Mexico

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Introduction - Mexico:
Country	Mexico


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.


Location - Mexico:
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 coordinates	23 00 N, 102 00 W

Map references	North America

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

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

Coastline	9,330 km

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

Climate	varies from tropical to desert

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

Elevation extremes	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: 12.66% permanent crops: 1.28% other: 86.06% (2005)

Irrigated land	63,200 sq km (2003)

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

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

Geography note	strategic location on southern border of US; corn (maize), one of the worlds major grain crops, is thought to have originated in Mexico

People - Mexico:
Population	108,700,891 (July 2007 est.)

Age structure	0-14 years: 30.1% (male 16,696,089/female 16,011,563) 15-64 years: 64% (male 33,624,812/female 35,925,372) 65 years and over: 5.9% (male 2,917,563/female 3,525,492) (2007 est.)

Median age	total: 25.6 years male: 24.6 years female: 26.6 years (2007 est.)

Population growth rate	1.153% (2007 est.)

Birth rate	20.36 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Death rate	4.76 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Net migration rate	-4.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.043 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.936 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.828 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

Infant mortality rate	total: 19.63 deaths/1,000 live births male: 21.54 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

Life expectancy at birth	total population: 75.63 years male: 72.84 years female: 78.56 years (2007 est.)

Total fertility rate	2.39 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Hiv aids adult prevalence rate	0.3% (2003 est.)

Hiv aids people living with hiv aids	160,000 (2003 est.)

Hiv aids deaths	5,000 (2003 est.)

Nationality	noun: Mexican(s) adjective: Mexican

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

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

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

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

Government - Mexico:
Country name	conventional long form: United Mexican States conventional short form: Mexico local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos local short form: Mexico

Government type	federal republic

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 four time zones

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

National holiday	Independence Day, 16 September (1810)

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 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%

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 partys 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 partys 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 206, PRD 127, PRI 106, PVEM 17, CD 17, PT 12, other 18

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)

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 [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; Businessmens 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

International organization participation	APEC, BCIE, BIS, CAN (observer), Caricom (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, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA, NAFTA, NAM (observer), NEA, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNITAR, UNMOVIC, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

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

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:
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.

Gdp purchasing power parity	$1.149 trillion (2006 est.)

Gdp official exchange rate	$743.5 billion (2006 est.)

Gdp real growth rate	4.8% (2006 est.)

Gdp per capita ppp	$10,700 (2006 est.)

Gdp composition by sector	agriculture: 3.9% industry: 25.7% services: 70.5% (2006 est.)

Labor force	38.09 million (2006 est.)

Labor force by occupation	agriculture: 18% industry: 24% services: 58% (2003)

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

Population below poverty line	40% (2003 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 1.6% highest 10%: 35.6% (2002)

Distribution of family income gini index	54.6 (2000)

Inflation rate consumer prices	3.4% (2006 est.)

Investment gross fixed	20% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget	revenues: $196.5 billion expenditures: $196.2 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)

Public debt	20.7% of GDP (2006 est.)

Agriculture products	corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, 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 production growth rate	3.6% (2006 est.)

Electricity production	242.4 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity consumption	224.6 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity exports	1.203 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity imports	416 million kWh (2004)

Oil production	3.42 million bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil consumption	1.97 million bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil exports	2.268 million bbl/day (2004)

Oil imports	308,500 bbl/day (2004)

Oil proved reserves	12.49 billion bbl (2006 est.)

Natural gas production	41.47 billion cu m (2004 est.)

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 proved reserves	420.5 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)

Current account balance	-$400.1 million (2006 est.)

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 78.7%, Canada 6%, Spain 1.4% (2006)

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 60%, Japan 4.2%, China 3.9% (2006)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold	$85.01 billion (2006 est.)

Debt external	$178.3 billion (30 June 2006 est.)

Economic aid recipient	$1.166 billion (1995)

Currency code	Mexican peso (MXN)

Exchange rates	Mexican pesos per US dollar - 10.899 (2006), 10.898 (2005), 11.286 (2004), 10.789 (2003), 9.656 (2002)

Communications - Mexico:
Fiscal year	calendar year

Telephones main lines in use	19.861 million (2006)

Telephones mobile cellular	57.016 million (2006)

Telephone system	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 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 broadcast stations	AM 850, FM 545, shortwave 15 (2003)

Television broadcast stations	236 (plus repeaters) (1997)

Internet country code	.mx

Internet hosts	3.427 million (2006)

Internet users	22 million (2006)

Transportation - Mexico:
Airports	1,839 (2006)

Airports with paved runways	total: 228 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 under 914 m: 29 (2006)

Airports with unpaved runways	total: 1,611 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 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: 17,665 km standard gauge: 17,665 km 1.435-m gauge (2006)

Roadways	total: 235,670 km paved: 116,751 km (includes 6,144 km of expressways) unpaved: 118,919 km (2004)

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

Merchant marine	total: 56 ships (1000 GRT or over) 751,607 GRT/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 terminals	Altamira, Manzanillo, Morro Redondo, Salina Cruz, Tampico, Topolobampo, Veracruz

Military - Mexico:
Military branches	Secretariat of National Defense (Secretaria de Defensa 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) (2007)

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 (2007)

Manpower available for military service	males age 18-49: 24,488,008 females age 18-49: 26,128,046 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service	males age 18-49: 19,058,337 females age 18-49: 21,966,796 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually	males age 18-49: 1,063,233 females age 18-49: 1,043,816 (2005 est.)

Refugees and internally displaced persons	IDPs: 10,000-12,000 (governments quashing of Zapatista uprising in 1994 in eastern Chiapas Region) (2006)

Military expenditures percent of gdp	0.5% (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 Mexicos 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

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