Mexico

federal republic operating under a centralized governmentIndependence 16 September 1810 (from Spain)

Mexico as the 1992 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 75 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalMexico

Area1,972,550 km2

Populationas each edition published it

92.38 million July 1992 · 87.87m in 1990

Population growth% a year

Not in this edition 1.97% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 23.8 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 72.55 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

3.3 children per woman 1992 · 3.4 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

30 deaths per 1,000 live births 1992 · 33 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

Not in this edition $3,600 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

Not in this edition 2.6% in 1993

Geography

13 fields

Total area

1,972,550km2

Comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Texas

Coastline

9,330km

Contiguous zone: 24 nmContinental shelf: natural prolongation of continental margin or 200 nmExclusive economic zone: 200 nmTerritorial sea: 12 nm

Land boundaries

4,538km

Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,326 km

Disputes

claims Clipperton Island (French possession)

Terrain

high, rugged mountains, low coastal plains, high plateaus, and desert

Natural resources

crude oil, 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%;
includes irrigated 3%

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-Mexico border

Note

strategic location on southern border of US

People

14 fields

Population

92,380,721

(July 1992), growth rate 2.3% (1992)

Per 1,000 population(1992)

Birth

29Death

5Net migration

-1

Ethnic divisions

mestizo (Indian-Spanish) 60%Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%Caucasian or predominantly Caucasian 9%other 1%

Literacy

87%

(male 90%, female 85%) age 15 and over can read and write (1985 est.)

Religions

nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%

26,100,000 (1988); services 31.4%, agriculture, forestry, hunting, and fishing 26%, commerce 13.9%, manufacturing 12.8%, construction 9.5%, transportation 4.8%, mining and quarrying 1.3%, electricity 0.3% (1986)

Organized labor

35% of labor force

Government

Federal republic operating under a centralized government

19 fields

Presidential electionpercent of vote

50.74%

Carlos SALINAS de Gortari (PRI) 50.74%Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (FDN) 31.06%Manuel CLOUTHIER (PAN) 16.81%other 1.39%

Long-form name

United Mexican States

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, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, 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)

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 of 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)

Political parties and leaders

(recognized parties) Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Genaro BORREGO Estrada;
National Action Party (PAN), Luis ALVAREZ;
Popular Socialist Party (PPS), Indalecio SAYAGO Herrera;
Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano;
Cardenist Front for the National Reconstruction Party (PFCRN), Rafael AGUILAR Talamantes;
Authentic Party of the Mexican Revolution (PARM), Carlos Enrique CANTU Rosas

Suffrage

universal and compulsory (but not enforced) at age 18

Elections

President:: last held on 6 July 1988 (next to be held September 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)
Senate:: last held on 18 August 1988 (next to be held midyear 1994);
results - percent of vote by party NA;
seats in full Senate - (64 total) number of seats by party;
PRI 61, PRD 2, 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

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), UNE (no expansion), Revolutionary Workers Party (PRT), Mexican Democratic Party (PDM), 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)

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

Ambassador Gustavo PETRICIOLI Iturbide;
Chancery at 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006;
telephone (202) 728-1600;
there are Mexican Consulates General in Chicago, Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Houston, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Antonio, San Diego, and Consulates in Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Corpus Christi, Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Douglas (Arizona), Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), Kansas City (Missouri), Laredo, McAllen (Texas), Miami, Nogales (Arizona), Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Phoenix, Presidio (Texas), Sacramento, St. Louis, St. Paul (Minneapolis), Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, San Jose, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Seattle

US:: Ambassador John D. NEGROPONTE, Jr.;
Embassy at Paseo de la Reforma 305, 06500 Mexico, D.F. (mailing address is P. O. Box 3087, Laredo, TX 78044-3087);
telephone [52] (5) 211-0042;
FAX [52] (5) 511-9980, 208-3373;
there are US Consulates General in Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Tijuana, and Consulates in Hermosillo, Matamoros, Mazatlan, Merida, and 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

Mexico's economy is a mixture of state-owned industrial plants (notably | oil), private manufacturing and services, and both large-scale and | traditional agriculture.

17 fields

Inflation, consumer prices

18.8%

(1991 est.)

External debt

$98.4billion

(1991)

Budget

Revenues

$41.0 billionExpenditures

$47.9 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $6.3 billion (1990)

Overview

Mexico's economy is a mixture of state-owned industrial plants (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, is recovering, rising from 1.4% in 1988 to 4% in 1990 and again in 1991. The US is Mexico's major trading partner, accounting for two-thirds 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, is implementing programs to stabilize the economy and foster growth. In 1991 the government began negotiations with the US and Canada on a free trade agreement.

GDP

exchange rate conversion - $289 billion, per capita $3,200; real growth rate 4% (1991 est.)

Unemployment rate

14-17% (1991 est.)

Exports

$27.4 billion (f.o.b., 1991 est.)

commodities:: crude oil, oil products, coffee, shrimp, engines, motor vehicles, cotton, consumer electronics
partners:: US 68%, EC 14%, Japan 6% (1990 est.)

Imports

$36.7 billion (c.i.f., 1991)

commodities:: grain, metal manufactures, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment
partners:: US 69%, EC 13%, Japan 6% (1990)

Industrial production

growth rate 5.5% (1991 est.); accounts for 28% of GDP

Electricity

26,150,000 kW capacity; 114,277 million kWh produced, 1,270 kWh per capita (1991)

Industries

food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, transportation equipment, 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

Mexican peso (plural - pesos); 1 Mexican peso (Mex$) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates

market rate of Mexican pesos (Mex$) per US$1 - 3,068.5 (January 1992), 3,018.4 (1991) 2,940.9 (January 1991), 2,812.6 (1990), 2,461.3 (1989), 2,273.1 (1988), 1,378.2 (1987)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

9 fields

Merchant marine, 58 ships by typeone square, one ship

short-sea passenger 4cargo 3refrigerated cargo 2roll-on/roll-off 2petroleum tanker 30chemical tanker 4liquefied gas 7bulk 1combination bulk 1container 458 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 875,239 GRT/1,301,355 DWT

Airports, 1,815 total, 1,505 usable

permanent-surface runways

200| runways over 3,659 m

3runways 2,440-3,659 m

33runways | 1,220-2,439 m

284

Networkskm

Highways

212,000Railroads

24,500

Highways: ; 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 · Railroads: ; breakdown NA

Railroads

24,500 km total; breakdown NA

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