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.

Map reference: North America, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area
Total 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 claims
Contiguous 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

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.)

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

Geography
Note: strategic location on southern border of US

Population: 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%

Population 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.)

Environment
Current 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

Infant mortality rate: 27.4 deaths/1000 live births (1994 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 72.94 years
Male: 69.36 years
Female: 76.7 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.17 children born/woman (1994 est.)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
Total population: 87%
Male: 90%
Female: 85%

Country name
Conventional long form: United Mexican States
Conventional 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

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

Suffrage: 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)

International 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 representation
From 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

Economy 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 growth rate: 0.4% (1993)

Real gdp per capita: $8,200 (1993 est.)

Agriculture 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.)

Budget: revenues:$58.1 billion

Fiscal year: calendar year

Exports: $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)

Debt external: $125 billion (1993 est.)

Exchange 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

Electricity
Capacity: 27,000,000 kW
Production: 120.725 billion kWh
Consumption per capita: 1,300 kWh (1992)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $NA, NA% of GDP

Airports: 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

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

Waterways: 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

Disputes international: claims Clipperton Island (French possession)

Illicit 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