1990 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1990 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
varies from tropical to desert
Coastline
9,330 km
Comparative area
slightly less than three times the size of Texas
Contiguous zone
24 nm;
Continental shelf
natural prolongation of continental margin or 200 nm;
Environment
subject to tsunamis along the Pacific coast and destructive earthquakes in the center and south; natural water resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; deforestation; erosion widespread; desertification; serious air pollution in Mexico City and urban centers along US-Mexico border
Extended economic zone
200 nm;
Land boundaries
4,538 km total; Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,326 km
Land use
12% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 39% meadows and pastures; 24% forest and woodland; 24% other; includes 3% irrigated
Natural resources
crude oil, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber
Note
strategic location on southern border of US
Terrain
high, rugged mountains, low coastal plains, high plateaus, and desert
Territorial sea
12 nm
Total area
1,972,550 km2; land area: 1,923,040 km2
People and Society
Birth rate
29 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate
5 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Ethnic divisions
60% mestizo (Indian-Spanish), 30% Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian, 9% white or predominantly white, 1% other
Infant mortality rate
33 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Labor force
26,100,000 (1988); 31.4% services; 26% agriculture, forestry, hunting, and fishing, 13.9% commerce, 12.8% manufacturing, 9.5% construction, 4.8% transportation, 1.3% mining and quarrying, 0.3% electricity, (1986)
Language
Spanish
Life expectancy at birth
68 years male, 76 years female (1990)
Literacy
88%
Nationality
noun--Mexican(s); adjective--Mexican
Net migration rate
- 2 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Organized labor
35% of labor force
Population
87,870,154 (July 1990), growth rate 2.2% (1990)
Religion
97% nominally Roman Catholic, 3% Protestant
Total fertility rate
3.4 children born/woman (1990)
Government
Administrative divisions
31 states (estados, singular--estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja California Norte, 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
Capital
Mexico
Constitution
5 February 1917
Diplomatic representation
Ambassador Gustavo PETRICIOLI Iturbide; Chancery at 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington DC 20006; telephone (202) 728-1600; there are Mexican Consulates General in Chicago, Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Houston, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Antonio, San Diego, and Consulates in Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Corpus Christi, Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Douglas (Arizona), Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), Kansas City (Missouri), Laredo, McAllen (Texas), Miami, Nogales (Arizona), Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Phoenix, Presidio (Texas), Sacramento, St. Louis, St. Paul (Minneapolis), Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, San Jose, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Seattle; US--Ambassador John D. NEGROPONTE, Jr.; Embassy at Paseo de la Reforma 305, Mexico 5, D.F. (mailing address is P. O. Box 3087, Laredo, TX 78044); telephone [52] (5) 211-0042; there are US Consulates General in Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Tijuana, and Consulates in Hermosillo, Matamoros, Mazatlan, Merida, and Nuevo Laredo
Elections
President--last held on 6 July 1988 (next to be held September 1994); results--Carlos Salinas de Gortari (PRI) 50.74%, Cuauhtemoc Cardemas Solorzano (FDN) 31.06%, Manuel Clouthier (PAN) 16.81%; others 1.39%; note--several of the smaller parties ran a common candidate under a coalition called the National Democratic Front (FDN) Senate--last held on 6 July 1988 (next to be held September 1991); results--PRI 94%, FDN (now PRD) 6%; seats--(64 total) number of seats by party NA; Chamber of Deputies--last held on 6 July 1988 (next to be held September 1991); results--PRI 53%, PAN 20%, PFCRN 10%, PPS 6%, PARM 7%, PMS (now part of PRD) 4%; seats--(500 total) number of seats by party NA
Executive branch
president, Cabinet
Flag
three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; the coat of arms (an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake is its beak) is centered in the white band
Independence
16 September 1810 (from Spain)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court of Justice (Suprema Corte de Justicia)
Leaders
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Carlos SALINAS de Gortari (since 1 December 1988)
Legal system
mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Legislative branch
bicameral National Congress (Congreso de la Union) consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Camara de Senadores) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados)
Long-form name
United Mexican States
Member of
FAO, G-77, GATT, Group of Eight, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IRC, ISO, ITU, IWC--International Whaling Commission, LAIA, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO
National holiday
Independence Day, 16 September (1810)
Other political or pressure groups
