from
CIA World Factbook 2006
Mexico
Introduction
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
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
Geographic 23 00 N, 102 00 W
coordinates:
Map North America
references:
Area: total: 1,972,550 sq km
land: 1,923,040 sq km
water: 49,510 sq km
Area - slightly less than three times the size of Texas
comparative:
Land total: 4,353 km
boundaries: border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US
3,141 km
Coastline: 9,330 km
Maritime territorial sea: 12 nm
claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the
continental margin
Climate: varies from tropical to desert
Terrain: high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high
plateaus; desert
Elevation lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m
extremes: highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m
Natural petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural
resources: gas, timber
Land use: arable land: 12.66%
permanent crops: 1.28%
other: 86.06% (2005)
Irrigated 63,200 sq km (2003)
land:
Natural tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and
hazards: destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and
hurricanes on the Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, and
Caribbean coasts
Environment - scarcity of hazardous waste disposal facilities; rural
current to urban migration; natural fresh water resources
issues: 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 - party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
international Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered
agreements: 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
Geography - strategic location on southern border of US; corn
note: (maize), one of the world's major grain crops, is
thought to have originated in Mexico
People
Population: 107,449,525 (July 2006 est.)
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.)
Median age: total: 25.3 years
male: 24.3 years
female: 26.2 years (2006 est.)
Population 1.16% (2006 est.)
growth rate:
Birth rate: 20.69 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate: 4.74 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration -4.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
rate:
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: 0.83 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Infant total: 20.26 deaths/1,000 live births
mortality male: 22.19 deaths/1,000 live births
rate: female: 18.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life total population: 75.41 years
expectancy at male: 72.63 years
birth: female: 78.33 years (2006 est.)
Total 2.42 children born/woman (2006 est.)
fertility
rate:
HIV/AIDS - 0.3% (2003 est.)
adult
prevalence
rate:
HIV/AIDS - 160,000 (2003 est.)
people living
with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - 5,000 (2003 est.)
deaths:
Nationality: noun: Mexican(s)
adjective: Mexican
Ethnic groups: mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or
predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1%
Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%, other 5%
Languages: Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional
indigenous languages
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.2%
male: 94%
female: 90.5% (2003 est.)
Government
Country name: conventional long form: United Mexican States
conventional short form: Mexico
local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos
local short form: Mexico
Government federal republic
type:
Capital: name: Mexico (Distrito Federal)
geographic coordinates: 19 24 N, 99 09 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 four time zones
Administrative 31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal
divisions: 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 Independence Day, 16 September (1810)
holiday:
Constitution: 5 February 1917
Legal system: mixture of US 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 chief of state: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1
branch: December 2000); note - the president is both the chief
of state and head of government
head of government: President Vicente FOX Quesada
(since 1 December 2000);
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 2 July 2006
(next to be held 1 July 2012)
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%; note - CALDERON is scheduled
to take office on 1 December 2006
Legislative bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union
branch: 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)
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 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; note -
election results pending certification
Judicial Supreme Court of Justice or Suprema Corte de Justicia
branch: Nacional (justices or ministros are appointed by the
president with consent of the Senate)
Political Convergence for Democracy or CD [Dante DELGADO
parties and Ranauro]; Institutional Revolutionary Party
leaders: (Institutional Revolutionary Party) or PRI [leader NA];
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 Godines]; Party of the Democratic
Revolution (Partido de la Revolucion Democratica) or
PRD [Leonel COTA Montano]; Workers Party or PT [Alberto
ANAYA Gutierrez]
Political Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic or
pressure COPARMEX; Confederation of Industrial Chambers or
groups and CONCAMIN; Confederation of Mexican Workers or CTM;
leaders: 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; Roman Catholic Church
International APEC, BCIE, BIS, CAN (observer), CDB, CE (observer),
organization CSN (observer), EBRD, FAO, G-3, G-6, G-15, G-24, IADB,
participation: IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD,
IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM,
IPU, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAFTA, NAM (observer), NEA,
OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMOVIC, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Diplomatic chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Carlos Alberto
representation de ICAZA Gonzalez
in the US: chancery: 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC
20006
telephone: [1] (202) 728-1600
FAX: [1] (202) 728-1698
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): 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)
Diplomatic chief of mission: Ambassador Antonio O. GARZA, Jr.
representation embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc,
from the US: 06500 Mexico, Distrito Federal
mailing address: P. O. Box 9000, Brownsville, TX
78520-9000
telephone: [52] (55) 5080-2000
FAX: [52] (55) 5511-9980
consulate(s) general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara,
Monterrey, Tijuana
consulate(s): Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nogales,
Nuevo Laredo
Flag three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side),
description: 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
Economy - Mexico has a free market economy that recently entered
overview: 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 FOX administration is cognizant of the
need to upgrade infrastructure, modernize the tax
system and labor laws, and allow private investment in
the energy sector, but has been unable to win the
support of the opposition-led Congress. The next
government that takes office in December 2006 will
confront the same challenges of boosting economic
growth, improving Mexico's international
competitiveness, and reducing poverty.
GDP $1.064 trillion (2005 est.)
(purchasing
power parity):
GDP (official $693 billion (2005 est.)
exchange
rate):
GDP - real 3% (2005 est.)
growth rate:
GDP - per $10,000 (2005 est.)
capita (PPP):
GDP - agriculture: 3.8%
composition by industry: 25.9%
sector: services: 70.2% (2005 est.)
