Mexico Travel Guide - Facts on Mexico

History		Top of Page
	Mexico is a Spanish-speaking country about three times the size of Texas, consisting of 31 states and one federal district. The capital is Mexico City. Mexico has a rapidly developing economy, ranked by the World Bank as the twelfth largest in the world. The climate ranges from tropical to desert, and the terrain consists of coastal lowlands, central high plateaus, and mountains of up to 18,000 feet. 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. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first time since the 1910 Mexican Revolution that the opposition defeated the party in government, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Vicente FOX of the National Action Party (PAN) was sworn in on 1 December 2000 as the first chief executive elected in free and fair elections. The results of the 2006 elections produced a degree of unrest in the country due to claims of voting irregularities. Fox was succeeded by another PAN candidate Felipe CALDERON
Geography		Top of Page
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
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
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
Geography Note	Strategic location on southern border of US; corn (maize), one of the world's major grain crops, is thought to have originated in Mexico
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
People		Top of Page
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.)
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%
Language	Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 91%

Government		Top of Page
Country Name	Conventional long form: United Mexican States Conventional short form: Mexico Local short form: Mexico Local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos
Government Type	federal republic
Capital	Mexico (Distrito Federal)
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)
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		Top of Page
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.
Currency	Mexican peso
Currency Code	MXN
Communications		Top of Page
Telephone System	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
Internet Country Code	.mx
Transportation		Top of Page
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) (2005)
Ports and Terminals	Altamira, Manzanillo, Morro Redondo, Salina Cruz, Tampico, Topolobampo, Veracruz
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		Mexico
		Tourism Information Best Places to Visit Other Countries
	Mexico Travel Guide: Facts on Mexico
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Map of Mexico and its major cities