2000 Edition

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.

Area

land

1,923,040 sq km

total

1,972,550 sq km

water

49,510 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly less than three times the size of Texas

Climate

varies from tropical to desert

Coastline

9,330 km

Elevation extremes

highest point

Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m

lowest point

Laguna Salada -10 m

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

Environment - international agreements

party to

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geographic coordinates

23 00 N, 102 00 W

Geography - note

strategic location on southern border of US

Irrigated land

61,000 sq km (1993 est.)

Land boundaries

border countries

Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,326 km

total

4,538 km

Land use

arable land

12%

forests and woodland

26%

other

22% (1993 est.)

permanent crops

1%

permanent pastures

39%

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

Map references

North America

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

Natural hazards

tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean coasts

Natural resources

petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber

Terrain

high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert

Age structure

0-14 years: 34% (male 17,306,548; female 16,632,827) 15-64 years: 62% (male 30,223,317; female 31,868,213) 65 years and over: 4% (male 1,927,850; female 2,391,011) (2000 est.)

Birth rate

23.15 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate

5.05 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Ethnic groups

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

Infant mortality rate

26.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Languages

Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages

Life expectancy at birth

female

74.66 years (2000 est.)

male

68.47 years

total population

71.49 years

Literacy

definition

age 15 and over can read and write

female

87.4% (1995 est.)

male

91.8%

total population

89.6%

Nationality

adjective

Mexican

noun

Mexican(s)

Net migration rate

-2.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Population

100,349,766 (July 2000 est.)

Population growth rate

1.53% (2000 est.)

Religions

nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%, other 5%

Sex ratio

at birth

1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female

total population

0.97 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.67 children born/woman (2000 est.)

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

Capital

Mexico

Constitution

5 February 1917

Country name

conventional long form

United Mexican States

conventional short form

Mexico

local long form

Estados Unidos Mexicanos

local short form

Mexico

Data code

MX

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission

Ambassador Jeffery DAVIDOW

embassy

Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 06500 Mexico, Distrito Federal

mailing address

P. O. Box 3087, Laredo, TX 78044-3087

telephone

(5) 209-9100

Diplomatic representation in the US

chancery

1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006

chief of mission

Ambassador Jesus REYES HEROLES Gonzalez Garza

telephone

(202) 728-1600

Executive branch

cabinet

Cabinet appointed by the president with consent of the Senate

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

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 6.05%

elections

president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 21 August 1994 (next to be held 2 July 2000)

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

FAX

(202) 728-1698

(5) 208-3373, 511-9980

consulate(s)

Albuquerque, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Corpus Christi, Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Douglas (Arizona), Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), McAllen (Texas), Midland (Texas), Orlando, Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, San Jose, Santa Ana (California), Seattle, Tucson

consulate(s)

Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nuevo Laredo, Nogales

consulate(s) 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 Juan (Puerto Rico)

consulate(s) general

Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana

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

Government type

federal republic

Independence

16 September 1810 (from Spain)

International organization participation

APEC, BCIE, BIS, Caricom (observer), CCC, CDB, EBRD, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-6, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM (observer), NEA, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Judicial branch

Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia, judges are appointed by the president with consent of the Senate

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 or Congreso de la Union consists of the Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; half are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, and half are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote) and the Federal Chamber of Deputies or Camara Federal de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members are directly elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; remaining 200 members are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote, also for three-year terms)

election results

Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRI 77, PAN 33, PRD 16, PVEM 1, PT 1; note - the distribution of seats as of October 1999 is as follows - PRI 75, PAN 31, PRD 16, PT 1, independents 5; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - PRI 39%, PAN 27%, PRD 26%; seats by party - PRI 239, PRD 125, PAN 121, PVEM 8, PT 7; note - the distribution of seats as of October 1999 is as follows - PRI 237, PRD 125, PAN 120, PT 7, PVEM 6, independents 5

elections

Senate - last held 6 July 1997 for one-quarter of the seats; Chamber of Deputies - last held 6 July 1997 (the next legislative elections will coincide with the presidential election 2 July 2000)

National holiday

Independence Day, 16 September (1810)

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 GONZALEZ Torres]; National Action Party or PAN [Luis Felipe BRAVO Mena]; Party of the Democratic Center or PCD ; Party of the Democratic Revolution or PRD ; Party of the Mexican Revolution or PARM ; Party of the Nationalist Society or PSN ; Social Alliance Party or PAS ; Social Democratic Party or PDS ; Workers Party or PT [Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez]

Political pressure groups and leaders

Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic or COPARMEX; Confederation of Industrial Chambers or CONCAMIN; Confederation of Mexican Workers or CTM; Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce or CONCANACO; Coordinator for Foreign Trade Business Organizations or COECE; Federation of Unions Providing Goods and Services or FESEBES; National Chamber of Transformation Industries or CANACINTRA; National Peasant Confederation or CNC; National Union of Workers or UNT; Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers or CROM; Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants or CROC; Revolutionary Workers Party or PRT; Roman Catholic Church

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced)

Agriculture - products

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

Budget

expenditures

$123 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.)

