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. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first time since the 1910 Mexican Revolution that the opposition defeated the party in government the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Vicente FOX of the National Action Party (PAN) was sworn in on 1 December 2000 as the first chief executive elected in free and fair elections.

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: 4,353 km
Border countries: (3) Belize 250 km; , Guatemala 962 km; , US 3,141 km

Coastline: 9,330 km

Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 24 NM
Territorial sea: 12 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 5,700 m

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

Land use
Arable land: 13.2%
Permanent crops: 1.1%
Other: 85.7% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 65,000 km² (1998 est.)

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

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

Population: 104,907,991 (July 2003 est.)
Growth rate: 1.43% (2003 est.)
Below poverty line: 40% (2001 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Mexican
Adjective: Mexican

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

Languages: Spanish various Mayan Nahuatl and other regional indigenous languages

Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 89% Protestant 6% other 5%

Age structure
0-14 years: 32.3% (male 17,298,964; female 16,617,728)
15-64 years: 63.1% (male 32,217,513; female 33,932,603)
65 years and over: 4.6% (male 2,145,252; female 2,695,931) (2003 est.)

Median age
Total: 23.8 years
Male: 22.9 years
Female: 24.6 years (2002)

Population growth rate: 1.43% (2003 est.)

Birth rate: 21.92 births/1000 population (2003 est.)

Death rate: 4.97 deaths/1000 population (2003 est.)

Net migration rate: -2.65 migrant(s)/1000 population (2003 est.)

Environment
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, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male/female
65 years and over: 0.8 male/female
Total population: 0.97 male/female (2003 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 23.68 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 20.43 deaths/1000 live births (2003 est.)
Male: 26.78 deaths/1000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 72.3 years
Male: 69.26 years
Female: 75.49 years (2003 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.53 children born/woman (2003 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.3% (2001 est.)
People living with hivaids: 150,000 (2001 est.)
Deaths: 4,200 (2001 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 92.2%
Male: 94%
Female: 90.5% (2003 est.)

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

Government type: federal republic

Capital: Mexico (Distrito Federal)

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

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: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
Election results: Vicente FOX Quesada elected president; percent of vote - Vicente FOX Quesada (PAN) 42.52%, Francisco LABASTIDA Ochoa (PRI) 36.1%, Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (PRD) 16.64%, other 4.74%
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA July 2006)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of attorney general requires consent of the Senate
Head of government: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

Legislative branch
Election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 60, PAN 46, PRD 15, PVEM 5, PT 1, CD 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 224, PAN 153, PRD 95, other 28
Elections: Senate - last held 2 July 2000 for all of the seats (next to be held NA 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 6 July 2003 (next to be held NA 2006)

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

Political parties and leaders: Convergence for Democracy or CD [Dante DELGADO Ranauro]; Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI [Dulce Maria SAURI Riancho]; Mexican Green Ecological Party or PVEM [Jorge Emilio GONZALEZ Martinez]; National Action Party or PAN [Luis Felipe BRAVO Mena]; Party of the Democratic Revolution or PRD [Amalia GARCIA Medina]; Party of the Nationalist Society or PSN [Gustavo RIOJAS Santana]; Social Alliance Party or PAS [Guillermo CALDERON Dominguez]; Workers Party or PT [Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez]

International organization participation: APEC BCIE BIS Caricom (observer) CDB CE (observer) EBRD ECLAC FAO G-3 G-6 G-15 G-19 G-24 IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICCt (signatory) ICFTU ICRM IDA IEA (observer) IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM ISO ITU LAES LAIA NAM (observer) NEA OAS OECD OPANAL OPCW PCA RG UN UN Security Council (temporary) UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNITAR UNMOVIC UNU UPU WCL WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTrO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Juan Jose BREMER Martino
In the us fax: [1] (202) 728-1698
In the us consulates: Albuquerque, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Corpus Christi, Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Douglas (Arizona), Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), Indianapolis (Indiana), Las Vegas, McAllen (Texas), Midland (Texas), Omaha, Orlando, Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), Presidio (Texas), Raleigh, Saint Louis, Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, Santa Ana (California), Seattle, Tucson, Yuma (Arizona)
In the us consulates general: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Houston, Laredo (Texas), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Nogales (Arizona), Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Juan (Puerto Rico)
In the us chancery: 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,006
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 728-1600
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Antonio O. GARZA
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 78,520-0900
From the us telephone: [52] (55) 5,080-2000
From the us fax: [52] (55) 5,080-2005, 5,080-2,834
From the us consulates general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana
From the us consulates: Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nuevo Laredo, Nogales

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 has a free market economy with a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture increasingly dominated by the private sector. Recent administrations have expanded competition in seaports railroads telecommunications electricity natural gas distribution and airports. Income distribution remains highly unequal. Trade with the US and Canada has tripled since the implementation of NAFTA in 1994. Following 6.9% growth in 2000 real GDP fell 0.3% in 2001 recovering to only a plus 1% in 2002 with the US slowdown the principal cause. Mexico implemented free trade agreements with Guatemala Honduras El Salvador and the European Free Trade Area in 2001 putting more than 90% of trade under free trade agreements. Foreign direct investment reached $25 billion in 2001 of which $12.5 billion came from the purchase of Mexico's second-largest bank Banamex by Citigroup.