Roman Catholic Church, Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM), Confederation of Industrial Chambers (CONCAMIN), Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce (CONCANACO), National Peasant Confederation (CNC), National Confederation of Popular Organizations (CNOP), Revolutionary Workers Party (PRT), Mexican Democratic Party (PDM), Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants (CROC), Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers (CROM), Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic (COPARMEX), National Chamber of Transformation Industries (CANACINTRA), Business Coordination Council (CCE)
Political parties and leaders
(recognized parties) Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta; National Action Party (PAN), Luis Alvarez; Popular Socialist Party (PPS), Indalecio Sayago Herrera; Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), Cuauhtemoc Cardenas; Cardenist Front for the National Reconstruction Party (PFCRN), Rafael Aguilar Talamantes; Authentic Party of the Mexican Revolution (PARM), Carlos Enrique Cantu Rosas
Suffrage
universal and compulsory (but not enforced) at age 18
Type
federal republic operating under a centralized government
Economy
Agriculture
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; fish catch of 1.4 million metric tons among top 20 nations (1987)
Aid
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $3.0 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $6.8 billion; Communist countries (1970-88), $110 million
Budget
revenues $36.1 billion; expenditures $56.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $7.7 biilion (1988)
Currency
Mexican peso (plural--pesos); 1 Mexican peso (Mex$) = 100 centavos
Electricity
26,900,000 kW capacity; 103,670 million kWh produced, 1,200 kWh per capita (1989)
Exchange rates
market rate of Mexican pesos (Mex$) per US$1--2,660.3 (January 1990), 2,461.3 (1989), 2,273.1 (1988), 1,378.2 (1987), 611.8 (1986), 256.9 (1985)
Exports
$23.1 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--crude oil, oil products, coffee, shrimp, engines, cotton; partners--US 66%, EC 16%, Japan 11%
External debt
$95.1 billion (1989)
Fiscal year
calendar year
GDP
$187.0 billion, per capita $2,165; real growth rate 2.5% (1989)
Illicit drugs
illicit cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis continues in spite of government eradication efforts; major link in chain of countries used to smuggle cocaine from South American dealers to US markets
Imports
$23.3 billion (c.i.f., 1989); commodities--grain, metal manufactures, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment; partners--US 62%, EC 18%, Japan 10%
Industrial production
growth rate 1.3% (1988)
Industries
food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, transportation equipment, tourism
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
20% (1989)
Overview
Mexico's economy is a mixture of state-owned industrial plants (notably oil), private manufacturing and services, and both large-scale and traditional agriculture. In the 1980s Mexico experienced severe economic difficulties: the nation accumulated large external debts as world petroleum prices fell; rapid population growth outstripped the domestic food supply; and inflation, unemployment, and pressures to emigrate became more acute. Growth in national output dropped from 8% in 1980 to 1.1% in 1988 and 2.5% in 1989. The US is Mexico's major trading partner, accounting for two-thirds of its exports and imports. After petroleum, border assembly plants and tourism are the largest earners of foreign exchange. The government, in consultation with international economic agencies, is implementing programs to stabilize the economy and foster growth.
Unemployment rate
20% (1989 est.)
Communications
Airports
1,785 total, 1,484 usable; 190 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 31 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 259 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
174 major transport aircraft
Highways
210,000 km total; 65,000 km paved, 30,000 km semipaved or cobblestone, 60,000 km rural roads (improved earth) or roads under construction, 55,000 km unimproved earth roads
Inland waterways
2,900 km navigable rivers and coastal canals
Merchant marine
68 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,041,229 GRT/1,552,478 DWT; includes 5 short-sea passenger, 10 cargo, 2 refrigerated cargo, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 31 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 3 chemical tanker, 7 liquefied gas, 4 bulk, 4 combination bulk
Pipelines
crude oil, 4,381 km; refined products, 8,345 km; natural gas, 13,254 km
Ports
Acapulco, Coatzacoalcos, Ensenada, Guaymas, Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Progreso, Puerto Vallarta, Salina Cruz, Tampico, Veracruz
Railroads
20,680 km total; 19,950 km 1.435-meter standard gauge; 730 km 0.914-meter narrow gauge
Telecommunications
highly developed system with extensive radio relay links; connection into Central American Microwave System; 6.41 million telephones; stations--679 AM, no FM, 238 TV, 22 shortwave; 120 domestic satellite terminals; satellite earth stations--4 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT
Military and Security
Branches
Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps
Defense expenditures
0.5% of GDP (1987)
Military manpower
males 15-49, 21,575,525; 15,803,322 fit for military service; 1,118,046 reach military age (18) annually