Mexico

 
Geography                 Economy                 Defense Forces
 

People                    Transportation          Government



Communications            History      	          Travel

GEOGRAPHY

Location

Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the U.S. and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatamala and the U.S.

Area

Total area: 1,972,550 sq km
Land area: 1,923,040 sq km
Comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Texas

Land Boundaries

Total 4,538 km, Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, U.S. 3,326 km

Coastline

9,330 km

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

International Disputes

Claims Clipperton Island (French possession)

Climate

Varies from tropical to desert

Terrain

High, rugged mountains, low coastal plains, high plateaus, and desert
lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m
highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m

Natural Resources

Petroleum
Silver
Copper
Gold
Lead
Zinc
Natural gas
Timber

Land Use

Arable land: 12%
Permanent crops: 1%
Meadows and pastures: 39%
Forest and woodland: 24%
Other: 24%

Irrigated Land

51,500 sq km (1989 est.)

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
Natural hazards: tsunamis along the Pacific coast, destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Gulf and Caribbean coasts
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

Note: Strategic location on southern border of U.S.

PEOPLE

Population

95,772,462 (July 1996 est.)
93,985,848 (July 1995 est.)

Age Structure

0-14 Years

36% (male 17,732,725; female 17,125,562) (July 1996 est.)
37% (male 17,631,110; female 17,028,091) (July 1995 est.)

15-64 Years

59% (male 27,562,285; female 29,165,138) (July 1996 est.)
59% (male 26,866,886; female 28,429,663) (July 1995 est.)

65 Years and Over

5% (male 1,911,968; female 2,274,784) (July 1996 est.)
4% (male 1,845,100; female 2,184,998) (July 1995 est.)

Population Growth Rate

1.87% (1996 est.)
1.9% (1995 est.)

Birth Rate

26.24 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
26.64 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death Rate

4.58 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
4.64 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net Migration Rate

-2.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
-3.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

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: 0.84 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant Mortality Rate

25 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
26 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth

Total population: 73.67 years (1996 est.), 73.34 years (1995 est.)
Male: 70.07 years (1996 est.), 69.74 years (1995 est.)
Female: 77.45 years (1996 est.), 77.11 years (1995 est.)

Total Fertility Rate

3.03 children born/woman (1996 est.)
3.09 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality

Noun: Mexican(s)
Adjective: Mexican

Ethnic Divisions

Mestizo (Indian-Spanish) 60%
Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%
Caucasian or predominantly Caucasian 9%
Other 1%

Religions

Nominally Roman Catholic 89%
Protestant 6%

Languages

Spanish, various Mayan dialects

Literacy

Age 15 and over that can read and write (1995 est.)

Total population: 89.5%
Male: 91.8%
Female: 87.4%

Labor Force

33.6 million (1994)

By occupation:

Services 31.7%
Agriculture, forestry, hunting, and fishing 28%
Commerce 14.6%
Manufacturing 11.1%
Construction 8.4%
Transportation 4.7%
Mining and quarrying 1.5%

GOVERNMENT

Names

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

Digraph

Type

Federal republic operating under a centralized government

Capital

Mexico

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 U.S. 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 and head of government: President Ernesto ZEDILLO Ponce de Leon (since 1 December 1994); election last held on 21 August 1994 (next to be held NA); results - Ernesto ZEDILLO Ponce de Leon (PRI) 50.18%, Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (PRD) 17.08%, Diego FERNANDEZ de Cevallos (PAN) 26.69%; other 6.049%
Cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president

Legislative Branch

Bicameral National Congress (Congreso de la Union)

Senate (Camara De Senadores)

Elections last held on 21 August 1994 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats in full Senate - (128 total; Senate expanded from 64 seats at the last election) PRI 93, PRD 25, PAN 10

Chamber of Deputies (Camara De Diputados)

Elections last held on 24 August 1994 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (500 total) PRI 300, PAN 119, PRD 71, PFCRN 10

Judicial Branch

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

Political Parties and Leaders

(recognized parties) Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Santiago ONATE Laborde; National Action Party (PAN), Carlos CASTILLO; Popular Socialist Party (PPS), Indalecio SAYAGO Herrera; Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), Porfirio MUNOZ Ledo; Cardenist Front for the National Reconstruction Party (PFCRN), Rafael AGUILAR Talamantes; Democratic Forum Party (PFD), Pablo Emilio MADERO; Mexican Green Ecologist Party (PVEM), Jorge GONZALEZ Torres; Workers Party (PT), Alberto ANYA Gutierrez

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); Revolutionary Workers Party (PRT); 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); Coordinator for Foreign Trade Business Organizations (COECE); Federation of Unions Providing Goods and Services (FESEBES)

Member of

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

National Anthem

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 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. Mexico entered 1996 on the heels of its worst recession since the 1930s. Economic activity contracted about 7% in 1995 in the aftermath of the peso devaluation in late 1994. Although Mexico City was able to correct imbalances in its external accounts, meet international payments obligations, and dramatically improve its trade balance in 1995, the domestic economy suffered harshly as the ZEDILLO administration stuck to a strict austerity program. The tight monetary and fiscal policies helped prevent spiraling inflation and kept government spending under control but drove interest rates to record heights, making it difficult for most Mexicans to service their debts. At the same time, consumers' reduced purchasing power made buying even necessities difficult for some. Many small- and medium-sized firms were unable to survive under the twin burdens of high interest rates and depressed domestic demand for their goods. Business closures and cutbacks fueled unemployment; more than 1 million Mexicans lost their jobs. According to the government and most private sector observers, the recession bottomed out in the third quarter of 1995, but the difficult year fed growing dissatisfaction with the ruling party, led to a crisis of confidence in President ZEDILLO'S ability to lead, and spurred increased tensions within the ruling party. While the ZEDILLO administration is optimistic that 1996 will bring some recovery - the government is forecasting 3% growth and 21% inflation - Mexico will face several key vulnerabilities, including the financial health of the banking sector, shaky investor confidence that could be easily jarred by more political or economic shocks, and increasingly emboldened dissenters within the ruling party.

