Map of Mexico | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: The site of several advanced Amerindian civilizations - including the Olmec Toltec Teotihuacan Zapotec Maya and Aztec - Mexico was conquered and colonized by Spain in the early 16th century. Administered as the Viceroyalty of New Spain for three centuries it achieved independence early in the 19th century. Elections held in 2000 marked the first time since the 1910 Mexican Revolution that an opposition candidate - Vicente FOX of the National Action Party (PAN) - defeated the party in government the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He was succeeded in 2006 by another PAN candidate Felipe CALDERON but Enrique PENA NIETO regained the presidency for the PRI in 2012. The global financial crisis in late 2008 caused a massive economic downturn in Mexico the following year although growth returned quickly in 2010. Ongoing economic and social concerns include low real wages high underemployment inequitable income distribution and few advancement opportunities for the largely indigenous population in the impoverished southern states. Since 2007 Mexico's powerful drug-trafficking organizations have engaged in bloody feuding resulting in tens of thousands of drug-related homicides.


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Location: North America bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico between Belize and the United States and bordering the North Pacific Ocean between Guatemala and the United States

Geographic coordinates: 23 00 N 102 00 W

Map reference: North America

Area
Total: 1,964,375 km²
Land: 1,943,945 km²
Water: 20,430 km²
Rank: 14
Comparative: slightly less than three times the size of Texas

Land boundaries
Total: 4,389 km
Border countries: (3) Belize 276 km; Guatemala 958 km; US 3,155 km

Coastline: 9,330 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate: varies from tropical to desert

Terrain: high rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m
Extremes highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,675 m

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

Land use
Agricultural land: 54.9%
Forest: 33.3%
Other: 11.8%

Irrigated land: 64,600 km² (2009)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources: 457.2 km³ (2011)

Natural hazards: tsunamis along the Pacific coast volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south and hurricanes on the Pacific Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean coasts
Volcanism: volcanic activity in the central-southern part of the country; the volcanoes in Baja California are mostly dormant; Colima which erupted in 2010 is Mexico's most active volcano and is responsible for causing periodic evacuations of nearby villagers; it has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; Popocatepetl (elev. 5,426 m) poses a threat to Mexico City; other historically active volcanoes include Barcena Ceboruco El Chichon Michoacan-Guanajuato Pico de Orizaba San Martin Socorro and Tacana

Geography
Note: strategic location on southern border of US; corn (maize) one of the world's major grain crops is thought to have originated in Mexico


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Population: 121,736,809 (July 2015 est.)
Rank: 12
Growth rate: 1.18% (2015 est.)
Growth rate rank: 102
Below poverty line: 52.3%
Below poverty line note: based on food-based definition of poverty; asset-based poverty amounted to more than 47%

Nationality
Noun: Mexican
Adjective: Mexican

Ethnic groups: mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 62% predominantly Amerindian 21% Amerindian 7% other 10% (mostly European)
Note: Mexico does not collect census data on ethnicity

Languages: Spanish only 92.7% Spanish and indigenous languages 5.7% indigenous only 0.8% unspecified 0.8%
Note: indigenous languages include various Mayan Nahuatl and other regional languages

Religions: Roman Catholic 82.7% Pentecostal 1.6% Jehovah's Witnesses 1.4% other Evangelical Churches 5% other 1.9% none 4.7% unspecified 2.7% (2010 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 27.59%
15-24 years: 17.9%
25-54 years: 40.55%
55-64 years: 7.19%
65 years and over: 6.77% (2015 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 51.7%
Youth dependency ratio: 41.9%
Elderly dependency ratio: 9.8%
Potential support ratio: 10.2%

Median age
Total: 27.6 years
Male: 26.6 years
Female: 28.7 years

Population growth rate: 1.18% (2015 est.)
Rank: 102

Birth rate: 18.78 births/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 92

Death rate: 5.26 deaths/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 181

Net migration rate: -1.68 migrant(s)/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 160

Population distribution

Urbanization
Urban population: 79.2% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 1.57% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: MEXICO CITY (capital) 20.999 million; Guadalajara 4.843 million; Monterrey 4.513 million; Puebla 2.984 million; Toluca de Lerdo 2.164 million; Tijuana 1.987 million (2015)