Labor force: 43.4 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - agriculture: 18%
by occupation: industry: 24%
services: 58% (2003)
Unemployment 3.6% plus underemployment of perhaps 25% (2005 est.)
rate:
Population 40% (2003 est.)
below poverty
line:
Household lowest 10%: 1.6%
income or highest 10%: 35.6% (2002)
consumption by
percentage
share:
Distribution 54.6 (2000)
of family
income - Gini
index:
Inflation rate 4% (2005 est.)
(consumer
prices):
Investment 19.3% of GDP (2005 est.)
(gross fixed):
Budget: revenues: $181 billion
expenditures: $184 billion; including capital
expenditures of $NA (2005)
Public debt: 17.4% of GDP (2005 est.)
Agriculture - corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee,
products: fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood
products
Industries: food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel,
petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles,
consumer durables, tourism
Industrial 1.9% (2005 est.)
production
growth rate:
Electricity - 209.2 billion kWh (2003)
production:
Electricity - fossil fuel: 78.7%
production by hydro: 14.2%
source: nuclear: 4.2%
other: 2.9% (2001)
Electricity - 193.9 billion kWh (2003)
consumption:
Electricity - 1.07 billion kWh (2003)
exports:
Electricity - 390.2 million kWh (2003)
imports:
Oil - 3.42 million bbl/day (2005 est.)
production:
Oil - 1.752 million bbl/day (2004 est.)
consumption:
Oil - exports: 1.863 million bbl/day (2004)
Oil - imports: 205,000 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - proved 33.31 billion bbl (2005 est.)
reserves:
Natural gas - 47.3 billion cu m (2004 est.)
production:
Natural gas - 55.1 billion cu m (2004 est.)
consumption:
Natural gas - 0 cu m (2004 est.)
exports:
Natural gas - 7.85 billion cu m (2004 est.)
imports:
Natural gas - 424.3 billion cu m (2005)
proved
reserves:
Current $-5.708 billion (2005 est.)
account
balance:
Exports: $213.7 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver,
commodities: fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton
Exports - US 85.7%, Canada 2%, Spain 1.4% (2005)
partners:
Imports: $223.7 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - metalworking machines, steel mill products,
commodities: agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts
for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles,
aircraft, and aircraft parts
Imports - US 53.4%, China 8%, Japan 5.9% (2005)
partners:
Reserves of $74.1 billion (2005 est.)
foreign
exchange and
gold:
Debt - $137.2 billion (2005 est.)
external:
Economic aid - $1.166 billion (1995)
recipient:
Currency Mexican peso (MXN)
(code):
Currency code: MXN
Exchange Mexican pesos per US dollar - 10.898 (2005), 11.286
rates: (2004), 10.789 (2003), 9.656 (2002), 9.342 (2001)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones - 19.512 million (2005)
main lines in
use:
Telephones - 47.462 million (2005)
mobile
cellular:
Telephone general assessment: low telephone density with about 18
system: main lines per 100 persons; privatized in December
1990; the opening to competition in January 1997
improved prospects for development, but Telmex remains
dominant
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
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)
Radio AM 850, FM 545, shortwave 15 (2003)
broadcast
stations:
Radios: 31 million (1997)
Television 236 (plus repeaters) (1997)
broadcast
stations:
Televisions: 25.6 million (1997)
Internet .mx
country code:
Internet 3,426,680 (2006)
hosts:
Internet 51 (2000)
Service
Providers
(ISPs):
Internet 18,622,500 (2005)
users:
Transportation
Airports: 1,839 (2006)
Airports - total: 228
with paved over 3,047 m: 12
runways: 2,438 to 3,047 m: 28
1,524 to 2,437 m: 82
914 to 1,523 m: 77
under 914 m: 29 (2006)
Airports - total: 1,611
with unpaved over 3,047 m: 1
runways: 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 68
914 to 1,523 m: 460
under 914 m: 1,081 (2006)
Heliports: 1 (2006)
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)
Railways: total: 17,562 km
standard gauge: 17,562 km 1.435-m gauge (2005)
Roadways: total: 349,038 km
paved: 116,928 km (including 6,979 km of expressways)
unpaved: 232,110 km (2003)
Waterways: 2,900 km (navigable rivers and coastal canals) (2005)
Merchant total: 56 ships (1000 GRT or over) 751,607 GRT/
marine: 1,129,234 DWT
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)
Ports and Altamira, Manzanillo, Morro Redondo, Salina Cruz,
terminals: Tampico, Topolobampo, Veracruz
Military
Military Secretariat of National Defense (Secretaria de Defensa
branches: Nacional, 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)
Military 18 years of age for compulsory military service,
service age conscript service obligation - 12 months; 16 years of
and age with consent for voluntary enlistment (2004)
obligation:
Manpower males age 18-49: 24,488,008
available for females age 18-49: 26,128,046 (2005 est.)
military
service:
Manpower fit males age 18-49: 19,058,337
for military females age 18-49: 21,966,796 (2005 est.)
service:
Manpower males age 18-49: 1,063,233
reaching females age 18-49: 1,043,816 (2005 est.)
military
service age
annually:
Military $6.07 billion (2005 est.)
expenditures -
dollar figure:
Military 0.8% (2005 est.)
expenditures -
percent of
GDP:
Transnational
Issues
Disputes - prolonged drought, population growth, and outmoded
international: practices and infrastructure in the border region have
strained water-sharing arrangements with the US; the US
has stepped up efforts to stem nationals from Mexico,
Central America, and other parts of the world from
illegally crossing the border with Mexico
Refugees and IDPs: 12,000 (government's quashing of Zapatista
internally uprising in 1994 in eastern Chiapas Region) (2005)
displaced
persons:
Trafficking in current situation: Mexico is a source, transit, and
persons: 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
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