Mexico

§1. 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.

§2. Mexico 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 coordinates:
  23 00 N, 102 00 W

Map references:
  North America

Area:
  total: 1,972,550 kmē
  land: 1,923,040 kmē
  water: 49,510 kmē

Area - comparative:
  slightly less than three times the size of Texas

Land boundaries:
  total: 4,538 km border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 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

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%
  permanent crops: 1%
  permanent pastures: 39%
  forests and woodland: 26%
  other: 22% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land:
  61,000 kmē (1993 est.)

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

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

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, Nuclear Test Ban, 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

§3. Mexico People

Population:
  101,879,171 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 33.32% (male 17,312,220; female 16,635,438)
  15-64 years: 62.28% (male 30,888,015; female 32,558,359)
  65 years and over: 4.4% (male 1,997,219; female 2,487,920) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate:
  1.5% (2001 est.)

Birth rate:
  22.77 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate:
  5.02 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate:
  -2.77 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female
  total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
  25.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 71.76 years male: 68.73 years
  female: 74.93 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  2.62 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
  0.29% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
  150,000 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
  4,700 (1999 est.)

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: 89.6%
  male: 91.8%
  female: 87.4% (1995 est.)

§4. Mexico Government

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:
  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 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 Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 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);
    note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
  cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of attorney
    general requires consent of the Senate
  elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election
    last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA July 2006)
  election results: Vicente FOX Quesada elected president; percent of vote -
    Vicente FOX Quesada (PAN) 42.52%, Francisco LABASTIDA Ochoa (PRI) 36.1%,
    Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (PRD) 16.64%, other 4.74%

Legislative branch:
  bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union 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 2000 for all of the seats (next to be
    held NA 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 2 July 2000 (next to be
    held NA 2003)
  election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party -
    PRI 59, PAN 45, PRD 17, PVEM 5, PT 1, PCD 1; Chamber of Deputies -
    percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 211, PAN 208, PRD
    50, PVEM 16, PT 7, PCD 3, PSN 3, PAS 2

Judicial branch:
  Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are appointed
  by the president with consent of the Senate)

Political parties and leaders:
  Convergence for Democracy or CD [Dante DELGADO Ranauro]; Institutional
  Revolutionary Party or PRI [Dulce Maria SAURI Riancho]; Mexican Green
  Ecological Party or PVEM [Jorge GONZALEZ Torres]; National Action Party or
  PAN [Luis Felipe BRAVO Mena]; Party of the Democratic Center or PCD [Manuel
  CAMACHO Solis]; Party of the Democratic Revolution or PRD [Amalia GARCIA
  Medina]; Party of the Nationalist Society or PSN [Gustavo RIOJAIS Santana];
  Social Alliance Party or PAS [Jose Antonio CALDERON Cardoso]; Workers Party
  or PT [Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
  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 Union of Workers or UNT; Regional
  Confederation of Mexican Workers or CROM; Revolutionary Confederation of
  Workers and Peasants or CROC; Roman Catholic Church

International organization participation:
  APEC, BCIE, BIS, Caricom (observer), CCC, CDB, CE (observer), EBRD, ECLAC,
  FAO, G-3, G-6, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU,
  ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat,
  Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM
  (observer), NEA, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
  UNIDO, UNITAR, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Juan Jose BREMER Martino 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, Laredo (Texas), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York,
    Nogales (Arizona), Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San
    Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico)
  consulate(s): Albuquerque, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California),
    Corpus Christi, Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Douglas (Arizona), Eagle Pass
    (Texas), Fresno (California), McAllen (Texas), Midland (Texas), Orlando,
    Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), St. Louis, Salt
    Lake City, San Bernardino, San Jose, Santa Ana (California), Seattle,
    Tucson

Diplomatic representation from the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Jeffery DAVIDOW embassy: Paseo de la Reforma
    305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 06500 Mexico, Distrito Federal
  mailing address: P. O. Box 3087, Laredo, TX 78044-3087
  telephone: [52] (5) 209-9100
  FAX: [52] (5) 208-3373, 511-9980
  consulate(s) general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana
  consulate(s): Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nuevo Laredo, Nogales

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

§5. Mexico Economy

Economy - overview:
  Mexico has a free market economy with a mixture of modern and outmoded
  industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. The
  number of state-owned enterprises in Mexico has fallen from more than 1,000
  in 1982 to fewer than 200 in 2000. The ZEDILLO administration privatized
  and expanded competition in seaports, railroads, telecommunications,
  electricity, natural gas distribution, and airports. A strong export sector
  helped to cushion the economy's decline in 1995 and led the recovery in
  1996-2000. Private consumption became the leading driver of growth in 2000,
  accompanied by increased employment and higher real wages. Mexico still
  needs to overcome many structural problems as it strives to modernize its
  economy and raise living standards. Income distribution is very unequal,
  with the top 20% of income earners accounting for 55% of income. Trade with
  the US and Canada has tripled since NAFTA was implemented in 1994. Mexico
  completed free trade agreements with the EU, Israel, El Salvador, Honduras,
  and Guatemala in 2000, and is pursuing additional trade agreements with
  countries in Latin America and Asia to lessen its dependence on the US.

