Mexico

United Mexican StatesEstados Unidos Mexicanos

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

Mexico as the 1993 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 79 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

LocationCentral America, between Guatemala and the US

Populationas each edition published it

90.42 million July 1993 est. · 87.87m in 1990

Population growth% a year

1.97% 1993 est. · 0.81% in 2025

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 23.8 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

72.55 years 1993 est. · 74.6 yrs in 2025

Fertility ratechildren per woman

3.25 children per woman 1993 est. · 3.4 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

28.8 deaths per 1,000 live births 1993 est. · 33 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$3,600 1992 est. · $22,000 in 2025

GDP real growth% a year

2.6% 1992 · 1.5% in 2025

Geography

Central America, between Guatemala and the US

14 fields

Area

1,972,550km2

land area: 1,923,040 km2comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Texas

Coastline

9,330km

contiguous zone: 24 nmcontinental shelf: 200 nm or the natural prolongation of continental marginexclusive economic zone: 200 nmterritorial sea: 12 nm

Land boundaries

4,538km

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

Irrigated land

51,500km2

(1989 est.)

Location

Central America, between Guatemala and the US

Map references

North America, Standard Time Zones of the World

International disputes

claims Clipperton Island (French possession)

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%

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

90,419,606

(July 1993 est.)growth rate: 1.97% (1993 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1993 est.)

Birth

27.67Death

4.82Net migration

-3.15

Male · female(1993 est.)

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years72.55

68.99 · 76.3

TotalMale · femaleLiteracy87%

90% · 85%

MaleFemaleLiteracy age 15 and over can read and write (1990)

Ethnic divisions

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

Labor force

26.2million

(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%

Infant mortality rate

28.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)

Nationality

noun:: Mexican(s)
adjective:: Mexican

Religions

nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%

Government

Federal republic operating under a centralized government

21 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%

Names

conventional long form:: United Mexican States
conventional short form:: Mexico
local long form:: Estados Unidos Mexicanos
local short form:: Mexico

Type

federal republic operating under a centralized government

Administrative divisions

31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito, federal);
Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango,, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Yucatan, Zacatecas

Legal system

mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system;
judicial review of legislative acts;
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Political parties and leaders

(recognized parties) Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Fernando Ortiz 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)
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

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)

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

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

19 fields

GDP per capita, PPP

$3,600

(1992 est.)

Real growth rate

2.6%

(1992)industrial production growth: growth rate 5.5% (1991 est.); accounts for 28% of GDP

Inflation, consumer prices

11.9%

(1992)

Unemployment rate

14%

-17% (1991 est.)

Budget

Revenues

$58.9 billionExpenditures

$48.3 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $6.5 billion (1991); figures do not include state-owned companies

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. 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.)

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 motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts
partners:: US 74%, Japan, 11%, EC 6% (1992)

External debt

$104 billion (1992 est.)

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

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

8 fields

Merchant marine, 58 ships by typeone square, one ship

short-sea passenger 4cargo 2refrigerated cargo 2roll-on/roll-off 2oil tanker 31chemical tanker 4liquefied gas 7bulk 1container 558 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 858,162 GRT/1,278,488 DWT

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

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