National Product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $721.4 billion (1995 est.), $728.7 billion (1994 est.)

National Product Real Growth Rate

-6.9% (1995 est.)
3.5% (1994 est.)

National Product Per Capita

$7,700 (1995 est.)
$7,900 (1994 est.)

Inflation Rate (consumer Prices)

52% (1995 est.)
7.1% (1994 est.)

Unemployment Rate

10% (1995 est.) plus considerable underemployment
9.8% (1994 est.)

Budget

Revenues: $56 billion (1995 est.), $96.99 billion (1994 est.)
Expenditures: $54 billion (1995 est.), including capital expenditures of $NA, $96.51 billion (1994 est.), including capital expenditures of NA (1994 est.)

Exports

$80 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.), includes in-bond industries
$60.8 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.), includes in-bond industries

Commodities:

Crude oil
Oil products
Coffee
Silver
Engines
Motor vehicles
Cotton
Consumer electronics

Partners:

U.S. 85%
Japan 1.6%
EU 4.6% (1994 est.)

Imports

$72 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.), includes in-bond industries
$79.4 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.), includes in-bond industries

Commodities:

Metal-working machines
Steel mill products
Agricultural machinery
Electrical equipment
Car parts for assembly
Repair parts for motor vehicles
Aircraft
And aircraft parts

Partners:

U.S. 69%
Japan 6%
EU 12% (1993 est.)

External Debt

$155 billion (1995 est.)
$128 billion (1994 est.)

Industrial Production

Growth rate -7.5% (1995 est.), 4.5% (1994 est.)

Electricity

Capacity: 28,780,000 kW
Production: 122 billion kWh
Consumption per capita: 1,239 kWh (1993)

Industries

Food and beverages
Tobacco
Chemicals
Iron and steel
Petroleum
Mining
Textiles
Clothing
Motor vehicles
Consumer durables
Tourism

Agriculture

Accounts for 7% of GDP; large number of small farms at subsistence level; major food crops - corn, wheat, rice, beans; cash crops - cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes

Illicit Drugs

Illicit cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis continues in spite of government eradication program; major supplier of heroin and marijuana to the U.S. market; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine and marijuana from South America; increasingly involved in the production and distribution of methamphetamine

Economic Aid

Recipient: ODA, $85 million (1993), U.S. commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $3.1 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $7.7 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $110 million

Currency

1 New Mexican peso (Mex$) = 100 centavos

Exchange Rates

Market rate of Mexican pesos (Mex$) per US$1 - 7.6647 (December 1995), 6.4194 (1995), 3.3751 (1994), 3.1156 (1993), 3,094.9 (1992), 3,018.4 (1991), 2,812.6 (1990)

Note: The new peso replaced the old peso on 1 January 1993; 1 new peso = 1,000 old pesos

Fiscal Year

Calendar year

TRANSPORTATION

Railroads

Total: 20,567 km
Standard gauge: 20,477 km 1.435-m gauge (246 km electrified)
Narrow gauge: 90 km 0.914-m gauge

Highways

Total: 245,433 km
Paved: 88,601 km (including 4,286 km of expressways)
Unpaved: 156,832 km (1993 est.)

Inland Waterways

2,900 km navigable rivers and coastal canals

Pipelines

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

Ports

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

Merchant Marine

Total: 51 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 875,314 GRT/1,245,932 DWT
Ships by type: cargo 1, chemical tanker 4, container 4, liquefied gas tanker 7, oil tanker 29, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2, short-sea passenger 3 (1995 est.)

Airports

Total: 1,411
With paved runways over 3,047 m: 9
With paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 25
With paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 88
With paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 66
With paved runways under 914 m: 815
With unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 50
With unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 358 (1995 est.)

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephone System

11,890,868 telephones (1993 est.); highly developed system with extensive microwave radio relay links; privatized in December 1990

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
International: satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean); launched Solidaridad I satellite in November 1993 and Solidaridad II in October 1994, giving Mexico improved access to South America, Central America and much of the US as well as enhancing domestic communications; linked to Central American Microwave System of trunk connections

Radio

Broadcast stations: AM 679, FM 0, shortwave 22
Radios: 22.5 million (1992 est.)

Television

Broadcast stations: 238
Televisions: 13.1 million (1992 est.)

DEFENSE FORCES

Branches

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

Manpower Availability

Males age 15-49 23,945,962; males fit for military service 17,451,706; males reach military age (18) annually 1,057,538 (1996 est.)

Defense Expenditures

Exchange rate conversion - $2.24 billion, 0.9% of GDP (1996)

History
World Atlas

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