revenues

$117 billion

Currency

1 New Mexican peso (Mex$) = 100 centavos

Debt - external

$155.8 billion (1999)

Economic aid - recipient

$1.166 billion (1995)

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 number of state-owned enterprises in Mexico has fallen from more than 1,000 in 1982 to fewer than 200 in 1999. The ZEDILLO administration is privatizing and expanding competition in sea ports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity, natural gas distribution, and airports. A strong export sector helped to cushion the economy's decline in 1995 and led the recovery in 1996-99. Private consumption became the leading driver of growth, accompanied by increased employment and higher wages. Mexico still needs to overcome many structural problems as it strives to modernize its economy and raise living standards. Income distribution is very unequal, with the top 20% of income earners accounting for 55% of income. Trade with the US and Canada has nearly doubled since NAFTA was implemented in 1994. Mexico is pursuing additional trade agreements with most countries in Latin America and has signed a free trade deal with the EU to lessen its dependence on the US. The government is pursuing conservative economic policies in 2000 to avoid another end-of-term economic crisis, but it still projects an economic growth rate of 4.5% because of the strong US economy and high oil prices.

Electricity - consumption

164.767 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports

11 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports

1.047 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - production

176.055 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel

78.12%

hydro

13.82%

nuclear

5%

other

3.06% (1998)

Exchange rates

Mexican pesos (Mex$) per US$1 - 9.4793 (January 2000), 9.5604 (1999), 9.1360 (1998), 7.9185 (1997), 7.5994(1996), 6.4194 (1995)

Exports

$136.8 billion (f.o.b., 1999), includes in-bond industries (assembly plant operations with links to US companies)

Exports - commodities

manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, coffee, cotton

Exports - partners

US 89.3%, Canada 1.7%, Spain 0.6%, Japan 0.5%, Venezuela 0.3%, Chile 0.3%, Brazil 0.3% (1999 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $865.5 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture

5%

industry

29%

services

66% (1999)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $8,500 (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

3.7% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 1.8% highest 10%: 36.6% (1996)

Imports

$142.1 billion (f.o.b., 1999), includes in-bond industries (assembly plant operations with links to US companies)

Imports - commodities

metal-working machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts

Imports - partners

US 74.8%, Germany 3.8%, Japan 3.5%, Canada 1.9%, South Korea 2%, Italy 1.3%, France 1% (1999 est.)

Industrial production growth rate

4% (1999 est.)

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

15% (1999 est.)

Labor force

38.6 million (1999)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture 24%, industry 21%, services 55% (1997)

Population below poverty line

27% (1998 est.)

Unemployment rate

2.5% urban (1998); plus considerable underemployment

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

167 (1999)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 865, FM about 500, shortwave 13 (1999)

Radios

31 million (1997)

Telephone system

highly developed system with extensive microwave radio relay links; privatized in December 1990; opened to competition January 1997

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)

Telephones - main lines in use

9.6 million (1998)

Telephones - mobile cellular

2.02 million (1998)

Television broadcast stations

236 (plus repeaters) (1997)

Televisions

25.6 million (1997)

Airports

1,806 (1999 est.)

Airports - with paved runways

total

233 over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 28 1,524 to 2,437 m: 87 914 to 1,523 m: 81 under 914 m: 27 (1999 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total

1,573 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 63 914 to 1,523 m: 473 under 914 m: 1,035 (1999 est.)

Heliports

2 (1999 est.)

Highways

paved

96,221 km (including 6,335 km of expressways)

total

323,977 km

unpaved

227,756 km (1997 est.)

Merchant marine

ships by type

bulk 2, cargo 1, chemical tanker 4, liquified gas 4, petroleum tanker 29, roll-on/roll-off 3, short-sea passenger 3 (1999 est.)

total

46 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 633,219 GRT/970,947 DWT

Pipelines

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

Ports and harbors

Acapulco, Altamira, Coatzacoalcos, Ensenada, Guaymas, La Paz, Lazaro Cardenas, Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Progreso, Salina Cruz, Tampico, Topolobampo, Tuxpan, Veracruz

Railways

narrow gauge

90 km 0.914-m gauge (1998 est.)

standard gauge

30,958 km 1.435-m gauge (246 km electrified)

total

31,048 km

Waterways

2,900 km navigable rivers and coastal canals

Military branches

National Defense Secretariat (includes Army and Air Force), Navy Secretariat (includes Naval Air and Marines)

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$4 billion (FY99)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

1% (FY99)

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 26,171,141 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males age 15-49: 19,022,012 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - military age

18 years of age

note

starting in 2000, females will be allowed to volunteer for military service

Military manpower - reaching military age annually

males

1,073,809 (2000 est.)

Disputes - international

none

Illicit drugs

illicit cultivation of opium poppy (cultivation in 1998 - 5,500 hectares; potential production - 60 metric tons) and cannabis cultivation in 1998 - 4,600 hectares; government eradication efforts have been key in keeping illicit crop levels low; major supplier of heroin and marijuana to the US market; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine from South America; involved in the production and distribution of methamphetamines; upsurge in drug-related violence and official corruption; major drug syndicates growing more powerful

MICRONESIA

MIDWAY ISLANDS