2007 Edition

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

Age structure

0-14 years: 30.6% (male 16,770,957/female 16,086,172) 15-64 years: 63.6% (male 33,071,809/female 35,316,281) 65 years and over: 5.8% (male 2,814,707/female 3,389,599) (2006 est.)

Agriculture - products

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

Airports

1,839 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways

over 3,047 m

12 2,438 to 3,047 m: 28 1,524 to 2,437 m: 82 914 to 1,523 m: 77

total

228

under 914 m

29 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways

over 3,047 m

1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 68 914 to 1,523 m: 460

total

1,611

under 914 m

1,081 (2006)

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

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. Geography Mexico

Birth rate

20.69 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Budget

expenditures

$196.2 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)

revenues

$196.5 billion

Capital

daylight saving time

+1hr, begins first Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in October

geographic coordinates

19 24 N, 99 09 W

name

Mexico (Distrito Federal)

note

Mexico is divided into four time zones

time difference

UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Climate

varies from tropical to desert

Coastline

9,330 km

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

Currency (code)

Mexican peso (MXN)

Currency code

MXN

Current account balance

$-400.1 million (2006 est.)

Death rate

4.74 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Debt - external

$178.3 billion (30 June 2006 est.)

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission

Ambassador Antonio O. GARZA, Jr.

embassy

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

mailing address

P. O. Box 9000, Brownsville, TX 78520-9000

telephone

[52] (55) 5080-2000

Diplomatic representation in the US

chancery

1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006

chief of mission

Ambassador Carlos Alberto de ICAZA Gonzalez

telephone

[1] (202) 728-1600

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

Distribution of family income - Gini index

54.6 (2000)

Economic aid - recipient

$1.166 billion (1995)

Economy - overview

Mexico has a free market economy that recently entered the trillion dollar class. It contains 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 generation, natural gas distribution, and airports. Per capita income is one-fourth that of the US; income distribution remains highly unequal. Trade with the US and Canada has tripled since the implementation of NAFTA in 1994. Mexico has 12 free trade agreements with over 40 countries including, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, the European Free Trade Area, and Japan, putting more than 90% of trade under free trade agreements. The new Felipe CALDERON administration that took office in December 2006 faces many of the same challenges that former President FOX tried to tackle, including the need to upgrade infrastructure, modernize the tax system and labor laws, and allow private investment in the energy sector. CALDERON has stated that his top priorities include reducing poverty and creating jobs. The success of his economic agenda will depend on his ability to garner support from the opposition.

Electricity - consumption

224.6 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports

1.203 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports

416 million kWh (2004)

Electricity - production

242.4 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel

78.7%

hydro

14.2%

nuclear

4.2%

other

2.9% (2001)

Elevation extremes

highest point

Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m

lowest point

Laguna Salada -10 m

Environment - current issues

scarcity of hazardous waste disposal facilities; rural to urban migration; 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; 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

note

the government considers the lack of clean water and deforestation national security issues

Environment - 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

signed, but not ratified

none of the selected agreements

Ethnic groups

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

Exchange rates

Mexican pesos per US dollar - 11.024 (2006), 10.898 (2005), 11.286 (2004), 10.789 (2003), 9.656 (2002)

Executive branch

cabinet

Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of attorney general requires consent of the Senate

chief of state

President Felipe de Jesus CALDERON Hinojosa (since 1 December 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

election results

Felipe CALDERON elected president; percent of vote - Felipe CALDERON (PAN) 35.89%, Andres Manuel Lopez OBRADOR (PRD) 35.31%, Roberto MADRAZO (PRI) 22.26%, other 6.54%

elections

president elected by popular vote for a single six-year term; election last held 2 July 2006 (next to be held 1 July 2012)

head of government

President Felipe de Jesus CALDERON Hinojosa (since 1 December 2006)

Exports

$248.8 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Exports - commodities

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

Exports - partners

US 85.7%, Canada 2%, Spain 1.4% (2005)

FAX

[1] (202) 728-1698

[52] (55) 5511-9980

consulate(s)

Albuquerque, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Douglas (Arizona), Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), Indianapolis (Indiana), Kansas City (Missouri), Laredo (Texas), Las Vegas, McAllen (Texas), Midland (Texas), Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), Presidio (Texas), Raleigh, Saint Paul (Minnesota), Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, Santa Ana (California), Seattle, Tucson, Yuma (Arizona)

consulate(s)

Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nogales, Nuevo Laredo

consulate(s) general

Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Nogales (Arizona), Omaha, Orlando, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Juan (Puerto Rico)

consulate(s) general

Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana

Fiscal year

calendar year Communications Mexico

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 Mexico

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture

3.9%

industry

25.7%

services

70.5% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$10,600 (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

4.5% (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate)

$741.5 billion (2006 est.)

