banking sector burdened with bad debts. Mexico's international trade continues to be highly dependent on the US market. The US/Mexico trade balance has shifted over the last two years because of the peso's rapid devaluation in late 1994, which made Mexican exports much more attractive. In 1995 and 1996, the US ran trade deficits with Mexico, a large turnaround from 1994's trade surplus of about $1.3 billion.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 5.1% (1996 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $8,100 (1996 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 8%
Industry: 28%
Services: 63% (1995 est.)

Agriculture products: corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products

Industries: food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 11% (1996 est.)

Labor force
Total: 36.3 million (November 1996)
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% (1996 est.) plus considerable underemployment

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $73.8 billion
Expenditures: $74 billion, including capital expenditures of $N/A (1996 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

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
Total value: $95 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.), includes in-bond industries
Commodities: crude oil, oil products, coffee, silver, engines, motor vehicles, cotton, consumer electronics
Partners: US 80%, Canada 5.2%, Japan 1.8% (1996 est.)

Imports
Total value: $88.5 billion (f.o.b., 1996 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 74.8%, Japan 5.1%, Germany 3.65%, Canada 1.4%, France 1.1% (1996 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $170 billion (1996 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 - 7.8270 (January 1997), 7.6009 (1996), 6.4194 (1995), 3.3751 (1994), 3.1156 (1993), 3,094.9 (1992)
Note: the new peso replaced the old peso on 1 January 1993; 1 new peso = 1,000 old pesos


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Electricity
Capacity: 40.502 million kW (1995)
Production: 142.344 billion kWh (1995)
Consumption per capita: 1,206 kWh (1995 est.)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones: 11,890,868 (1993 est.)

Telephone system: highly developed system with extensive microwave radio relay links; privatized in December 1990
Domestic: adequate telephone service for business and government, but the population is poorly served; domestic satellite system with 120 earth stations; extensive microwave radio relay network
International: satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean); launched Solidaridad I satellite in November 1993 and Solidaridad II in October 1994, giving Mexico improved access to South America, Central America and much of the US as well as enhancing domestic communications; linked to Central American Microwave System of trunk connections

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $1.56 billion (1997 est.)
Percent of gdp: 1.5% (1997 est.)

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: 1,415 (1996 est.)
With paved runways total: 1,003
With paved runways over 3047 m: 9
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 26
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 92
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 71
With paved runways under 914 m: 805 (1996 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 412
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 50
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 362 (1996 est.)

Heliports

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

Railways
Total: 20,567 km
Standard gauge: 20,477 km 1.435-m gauge (246 km electrified)
Narrow gauge: 90 km 0.914-m gauge (1994)

Roadways

Waterways: 2,900 km navigable rivers and coastal canals

Merchant marine
Total: 51 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 899,032 GRT/1,297,346 DWT
Ships by type: cargo 1, chemical tanker 4, combination bulk 1, container 4, liquefied gas tanker 7, oil tanker 29, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2, short-sea passenger 3 (1996 est.)

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

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