- 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
- 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 km2 (1989 est.)
- Environment:
-
subject to tsunamis along the Pacific
coast and destructive earthquakes in the center and south; natural
water resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor
quality in center and extreme southeast; deforestation; erosion
widespread; desertification; serious air pollution in Mexico City and
urban centers along US-México border
- Note:
-
strategic location on southern border of
US
People
- Population:
-
90,419,606 (July 1993 est.)
- Population
growth rate:
-
1.97% (1993 est.)
- Birth rate:
-
27.67 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
- Death rate:
-
4.82 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
- Net migration
rate:
-
-3.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993
est.)
- Infant
mortality rate:
-
28.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
- Life
expectancy at birth:
- total
population:
-
72.55 years
- male:
-
68.99 years
- female:
-
76.3 years (1993 est.)
- Total
fertility rate:
-
3.25 children born/woman (1993 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
-
[Unmoderators' Addendum:
There are at least 40 distinct aboriginal languages spoken in present
day Mexico, counting the various Mayan languages as only one language
family. The habit of referring to aboriginal languages as dialects
negates the identity and legitimacy of each of these languages. A
dialect properly refers to a variant of a language, and in this sense
there are various Mayan dialects, Nahuatl dialects, Zapotec dialects,
etc. spoken today in Mexico].
- Literacy:
-
age 15 and over [who] can read and write
(1990)
- total
population:
-
87%
- male:
-
90%
- female:
-
85%
- Labor force:
-
26.2 million (1990)
- 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:
-
México
- local long
form:
-
Estados Unidos Mexicanos
- local short
form:
-
México
- Digraph:
-
MX
- Type:
-
federal republic operating under a
centralized government
- Capital:
-
México
-
Administrative divisions:
-
31 states (estados, singular - estado)
and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja
California, Baja California Sur, Campeche,
Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Colima, Distrito Federal*,
Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, México, Michoacan,
Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, Quintana Roo,
San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala,
Veracruz, Yucatan, Zacatecas
- Independence:
-
16 September 1810 (from
Spain)
- 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
- National
holiday:
-
Independence Day, 16 September (1810)
- Political
parties and leaders:
-
(recognized parties) Institutional
Revolutionary Party (PRI), Fernando Ortíz Arana; National Action Party
(PAN), Carlos CASTILLO; Popular Socialist Party (PPS), Indalecio
SAYAGO Herrera; Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), Roberto ROBLES
Garnica; Cardenist Front for the National Reconstruction Party (PFCRN),
Rafael AGUILAR Talamantes; Authentic Party of the Mexican Revolution (PARM),
Carlos Enrique CANTU Rosas; Democratic Forum Party (PFD), Pablo Emilio
MADERO; Mexican Ecologist Party (PEM), Jorge GONZALEZ Torres
- 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 Provding Goods and
Services (FESEBES)
- Suffrage:
-
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
(but not enforced)
- Elections:
- President:
-
last held on 6 July 1988 (next to be held
August 1994); results - Carlos SALINAS de Gortari (PRI) 50.74%,
Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (FDN) 31.06%, Manuel CLOUTHIER (PAN)
16.81%; other 1.39%; note - several of the smaller parties ran a
common candidate under a coalition called the National Democratic
Front (FDN)
[Unmoderators' Update: New
elections were held in July 1994. The PRI candidate, Ernesto Zedillo,
garnered approximately a 2/3 majority of the popular vote and was
inaugurated in December of that same year].
- Senate:
-
last held on 18 August 1991 (next to be
held midyear 1994); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats in
full Senate - (64 total) PRI 62, PRD 1, PAN 1
- Chamber of
Deputies:
-
last held on 18 August 1991 (next to be
held midyear 1994); results - PRI 53%, PAN 20%, PFCRN 10%, PPS 6%,
PARM 7%, PMS (now part of PRD) 4%; seats - (500 total) PRI 320, PAN
89, PRD 41, PFCRN 23, PARM 15, PPS 12
- Executive
branch:
-
president, Cabinet
- Legislative
branch:
-
bicameral National Congress (Congreso de
la Union) consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Camara de Senadores)
and a lower chamber or Chamber o Deputies (Camara de Diputados)
- Judicial
branch:
-
Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema
de Justicia)
- Leaders:
- Chief of
State and Head of Government:
-
President Carlos SALINAS de Gortari
(since 1 December 1988)
[Unmoderator's update: since December 1994: Ernesto Zedillo
Ponce de León].
- Member of:
-
AG (observer), CARICOM (observer), CCC,
CDB, CG, EBRD, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-6, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77,
GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF,
IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA,
LORCS, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
- Diplomatic
representation in US:
- chief of
mission:
-
Ambassador Jorge MONTANO Martinez
- chancery:
-
1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20006
- telephone:
-
(202) 728-1600
- consulates
general:
-
Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, New
Orleans, New York, San Juan (Puerto Rico)
- consulates:
-
Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Boston,
Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Corpus Christi, Detroit,
Fresno (California), Miami, Nogales (Arizona), Philadelphia, Phoenix,
St. Louis, Salt Lake City, Seattle
- US diplomatic
representation:
- chief of
mission:
-
Ambassador John D. NEGROPONTE, Jr.
- embassy:
-
Paseo de la Reforma 305, 06500 Mexico,
D.F.