GDP:
  purchasing power parity - $915 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
  7.1% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita:
  purchasing power parity - $9,100 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 5% industry: 27%
  services: 68% (2000)

Population below poverty line:
  27% (1998 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
  lowest 10%: 1.8% highest 10%: 36.6% (1996)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  9% (2000 est.)

Labor force:
  39.8 million (2000)

Labor force - by occupation:
  agriculture 20%, industry 24%, services 56% (1998)

Unemployment rate:
  urban - 2.2% (2000); plus considerable underemployment

Budget:
  revenues: $125 billion
  expenditures: $130 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000
    est.)

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

Industrial production growth rate:
  7.5% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production:
  182.492 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source:
  fossil fuel: 74.12% hydro: 17.75%
  nuclear: 5.21%
  other: 2.92% (1999)

Electricity - consumption:
  170.754 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports:
  11 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports:
  1.047 billion kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products:
  corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef,
  poultry, dairy products; wood products

Exports:
  $168 billion (f.o.b., 2000), includes in-bond industries (assembly plant
  operations)

Exports - commodities:
  manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables,
  coffee, cotton

Exports - partners:
  US 88.6%, Canada 2%, Spain 0.9%, Germany 0.9%, Japan 0.6%, UK 0.6%,
  Netherlands Antilles 0.5%, Switzerland 0.3% Venezuela 0.3%, Chile 0.3%
  (2000 est.)

Imports:
  $176 billion (f.o.b., 2000), includes in-bond industries (assembly plant
  operations)

Imports - commodities:
  metal-working machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery,
  electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor
  vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts

Imports - partners:
  US 73.6%, Japan 3.7%, Germany 3.3%, Canada 2.3%, South Korea 2%, China
  1.6%, Taiwan 1.2%, Italy 1%, Brazil 1% (2000 est.)

Debt - external:
  $162 billion (2000)

Economic aid - recipient:
  $1.166 billion (1995)

Currency:
  Mexican peso (MXN)

Currency code:
  MXN

Exchange rates:
  Mexican pesos per US dollar - 9.7701 (January 2001), 9.4556 (2000), 9.5604
  (1999), 9.1360 (1998), 7.9185 (1997), 7.5994 (1996)

Fiscal year:
  calendar year

§6. Mexico Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  9.6 million (1998)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  2.02 million (1998)

Telephone system:
  general assessment: low telephone density with about 11 main lines per 100
    persons; privatized in December 1990; the opening to competition in
    January 1997 has brightened prospects for development
  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; considerable use of
    fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, and mobile cellular service
  international: 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), 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 (1997)

Radio broadcast stations:
  AM 865, FM about 500, shortwave 13 (1999)

Radios:
  31 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
  236 (plus repeaters) (1997)

Televisions:
  25.6 million (1997)

Internet country code:
  .mx

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
  51 (2000)

Internet users:
  2.5 million (2000)

§7. Mexico Transportation

Railways:
  total: 31,048 km
  standard gauge: 30,958 km 1.435-m gauge (246 km electrified)
  narrow gauge: 90 km 0.914-m gauge (1998 est.)

Highways:
  total: 323,977 km
  paved: 96,221 km (including 6,335 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 227,756 km (1997)

Waterways:
  2,900 km
  note: 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 and harbors:
  Acapulco, Altamira, Coatzacoalcos, Ensenada, Guaymas, La Paz, Lazaro
  Cardenas, Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Progreso, Salina Cruz, Tampico,
  Topolobampo, Tuxpan, Veracruz

Merchant marine:
  total: 43 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 590,657 GRT/920,456 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 1, chemical tanker 4, liquefied gas 3,
    petroleum tanker 28, roll on/roll off 2, short-sea passenger 3 (2000
    est.)

Airports:
  1,848 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
  total: 238 over 3,047 m: 11
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 28
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 90
  914 to 1,523 m: 82
  under 914 m: 27 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
  total: 1,610 over 3,047 m: 1
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 65
  914 to 1,523 m: 470
  under 914 m: 1,073 (2000 est.)

Heliports:
  2 (2000 est.)

§8. Mexico Military

Military branches:
  National Defense Secretariat (includes Army and Air Force), Navy
  Secretariat (includes Naval Air and Naval Infantry)

Military manpower - military age:
  18 years of age note: starting in 2000, females will be allowed to
    volunteer for military service

Military manpower - availability:
  males age 15-49: 26,703,300 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
  males age 15-49: 19,394,184 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
  males: 1,077,536 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  $4 billion (FY99)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  1% (FY99)

§9. Mexico Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:
  none

Illicit drugs:
  illicit cultivation of opium poppy (cultivation in 2000 - 1,900 hectares;
  potential heroin production - 2.4 metric tons) and cannabis cultivation in
  2000 - 3,900 hectares; government eradication efforts have been key in
  keeping illicit crop levels low; major supplier of heroin and marijuana to
  the US market; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound
  cocaine from South America; two major drug syndicates control majority of
  drug trafficking throughout the country; primary supplier of
  methamphetamine to the US market; growing producer and distributor of
  ecstasy