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$1.134 trillion (2006 est.)

Geographic coordinates

23 00 N, 102 00 W

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 People Mexico

Government type

federal republic

Heliports

1 (2006)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

0.3% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

5,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

160,000 (2003 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

highest 10%

35.6% (2002)

lowest 10%

1.6%

IDPs

10,000-12,000 (government's quashing of Zapatista uprising in 1994 in eastern Chiapas Region) (2006)

Illicit drugs

major drug-producing nation; cultivation of opium poppy in 2004 amounted to 3,500 hectares, but opium cultivation stayed within the range - between 3,500 and 5,500 hectares - observed in nine of the last 12 years; potential production of 9 metric tons of pure heroin, or 23 metric tons of "black tar" heroin, the dominant form of Mexican heroin in the western United States; marijuana cultivation decreased 23% to 5,800 hectares in 2004 after decade-high cultivation peak in 2003; potential production of 10,400 metric tons of marijuana in 2004; government conducts the largest independent illicit-crop eradication program in the world; 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, accounting for about 90% of estimated annual cocaine movement to the US; major drug syndicates control majority of drug trafficking throughout the country; producer and distributor of ecstasy; significant money-laundering center This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

Imports

$253.1 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Imports - commodities

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

Imports - partners

US 53.4%, China 8%, Japan 5.9% (2005)

Independence

16 September 1810 (from Spain)

Industrial production growth rate

3.6% (2006 est.)

Industries

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

Infant mortality rate

female

18.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

male

22.19 deaths/1,000 live births

total

20.26 deaths/1,000 live births

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

3.4% (2006 est.)

International organization participation

APEC, BCIE, BIS, CAN (observer), CDB, CE (observer), CSN (observer), EBRD, FAO, G-3, G-6, G-15, G-24, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA, NAFTA, NAM (observer), NEA, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMOVIC, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Internet country code

.mx

Internet hosts

3,426,680 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

51 (2000)

Internet users

18,622,500 (2005) Transportation Mexico

Investment (gross fixed)

20% of GDP (2006 est.)

Irrigated land

63,200 sq km (2003)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court of Justice or Suprema Corte de Justicia Nacional (justices or ministros are appointed by the president with consent of the Senate)

Labor force

38.09 million (2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture

18%

industry

24%

services

58% (2003)

Land boundaries

border countries

Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,141 km

total

4,353 km

Land use

arable land

12.66%

other

86.06% (2005)

permanent crops

1.28%

Languages

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

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; 96 are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 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 - PAN 52, PRI 33, PRD 29, PVEM 6, CD 5, PT 2, PNA 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PAN 206, PRD 127, PRI 103, PVEM 18, CD 17, PT 16, other 13

elections

Senate - last held 2 July 2006 for all of the seats (next to be held 1 July 2012); Chamber of Deputies - last held 2 July 2006 (next to be held 5 July 2009)

Life expectancy at birth

female

78.33 years (2006 est.)

male

72.63 years

total population

75.41 years

Literacy

definition

age 15 and over can read and write

female

90.5% (2003 est.) Government Mexico

male

94%

total population

92.2%

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

Manpower available for military service

females age 18-49

26,128,046 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49

24,488,008

Manpower fit for military service

females age 18-49

21,966,796 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49

19,058,337

Manpower reaching military service age annually

females age 18-49

1,043,816 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49

1,063,233

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

Median age

female

26.2 years (2006 est.)

male

24.3 years

total

25.3 years

Merchant marine

by type

bulk carrier 2, cargo 6, chemical tanker 6, liquefied gas 4, passenger/cargo 9, petroleum tanker 25, roll on/roll off 4

foreign-owned

5 (Denmark 2, France 1, Norway 1, UAE 1)

registered in other countries

15 (Belize 1, Honduras 1, Liberia 1, Panama 5, Portugal 1, Spain 3, Venezuela 3) (2006)

total

56 ships (1000 GRT or over) 751,607 GRT/1,129,234 DWT

Military branches

Secretariat of National Defense (Secretaria de Defensa Nacional,

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$6.07 billion (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

0.8% (2005 est.) Transnational Issues Mexico

Military service age and obligation

18 years of age for compulsory military service, conscript service obligation - 12 months; 16 years of age with consent for voluntary enlistment (2004)

National holiday

Independence Day, 16 September (1810)

Nationality

adjective

Mexican

noun

Mexican(s)

Natural gas - consumption

50.45 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - exports

0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - imports

9.831 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - production

41.47 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves

420.5 billion cu m (1 January 2005 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

Natural resources

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

Net migration rate

-4.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Oil - consumption

1.97 million bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports

1.863 million bbl/day (2004)

Oil - imports

205,000 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - production

3.42 million bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - proved reserves

12.49 billion bbl (2006 est.)