- mailing
address:
-
P. O. Box 3087, Laredo, TX 78044-3087
- telephone:
-
[52] (5) 211-0042
- FAX:
-
[52] (5) 511-9980, 208-3373
- consulates
general:
-
Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey,
Tijuana
- consulates:
-
Hermosillo, Matamoros, Mazatlan, Merida,
Nuevo Laredo
- 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's economy is a mixture of
state-owned industrial facilities (notably oil), private manufacturing
and services, and both large-scale and traditional agriculture. In the
1980s, Mexico experienced severe economic difficulties: the nation
accumulated large external debts as world petroleum prices fell; rapid
population growth outstripped the domestic food supply; and inflation,
unemployment, and pressures to emigrate became more acute. Growth in
national output, however, has recovered, rising from 1.4% in 1988 to
4% in 1990 and 3.6% in 1991 and coming in at 2.6% in 1992. The US is
Mexico's major trading partner, accounting for almost three-quarters
of its exports and imports. After petroleum, border assembly plants
and tourism are the largest earners of foreign exchange. The
government, in consultation with international economic agencies, has
been implementing programs to stabilize the economy and foster growth.
For example, it has privatized more than two-thirds of its state-owned
companies (parastatals), including banks. In 1991-92 the government
conducted negotiations with the US and Canada on a North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which was still being discussed by the three
countries in early 1993. [Unmoderators' update: NAFTA was
approved by the legislatures of all three signatory nations in 1993
and went into effect on January 1, 1994.] In January 1993,
Mexico replaced its old peso with a new peso, at the rate of 1,000 old
to 1 new peso. Notwithstanding the palpable improvements in economic
performance in the early 1990s, Mexico faces substantial problems for
the remainder of the decade - e.g., rapid population growth,
unemployment, and serious pollution, particularly in Mexico City.
- National
product:
-
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $328
billion (1992 est.)
- National
product real growth rate:
-
2.6% (1992)
- National
product per capita:
-
$3,600 (1992 est.)
- Inflation
rate (consumer prices):
-
11.9% (1992)
- Unemployment
rate:
-
14%-17% (1991 est.)
- Budget:
-
revenues $58.9 billion; expenditures
$48.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $6.5 billion (1991);
figures do not include state-owned companies
- Exports:
-
$27.5 billion (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
- commodities:
-
crude oil, oil products, coffee, shrimp,
engines, motor vehicles, cotton, consumer electronics
- partners:
-
US 74%, Japan 8%, EC 4% (1992 est.)
- Imports:
-
$48.1 billion (c.i.f., 1992 est.)
- commodities:
-
metal-working machines, steel mill
products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for
assembly, repair parts for moto vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts
- partners:
-
US 74%, Japan, 11%, EC 6% (1992)
- External
debt:
-
$104 billion (1992 est.)
- Industrial
production:
-
growth rate 5.5% (1991 est.); accounts
for 28% of GDP
- Electricity:
-
27,000,000 kW capacity; 120,725 million
kWh produced, 1,300 kWh per capita (1992)
- Industries:
-
food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals,
iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles,
consumer durables, tourism
- Agriculture:
-
accounts for 9% of GDP and over 25% of
work force; large number of small farms at subsistence level; major
food crops - corn, wheat, rice, beans; cash crops - cotton, coffee,
fruit, tomatoes; fish catch of 1.4 million metric tons among top 20
nations (1987)
- Illicit
drugs:
-
illicit cultivation of opium poppy and
cannabis continues in spite of active government eradication program;
major supplier to the US market; continues as the primary
transshipment country for US-bound cocaine from South America
- Economic aid:
-
US 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 - 3.100 (January 1993), 3,198 (November 1992), 3,018.4 (1991),
2,812.6 (1990), 2,461.3 (1989), 2,273.1 (1988); note - the new pesos
replaced the old pesos on 1 January 1993; 1 new pesos = 1,000 old
pesos. [Unmoderators' update: One of the first actions of the
administration of president Ernesto Zedillo was to devalue Mexican
currency against the dollar in December 1994. At this time the peso
has been allowed to float and its exchange rate has not stabilized,
though it is tending to trade for approximately N $5 - 8 pesos to the
dollar. ].
- Fiscal year:
-
calendar year
Communications
- Railroads:
-
24,500 km total
- Highways:
-
212,000 km total; 65,000 km paved, 30,000
km semipaved or cobblestone, 62,000 km rural roads (improved earth) or
roads under construction, 55,000 km unimproved earth roads
- 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, Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Progreso, Puerto Vallarta,
Salina Cruz, Tampico, Tuxpan, Veracruz
- Merchant
marine:
-
58 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
858,162 GRT/1,278,488 DWT; includes 4 short-sea passenger, 2 cargo, 2
refrigerated cargo, 2 roll-on/roll-off, 31 oil tanker, 4 chemical
tanker, 7 liquefied gas, 1 bulk, 5 container
- Airports:
- total:
-
1,841
- usable:
-
1,478
- with
permanent-surface runways:
-
200
- with runways
over 3,659 m:
-
3
- with runways
2,440-3,659 m:
-
35
- with runways
1,220-2,439 m:
-
273
-
Telecommunications:
-
highly developed system with extensive
microwave radio relay links; privatized in December 1990; connected
into Central America Microwave System; 6,410,000 telephones; broadcast
stations - 679 AM, no FM, 238 TV, 22 shortwave; 120 domestic satellite
terminals; earth stations - 4 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Pacific
Ocean INTELSAT
Defense Forces
- Branches:
-
National Defense (including Army and Air
Force), Navy (including Marines)
- Manpower
availability:
-
males age 15-49 22,201,567; fit for
military service 16,205,926; reach military age (18) annually
1,049,729 (1993 est.)
- Defense
expenditures:
-
exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of
GDP [Unmoderators' comment: under previous exchange rate total
defense expenditures were 0.5% of total budget, according to
1994 Encyclopaedia Britannica Book of the Year ].
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