Environment
Current issues: scarcity of hazardous waste disposal facilities; rural to urban migration; natural freshwater 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; deteriorating agricultural lands; serious air and water pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border; land subsidence in Valley of Mexico caused by groundwater depletion
Current issues note: the government considers the lack of clean water and deforestation national security issues
International agreements party to: Biodiversity Climate Change Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Desertification Endangered Species Hazardous Wastes Law of the Sea Marine Dumping Marine Life Conservation Ozone Layer Protection Ship Pollution Wetlands Whaling
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male/female
15-24 years: 1.03 male/female
25-54 years: 0.93 male/female
55-64 years: 0.85 male/female
65 years and over: 0.82 male/female
Total population: 0.96 male/female

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 12.23 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 13.64 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 10.74 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 122

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 75.65 years
Male: 72.88 years
Female: 78.55 years
Rank: 95

Total fertility rate: 2.27 children born/woman (2015 est.)
Rank: 94

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 72.5% (2009)

Drinking water source:

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 2.1 physicians/1000 population (2011)

Hospital bed density: 1.5 beds/1000 population (2011)

Sanitation facility access:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.23% (2014 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 95
People living with hivaids: 194,100 (2014 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 30
Deaths: 6,000 (2014 est.)
Deaths rank: 28

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: intermediate
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea and hepatitis A
Vectorborne disease: dengue fever

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 27.6% (2014)
Rank: 23

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 2.8% (2012)
Rank: 117

Education expenditures: 5.1% of GDP (2011)
Rank: 72

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 95.1%
Male: 96.2%
Female: 94.2%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 13 years
Male: 13 years
Female: 13 years

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

Capital
Name: Mexico City
Geographic coordinates: 19 26 N 99 08 W
Time difference: UTC-6
Daylight saving time: +1hr begins first Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in October
Note: Mexico has four time zones

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 Quintana Roo San Luis Potosi Sinaloa Sonora Tabasco Tamaulipas Tlaxcala Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (Veracruz) Yucatan Zacatecas

Dependent areas

Independence: 16 September 1810 (declared); 27 September 1821 (recognized by Spain)

National holiday: Independence Day 16 September (1810)

Constitution: several previous; latest approved 5 February 1917; amended many times last in 2014 (2014)

Legal system: civil law system with US constitutional law influence; judicial review of legislative acts

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Enrique PENA NIETO ; note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
Head of government: President Enrique PENA NIETO
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of attorney general the head of the Bank of Mexico and senior treasury officials require consent of the Senate
Electionsappointments: president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a single 6-year term; election last held on 1 July 2012
Election results: Enrique PENA NIETO elected president; percent of vote - Enrique PENA NIETO 38.2% Andres Manuel LOPEZ OBRADOR (PRD) 31.6% Josefina Eugenia VAZQUEZ Mota (PAN) 25.4% other 4.8%

Legislative branch
Description: bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the Senate or Camara de Senadores and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 200 directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by proportional representation vote; members serve 3-year terms)
Elections: Senate - last held on 1 July 2012 for all of the seats ; Chamber of Deputies - last held on 7 June 2015 (next to be held on 1 July 2018)
Election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRI 52 PAN 38 PRD 22 PVEM 9 PT 4 Movimiento Ciudadano 2 PANAL 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRI 203 PAN 108 PRD 56 PVEM 47 MORENA 35 MC 26 PNA/PANAL 10 PES 8 PT 6 independent 1

Judicial branch
Highest court: Supreme Court of Justice or Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nacion and the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary (organized into the superior court with 7 judges including the court president and 5 regional courts each with 3 judges)
Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court justices nominated by the president of the republic and approved by two-thirds vote of the members present in the Senate; justices serve for life; Electoral Tribunal superior and regional court judges nominated by the Supreme Court and elected by two-thirds vote of members present in the Senate; superior court president elected from among its members to hold office for a single-renewable 4-year term; other judges of the superior and regional courts serve staggered single-renewable 9-year terms
Subordinate courts: federal level includes circuit collegiate and unitary courts; state and district level courts