Real gdp growth rate: 0.7% (2002 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $8,900 (2002 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 5%
Industry: 26%
Services: 69% (2001 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: 4.9% (2002 est.)

Labor force: 39.8 million (2000)
By occupation agriculture: 20%
By occupation industry: 24%
By occupation services: 56% (1998)

Unemployment rate: urban - 3% plus considerable underemployment (2002)

Population below poverty line: 40% (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 1.6%
Highest 10: 41.1% (2001)

Distribution of family income gini index: 53.1 (1998)

Budget
Revenues: $136 billion
Expenditures: $140 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 6.4% (2002 est.)

Exports: $158.4 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Commodities: manufactured goods oil and oil products silver fruits vegetables coffee cotton
Partners: US 82.7% Canada 5.4% Japan 1.1% (2002)

Imports: $168.4 billion f.o.b. (2002)
Commodities: metalworking machines steel mill products agricultural machinery electrical equipment car parts for assembly repair parts for motor vehicles aircraft and aircraft parts
Partners: US 70.6% Germany 3.5% Japan 2.7% (2002)

Debt external: $150 billion (2000 est.)

Exchange rates: Mexican pesos per US dollar - 9.66 (2002) 9.34 (2001) 9.46 (2000) 9.56 (1999) 9.14 (1998)

Electricity
Production: 198.6 billion kWh (2001)
Production by source fossil fuel: 78.7%
Production by source hydro: 14.2%
Production by source other: 2.9% (2001)
Production by source nuclear: 4.2%
Consumption: 186.7 billion kWh (2001)
Exports: 77 million kWh (2001)
Imports: 2.068 billion kWh (2001)

Natural gas
Production: 36.87 billion m³ (2001 est.)
Consumption: 38.84 billion m³ (2001 est.)
Exports: 254 million m³ (2001 est.)
Imports: 2.967 billion m³ (2001 est.)
Proven reserves: 969.2 billion m³ (37,257)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 12.332 million (2000)
Mobile cellular: 2.02 million (1998)

Telephone system
General assessment: low telephone density with about 12 main lines per 100 persons; privatized in December 1990; the opening to competition in January 1997 improved prospects for development
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; considerable use of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, and mobile cellular service
International: satellite earth stations - 32 Intelsat, 2 Solidaridad (giving Mexico improved access to South America, Central America, and much of the US as well as enhancing domestic communications), numerous Inmarsat mobile earth stations; linked to Central American Microwave System of trunk connections; high capacity Columbus-2 fiber-optic submarine cable with access to the US, Virgin Islands, Canary Islands, Morocco, Spain, and Italy (1997)

Internet
Country code: .mx
Service providers isps: 51 (2000)
Users: 3.5 million (2002)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $4 billion (FY99)
Percent of gdp: 1% (FY99)

Airports: 1823 (2002)
With paved runways total: 231
With paved runways over 3047 m: 11
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 28
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 82
With paved runways under 914 m: 27 (2002)
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 83
With unpaved runways total: 1,592
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 1,067 (2002)
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 454
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 69

Heliports: 2 (2002)

Pipelines: crude oil 28,200 km; petroleum products 10,150 km; natural gas 13,254 km; petrochemical 1400 km

Railways
Total: 19,510 km
Standard gauge: 19,510 km 1.435-m gauge (2002)

Waterways
Note: navigable rivers and coastal canals

Merchant marine
Total: 47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 636,271 GRT/933,686 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 1, chemical tanker 4, combination ore/oil 1, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 26, roll on/roll off 8, short-sea passenger 3
Note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Canada 2, Denmark 1 (2002 est.)

Disputes international: prolonged regional drought in the border region with the US has strained water-sharing arrangements

Illicit drugs: illicit cultivation of opium poppy (cultivation in 2001 - 4,400 hectares; potential heroin production - 7 metric tons) and of cannabis (in 2001 - 4,100 hectares); government eradication efforts have been key in keeping illicit crop levels low; major supplier of heroin and largest foreign supplier of marijuana and methamphetamine to the US market; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine from South America; major drug syndicates control majority of drug trafficking throughout the country; growing producer and distributor of ecstasy; significant money-laundering center