2008 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. The elections held in 2000 marked the first time since the 1910 Mexican Revolution that an opposition candidate - Vicente FOX of the National Action Party (PAN) - defeated the party in government, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He was succeeded in 2006 by another PAN candidate Felipe CALDERON.

Area

total: 1,972,550 sq km land: 1,923,040 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

lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 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

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 78.22 cu km/yr (17%/5%/77%) per capita: 731 cu m/yr (2000)

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

Irrigated land

63,200 sq km (2003)

Land boundaries

total: 4,353 km border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,141 km

Land use

arable land: 12.66% permanent crops: 1.28% other: 86.06% (2005)

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

territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

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

Terrain

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

Total renewable water resources

457.2 cu km (2000)

Age structure

0-14 years: 29.6% (male 16,619,995/female 15,936,154) 15-64 years: 64.3% (male 34,179,440/female 36,530,154) 65 years and over: 6.1% (male 3,023,185/female 3,666,472) (2008 est.)

Birth rate

20.04 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate

4.78 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Education expenditures

5.5% of GDP (2005)

Ethnic groups

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

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.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 19.01 deaths/1,000 live births male: 20.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Languages

Spanish only 92.7%, Spanish and indigenous languages 5.7%, indigenous only 0.8%, unspecified 0.8%; note - indigenous languages include various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional languages (2005)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 75.84 years male: 73.05 years female: 78.78 years (2008 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 91% male: 92.4% female: 89.6% (2004 est.)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: intermediate food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne disease: dengue fever water contact disease: leptospirosis (2008)

Median age

total: 26 years male: 24.9 years female: 27 years (2008 est.)

Nationality

noun: Mexican(s) adjective: Mexican

Net migration rate

-3.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Population

109,955,400 (July 2008 est.)

Population growth rate

1.142% (2008 est.)

Religions

Roman Catholic 76.5%, Protestant 6.3% (Pentecostal 1.4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.1%, other 3.8%), other 0.3%, unspecified 13.8%, none 3.1% (2000 census)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 13 years male: 14 years female: 13 years (2006)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.37 children born/woman (2008 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

name: Mexico (Distrito Federal) geographic coordinates: 19 26 N, 99 08 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in October note: Mexico is divided into three time zones

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

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

chief of mission: Ambassador Arturo SARUKHAN Casamitjana chancery: 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 728-1600

Executive branch

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 head of government: President Felipe de Jesus CALDERON Hinojosa (since 1 December 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of attorney general requires consent of the Senate elections: president elected by popular vote for a single six-year term; election last held on 2 July 2006 (next to be held 1 July 2012) election results: Felipe CALDERON elected president; percent of vote - Felipe CALDERON 35.89%, Andres Manuel LOPEZ OBRADOR 35.31%, Roberto MADRAZO 22.26%, other 6.54%

FAX

[52] (55) 5511-9980 consulate(s) general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana consulate(s): Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nogales, Nuevo Laredo

[1] (202) 728-1698 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Houston, Laredo (Texas), 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): 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, Little Rock (Arkansas), McAllen (Texas), New Orleans, Omaha, Orlando, Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), Presidio (Texas), Raleigh, Saint Paul (Minnesota), Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, Santa Ana (California), Seattle, Tucson, Yuma (Arizona)

Flag description

three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; the coat of arms (an eagle with a snake in its beak perched on a cactus) is centered in the white band

Government type

federal republic

Independence

16 September 1810 (declared); 27 September 1821 (recognized by Spain)

International organization participation

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

Judicial branch

Supreme Court of Justice or Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nacion (justices or ministros 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; 96 members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 seats 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 elected by popular vote; remaining 200 members are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote; to serve three-year terms) 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) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PAN 52, PRI 33, PRD 26, PVEM 6, CD 5, PT 5, independent 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PAN 207, PRD 127, PRI 106, PVEM 17, CD 17, PT 11, other 15

National holiday

Independence Day, 16 September (1810)

Political parties and leaders

Convergence for Democracy or CD [Luis MALDONADO Venegas]; Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI [Beatriz PAREDES]; 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 [German MARTINEZ Cazares]; New Alliance Party (Partido Nueva Alianza) or PNA [Jorge Antonio KAHWAGI Macari]; 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; Businessmen'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

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

revenues: $227.5 billion expenditures: $227.2 billion (2007 est.)

Central bank discount rate

NA

Commercial bank prime lending rate

7.56% (31 December 2007)

Currency (code)

Mexican peso (MXN)

Currency code

MXN

Current account balance

-$5.525 billion (2007 est.)

Debt - external

$179.8 billion (31 December 2007)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

50.9 (2005)

Economic aid - recipient

$189.4 million (2005)

Economy - overview

Mexico has a free market economy in 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. In 2007, during his first year in office, the Felipe CALDERON administration was able to garner support from the opposition to successfully pass a pension and a fiscal reform. The administration continues to face many economic challenges including the need to upgrade infrastructure, modernize labor laws, and allow private investment in the energy sector. CALDERON has stated that his top economic priorities remain reducing poverty and creating jobs.