Political parties and leaders: Social Encounter Party (Partido Encuentro Social) or PES [Hugo Eric FLORES Cervantes]

International organization participation: APEC Australia Group BCIE BIS CAN (observer) Caricom (observer) CD CDB CE (observer) CELAC CSN (observer) EBRD FAO FATF G-3 G-15 G-20 G-24 G-5 IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC (national committees) ICCt ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO IMSO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITSO ITU ITUC (NGOs) LAES LAIA MIGA NAFTA NAM (observer) NEA NSG OAS OECD OPANAL OPCW Pacific Alliance Paris Club (associate) PCA SICA (observer) UN UNASUR (observer) UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO Union Latina (observer) UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU (NGOs) WHO WIPO WMO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Miguel BASANEZ
In the us chancery: 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington DC 20,006
In the us telephone: [1] 728-1600
In the us FAX: [1] 728-1698
In the us consulate general: Atlanta Austin Boston Chicago Dallas Denver El Paso Houston Laredo (TX) Los Angeles Miami New York Nogales (AZ) Phoenix Sacramento (CA) San Antonio (TX) San Diego San Francisco San Jose (CA) San Juan (Puerto Rico) Saint Paul (MN)
In the us consulate: Albuquerque Anchorage (AK) Boise (ID) Brownsville (TX) Calexico (CA) Del Rio (TX) Detroit Douglas (AZ) Eagle Pass (TX) Fresno (CA) Indianapolis (IN) Kansas City (MO) Las Vegas (NV) Little Rock (AR) McAllen (TX) New Orleans Omaha (NE) Orlando (FL) Oxnard (CA) Philadelphia Portland (OR) Presidio (TX) Raleigh (NC) Salt Lake City San Bernardino (CA) Santa Ana (CA) Seattle Tucson (AZ) Yuma (AZ); note - Washington DC Consular Section located in a separate building from the Mexican Embassy and has jurisdiction over DC parts of Virginia Maryland and West Virginia
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Earl Anthony WAYNE
From the us embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305 Colonia Cuauhtemoc 6,500 Mexico Distrito Federal
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 9,000 Brownsville TX 78,520-9,000
From the us telephone: [52] 5,080-2000
From the us FAX: [52] 5,080-2,834
From the us consulate general: Ciudad Juarez Guadalajara Hermosillo Matamoros Merida Monterrey Nogales Nuevo Laredo Tijuana

Flag description: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) white and red; Mexico's coat of arms (an eagle with a snake in its beak perched on a cactus) is centered in the white band; green signifies hope joy and love; white represents peace and honesty; red stands for hardiness bravery strength and valor; the coat of arms is derived from a legend that the wandering Aztec people were to settle at a location where they would see an eagle on a cactus eating a snake; the city they founded Tenochtitlan is now Mexico City
Note: similar to the flag of Italy which is shorter uses lighter shades of red and green and does not display anything in its white band

National symbols: golden eagle; national colors: green white red

National anthem
Name: 'Himno Nacional Mexicano'
Lyrics and music: Francisco Gonzalez BOCANEGRA/Jaime Nuno ROCA
Note: adopted 1943 in use since 1854; also known as 'Mexicanos al grito de Guerra' ; according to tradition Francisco Gonzalez BOCANEGRA an accomplished poet was uninterested in submitting lyrics to a national anthem contest; his fiancee locked him in a room and refused to release him until the lyrics were completed

National heritage


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Economy overview: Mexico's $1.3 trillion economy has become increasingly oriented toward manufacturing in the 21 years since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) entered into force. Per capita income is roughly one-third that of the US; income distribution remains highly unequal. Mexico has become the United States' second-largest export market and third-largest source of imports. In 2014 two-way trade in goods and services exceeded $550 billion. Mexico has free trade agreements with 46 countries putting more than 90% of trade under free trade agreements. In 2012 Mexico formally joined the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations and formed the Pacific Alliance with Peru Colombia and Chile. Mexico's current government led by President Enrique PENA NIETO emphasized economic reforms during its first two years in office passing and implementing sweeping education energy financial fiscal and telecommunications reform legislation among others with the long-term aim to improve competitiveness and economic growth across the Mexican economy. Although the economy is expected to experience stronger growth in 2015 as a result of increased investment and stronger demand for Mexican exports growth is predicted to remain below potential for reasons of inefficiencies with a large portion of the economy and workforce in the informal sector and corruption. Over the medium-term the economy is vulnerable to global economic pressures such as lower external demand rising interest rates and low oil prices - approximately 30% of government revenue comes from the state-owned oil company PEMEX. The increasing integration of supply chains development of the energy sector and government-to-government focus on trade facilitation will continue to make the North American region increasingly competitive and contribute to Mexican economic development and strength.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2014 US dollars
Rank: 12