Pipelines

gas 22,705 km; liquid petroleum gas 1,875 km; oil 8,688 km; oil/gas/water 228 km; refined products 6,520 km (2006)

Political parties and leaders

Convergence for Democracy or CD [Luis MALDONADO Venegas]; Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI [Mariano PALACIOS Alcocer]; Labor Party or PT [Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez]; Mexican Green Ecological Party or PVEM [Jorge Emilio GONZALEZ Martinez]; National Action Party (Partido Accion Nacional) or PAN [Manuel ESPINO Barrientos]; New Alliance Party (Partido Nueva Alianza) or PNA [Miguel Angel JIMENEZ Godinez]; Party of the Democratic Revolution (Partido de la Revolucion Democratica) or PRD [Leonel COTA Montano]; Social Democratic and Peasant Alternative Party (Partido Alternativa Socialdemocrata y Campesina) or Alternativa [Alberto BEGNE Guerra]

Political pressure groups and leaders

Broad Progressive Front or FAP; Businessman's Coordinating Council or CCE; 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 Small Business Chamber or CANACOPE; National Syndicate of Education Workers or SNTE; National Union of Workers or UNT; Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca or APPO; Roman Catholic Church

Population

107,449,525 (July 2006 est.)

Population below poverty line

40% (2003 est.)

Population growth rate

1.16% (2006 est.)

Ports and terminals

Altamira, Manzanillo, Morro Redondo, Salina Cruz, Tampico, Topolobampo, Veracruz Military Mexico

Public debt

20.7% of GDP (2006 est.)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 850, FM 545, shortwave 15 (2003)

Radios

31 million (1997)

Railways

standard gauge

17,562 km 1.435-m gauge (2005)

total

17,562 km

Religions

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

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$85.01 billion (2006 est.)

Roadways

paved

116,751 km (including 6,144 km of expressways)

total

235,670 km

unpaved

118,919 km (2004)

Sedena)

Army (Ejercito), Mexican Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Mexicana, FAM); Secretariat of the Navy (Secretaria de Marina, Semar): Mexican Navy (Armada de Mexico, ARM, includes Naval Air Force (FAN) and Marines) (2006)

Sex ratio

at birth

1.05 male(s)/female

total population

0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

under 15 years

1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female

Suffrage

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

Telephone system

domestic

adequate telephone service for business and government, but the population is poorly served; mobile subscribers far outnumber fixed-line subscribers; domestic satellite system with 120 earth stations; extensive microwave radio relay network; considerable use of fiber-optic cable and coaxial cable

general assessment

low telephone density with about 18 main lines per 100 persons; privatized in December 1990; the opening to competition in January 1997 improved prospects for development, but Telmex remains dominant

international

country code - 52; 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), 1 Panamsat, 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 (2005)

Telephones - main lines in use

19.512 million (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular

47.462 million (2005)

Television broadcast stations

236 (plus repeaters) (1997)

Televisions

25.6 million (1997)

Terrain

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

Total fertility rate

2.42 children born/woman (2006 est.)

Trafficking in persons

current situation

Mexico is a source, transit, and destination country for persons trafficked for sexual exploitation and labor; while the vast majority of victims are Central Americans trafficked along Mexico's southern border, other source regions include South America, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia; women and children are trafficked from rural regions to urban centers and tourist areas for sexual exploitation, often through fraudulent offers of employment or through threats of physical violence; the Mexican trafficking problem is often conflated with alien smuggling, and frequently the same criminal networks are involved; pervasive corruption among state and local law enforcement often impedes investigations

tier rating

Tier 2 Watch List - Mexico remains on the Tier 2 Watch List for the third consecutive year based on future commitments to undertake additional efforts in prosecution, protection, and prevention of trafficking in persons, and the failure of the government to provide critical law enforcement data

Unemployment rate

3.2% plus underemployment of perhaps 25% (2006 est.)

Waterways

2,900 km (navigable rivers and coastal canals) (2005)