Electricity - consumption

202 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - exports

1.278 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports

484.2 million kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - production

243.3 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel: 78.7% hydro: 14.2% nuclear: 4.2% other: 2.9% (2001)

Exchange rates

Mexican pesos (MXN) per US dollar - 10.8 (2007), 10.899 (2006), 10.898 (2005), 11.286 (2004), 10.789 (2003)

Exports

$271.9 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities

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

Exports - partners

US 82.2%, Canada 2.4%, Germany 1.5% (2007)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 4% industry: 26.6% services: 69.5% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$12,400 (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

3.2% (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate)

$893.4 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$1.353 trillion (2007 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 1.2% highest 10%: 37% (2006)

Imports

$281.9 billion f.o.b. (2007 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 49.6%, China 10.5%, Japan 5.8%, South Korea 4.5% (2007)

Industrial production growth rate

1.4% (2007 est.)

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

4% (2007 est.)

Investment (gross fixed)

20.8% of GDP (2007 est.)

Labor force

44.71 million (2007 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 18% industry: 24% services: 58% (2003)

Market value of publicly traded shares

$348.3 billion (2006)

Natural gas - consumption

68.29 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - exports

2.973 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports

11.69 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - production

55.98 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves

392.2 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)

Oil - consumption

2.119 million bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - exports

2.204 million bbl/day (2005)

Oil - imports

385,400 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - production

3.501 million bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - proved reserves

11.65 billion bbl (1 January 2008 est.)

Population below poverty line

13.8% using food-based definition of poverty; asset based poverty amounted to more than 40% (2006)

Public debt

22.8% of GDP (2007 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$87.19 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad

$39.01 billion (2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home

$260.9 billion (2007 est.)

Stock of domestic credit

$349.1 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of money

$103.5 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of quasi money

$168.4 billion (31 December 2007)

Unemployment rate

3.7% plus underemployment of perhaps 25% (2007 est.)

Internet country code

.mx

Internet hosts

10.653 million (2008)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

51 (2000)

Internet users

22.812 million (2007)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 850, FM 545, shortwave 15 (2003)

Radios

31 million (1997)

Telephone system

general assessment: 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 domestic: low telephone density with about 18 fixed lines per 100 persons; privatized in December 1990; despite the opening to competition in January 1997, Telmex remains dominant; legal challenges to Telmex's alleged anti-competitive behavior in the mobile and fixed-line markets culminated in a World Trade Organization ruling in 2004 against Mexico prompting some strengthening of the powers granted Mexico's telecom regulator; mobile cellular teledensity approaching 65 per 100 persons international: country code - 52; Columbus-2 fiber-optic submarine cable with access to the US, Virgin Islands, Canary Islands, Spain, and Italy; the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) and the MAYA-1 submarine cable system together provide access to Central America, parts of South America and the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth stations - 120 (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 (2007)

Telephones - main lines in use

19.754 million (2007)

Telephones - mobile cellular

68.254 million (2007)

Television broadcast stations

236 (plus repeaters) (1997)

Televisions

25.6 million (1997)

Airports

1,834 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways

total: 231 over 3,047 m: 12 2,438 to 3,047 m: 29 1,524 to 2,437 m: 84 914 to 1,523 m: 77 under 914 m: 29 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 1,603 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 63 914 to 1,523 m: 408 under 914 m: 1,131 (2007)

Heliports

1 (2007)

Merchant marine

total: 55 by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 7, chemical tanker 5, liquefied gas 4, passenger/cargo 11, petroleum tanker 23, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: 4 (Denmark 2, Hong Kong 1, UAE 1) registered in other countries: 20 (Brazil 1, Honduras 1, Liberia 2, Marshall Islands 4, Panama 2, Portugal 1, Spain 3, Venezuela 5, unknown 1) (2008)

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)

Ports and terminals

Altamira, Coatzacoalcos, Manzanillo, Morro Redondo, Salina Cruz, Tampico, Veracruz

Railways

total: 17,665 km standard gauge: 17,665 km 1.435-m gauge (2006)

Roadways

total: 356,945 km paved: 178,473 km (includes 6,279 km of expressways) unpaved: 178,472 km (2006)

Waterways

2,900 km (navigable rivers and coastal canals) (2007)

Manpower available for military service

males age 16-49: 27,774,688 females age 16-49: 29,376,791 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service

males age 16-49: 22,188,284 females age 16-49: 24,884,614 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually

male: 1,110,544 female: 1,073,223 (2008 est.)

Military branches

Secretariat of National Defense (Secretaria de Defensa Nacional,

Military expenditures

0.5% of GDP (2006 est.)

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; conscripts serve only in the Army; Navy and Air Force service is all voluntary; women are eligible for voluntary military service (2007)

Sedena)

Army (Ejercito, includes 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 naval infantry) (2008)

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

IDPs

5,500-10,000 (government's quashing of Zapatista uprising in 1994 in eastern Chiapas Region) (2007)

Illicit drugs

major drug-producing nation; cultivation of opium poppy in 2007 rose to 6,900 hectares yielding a potential production of 18 metric tons of pure heroin, or 50 metric tons of "black tar" heroin, the dominant form of Mexican heroin in the western United States; marijuana cultivation increased to 8,900 hectares in 2007 and yielded a potential production of 15,800 metric tons; government conducts the largest independent illicit-crop eradication program in the world; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine from South America, with an estimated 90% of annual cocaine movements toward the US stopping in Mexico; major drug syndicates control the majority of drug trafficking throughout the country; producer and distributor of ecstasy; significant money-laundering center; major supplier of heroin and largest foreign supplier of marijuana and methamphetamine to the US market (2007) This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008