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 134

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2014 US dollars
Rank: 92

Gross national saving:
Rank: 82

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 68.5%
Government consumption: 12.2%
Investment in fixed capital: 20.7%
Investment in inventories: -1%
Exports of goods and services: 33.2%
Imports of goods and services: -33.6%: (2014 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 3.5%
Industry: 36.4%
Services: 60.1%

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: 3.8% (2014 est.)
Rank: 78

Labor force: 52.9 million (2014 est.)
Rank: 13
By occupation agriculture: 13.4%
By occupation industry: 24.1%
By occupation services: 61.9%

Unemployment rate:
Note: underemployment may be as high as 25%
Rank: 45

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 52.3%
Note: based on food-based definition of poverty; asset-based poverty amounted to more than 47%

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 2%
Highest 10: 37.5%

Distribution of family income gini index:
Rank: 24

Budget
Revenues: $300.8 billion
Expenditures: $348.4 billion
Surplus or deficit: -3.7% of GDP (2014 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 135

Taxes and other revenues: 23.2% of GDP (2014 est.)
Rank: 136

Public debt:
Rank: 93

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 156

Central bank discount rate:
Rank: 82

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 162

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 20

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 20

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 27

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 22

Current account balance:
Rank: 183

Exports:
Rank: 15
Commodities: manufactured goods oil and oil products silver fruits vegetables coffee cotton
Partners: US 80.2% (2014)

Imports:
Rank: 14
Commodities: metalworking machines steel mill products agricultural machinery electrical equipment automobile parts for assembly and repair aircraft aircraft parts
Partners: US 48.8% China 16.6% Japan 4.4% (2014)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 13

Debt external:
Rank: 26

Stock of direct foreign investment at home:
Rank: 19

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad:
Rank: 26

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Production: 277.6 billion kWh (2012 est.)
Production rank: 14
Consumption: 232.3 billion kWh (2011 est.)
Consumption rank: 16
Exports: 1.288 billion kWh (2013 est.)
Exports rank: 53
Imports: 607 million kWh (2013 est.)
Imports rank: 76
Installed generating capacity: 61.51 million kW (2011 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 16
Generation sources fossil fuels: 75.7% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 101
Generation sources nuclear: 2.1% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 28
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 18.9% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 96
Generation sources other renewable sources: 3.2% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 66

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 2.882 million bbl/day (2013 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 8
Crude oil exports: 1.333 million bbl/day (2012 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 12
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 99
Crude oil proven reserves: 10.07 billion bbl (1 January 2014 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 17

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 1.361 million bbl/day (2012 est.)
Products production rank: 14
Products consumption: 2.044 million bbl/day (2013 est.)
Products consumption rank: 12
Products exports: 189,100 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Products exports rank: 32
Products imports: 653,200 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products imports rank: 11

Natural gas
Production: 46.43 billion m³ (2013 est.)
Production rank: 20
Consumption: 64.58 billion m³ (2013 est.)
Consumption rank: 12
Exports: 32 million m³ (2013 est.)
Exports rank: 47
Imports: 18.53 billion m³ (2013 est.)
Imports rank: 17
Proven reserves: 483.5 billion m³ (1 January 2014 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 31

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 453.8 million Mt (2012 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 16

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 21.1 million
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 18
Fixed lines rank: 14
Mobile cellular total: 102.2 million
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 85
Mobile cellular rank: 14

Telephone system
General assessment: adequate telephone service for business and government; improving quality and increasing mobile cellular availability with mobile subscribers far outnumbering fixed-line subscribers; domestic satellite system with 120 earth stations; extensive microwave radio relay network; considerable use of fiber-optic cable and coaxial cable
Domestic: despite the opening to competition in January 1997 Telmex remains dominant; fixed-line teledensity is less than 20 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular teledensity is about 80 per 100 persons
International: country code - 52; Columbus-2 fiber-optic submarine cable with access to the US Virgin Islands Canary Islands Spain and Italy; the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System and the MAYA-1 submarine cable system together provide access to Central America parts of South America and the Caribbean and the US; satellite earth stations - 120 (32 Intelsat 2 Solidaridad (giving Mexico improved access to South America Central America and much of the US as well as enhancing domestic communications) 1 Panamsat numerous Inmarsat mobile earth stations); linked to Central American Microwave System of trunk connections (2011)

Broadcast media: many TV stations and more than 1400 radio stations with most privately owned; the Televisa group once had a virtual monopoly in TV broadcasting but new broadcasting groups and foreign satellite and cable operators are now available (2012)

Internet
Country code: .mx
Users total: 49.5 million
Users percent of population: 41.1%
Users rank: 12

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures:
Rank: 124

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory military service conscript service obligation is 12 months; 16 years of age with consent for voluntary enlistment; conscripts serve only in the Army; Navy and Air Force service is all voluntary; women are eligible for voluntary military service; cadets enrolled in military schools from the age of 15 are considered members of the armed forces (2012)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 1714 (2013)
Rank: 3
With paved runways total: 243
With paved runways over 3047 m: 12
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 32
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 80
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 86
With paved runways under 914 m: 33
With unpaved runways total: 1471
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 42
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 281
With unpaved runways: 1146 (2013)

Heliports: 1 (2013)

Pipelines: gas 18,074 km; liquid petroleum 2,102 km; oil 8,775 km; oil/gas/water 369 km; refined products 7,565 km; water 123 km (2013)

Railways
Total: 15,389 km
Standard gauge: 15,389 km 1.435-m gauge (2014)
Rank: 16

Roadways
Total: 377,660 km
Paved: 137,544 km
Unpaved: 240,116 km
Rank: 19

Waterways: 2,900 km (navigable rivers and coastal canals mostly connected with ports on the country's east coast) (2012)
Rank: 33

Merchant marine
Total: 52
By type: bulk carrier 5 cargo 3 chemical tanker 11 liquefied gas 3 passenger/cargo 10 petroleum tanker 17 roll on/roll off 3
Foreign owned: 5
Registered in other countries: 12 (2010)
Rank: 70

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Altamira Coatzacoalcos Lazaro Cardenas Manzanillo Veracruz
Container port: Manzanillo (1,992,176) Lazaro Cardenas (1,242,777) (2012)
Oil terminals: Cayo Arcas terminal Dos Bocas terminal
LNG terminal: Altamira Ensenada
Cruise port: Cancun Cozumel Ensenada


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Disputes international: abundant rainfall in recent years along much of the Mexico-US border region has ameliorated periodically strained water-sharing arrangements; the US has intensified security measures to monitor and control legal and illegal personnel transport and commodities across its border with Mexico; Mexico must deal with thousands of impoverished Guatemalans and other Central Americans who cross the porous border looking for work in Mexico and the United States; Belize and Mexico are working to solve minor border demarcation discrepancies arising from inaccuracies in the 1898 border treaty

Refugees and internally displaced persons
IDPs: 281,400 (2014)
Stateless persons: 13

Illicit drugs: major drug-producing and transit nation; world's second largest opium poppy cultivator; opium poppy cultivation in 2009 rose 31% over 2008 to 19,500 hectares yielding a potential production of 50 metric tons of pure heroin or 125 metric tons of 'black tar' heroin the dominant form of Mexican heroin in the western United States; marijuana cultivation increased 45% to 17,500 hectares in 2009; government conducts the largest independent illicit-crop eradication program in the world; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine from South America with an estimated 95% of annual cocaine movements toward the US stopping in Mexico; major drug syndicates control the majority of drug trafficking throughout the country; producer and distributor of ecstasy; significant money-laundering center; major supplier of heroin and largest foreign supplier of marijuana and methamphetamine to the US market (2007)