Mexico Population: 125,959,205
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History | |
The site of several advanced Amerindian civilizations - including the Olmec, Toltec, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Maya, and Aztec - Mexico was conquered and colonized by Spain in the early 16th century. Administered as the Viceroyalty of New Spain for three centuries, it achieved independence early in the 19th century. Elections held in 2000 marked the first time since the 1910 Mexican Revolution that an opposition candidate - Vicente FOX of the National Action Party (PAN) - defeated the party in government, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He was succeeded in 2006 by another PAN candidate Felipe CALDERON, but Enrique PENA NIETO regained the presidency for the PRI in 2012. Left-leaning antiestablishment politician and former mayor of Mexico City (2000-05) Andres Manuel LOPEZ OBRADOR, from the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), became president in December 2018. The global financial crisis in late 2008 caused a massive economic downturn in Mexico the following year, although growth returned quickly in 2010. Ongoing economic and social concerns include low real wages, high underemployment, inequitable income distribution, and few advancement opportunities for the largely indigenous population in the impoverished southern states. Since 2007, Mexico's powerful drug-trafficking organizations have engaged in bloody feuding, resulting in tens of thousands of drug-related homicides. |
Geography | |
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Location: | North America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the United States and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the United States |
Geographic coordinates: | 23 00 N, 102 00 W |
Area: | total: 1,964,375 sq km land: 1,943,945 sq km water: 20,430 sq km Size comparison: slightly less than three times the size of Texas |
Land Boundaries: | total: 4,389 km border countries (3): Belize 276 km, Guatemala 958 km, US 3155 km |
Coastline: | 9,330 km |
Maritime claims: | territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Climate: | varies from tropical to desert |
Terrain: | high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert |
Natural resources: | petroleum, silver, antimony, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber |
Land use: | agricultural land: 54.9% (2011 est.) arable land: 11.8% (2011 est.) permanent crops: 1.4% (2011 est.) permanent pasture: 41.7% (2011 est.) forest: 33.3% (2011 est.) other: 11.8% (2011 est.) |
Irrigated land: | 65,000 sq km (2012) |
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 volcanism: volcanic activity in the central-southern part of the country; the volcanoes in Baja California are mostly dormant; Colima (3,850 m), which erupted in 2010, is Mexico's most active volcano and is responsible for causing periodic evacuations of nearby villagers; it has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; Popocatepetl (5,426 m) poses a threat to Mexico City; other historically active volcanoes include Barcena, Ceboruco, El Chichon, Michoacan-Guanajuato, Pico de Orizaba, San Martin, Socorro, and Tacana; see note 2 under "Geography - note" |
Current Environment Issues: | scarcity of hazardous waste disposal facilities; rural to urban migration; natural freshwater 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; deteriorating agricultural lands; serious air and water pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border; land subsidence in Valley of Mexico caused by groundwater depletion note: the government considers the lack of clean water and deforestation national security issues |
International Environment Agreements: | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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People | |
Nationality: | noun: Mexican(s) adjective: Mexican |
Ethnic groups: | mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 62%, predominantly Amerindian 21%, Amerindian 7%, other 10% (mostly European) (2012 est.) note: Mexico does not collect census data on ethnicity |
Languages: | Spanish only 92.7%, Spanish and indigenous languages 5.7%, indigenous only 0.8%, unspecified 0.8% (2005) note: indigenous languages include various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional languages |
Religions: | Roman Catholic 82.7%, Pentecostal 1.6%, Jehovah's Witness 1.4%, other Evangelical Churches 5%, other 1.9%, none 4.7%, unspecified 2.7% (2010 est.) |
Population: | 125,959,205 (July 2018 est.) |
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 26.61% (male 17,143,124 /female 16,378,309) 15-24 years: 17.35% (male 11,072,817 /female 10,779,029) 25-54 years: 40.91% (male 24,916,204 /female 26,612,272) 55-64 years: 7.87% (male 4,538,167 /female 5,375,867) 65 years and over: 7.26% (male 4,079,513 /female 5,063,903) (2018 est.) |
Dependency ratios: | total dependency ratio: 51.4 (2015 est.) youth dependency ratio: 41.6 (2015 est.) elderly dependency ratio: 9.8 (2015 est.) potential support ratio: 10.2 (2015 est.) |
Median age: | total: 28.6 years male: 27.5 years female: 29.7 years (2018 est.) |
Population growth rate: | 1.09% (2018 est.) |
Birth rate: | 18.1 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) |
Death rate: | 5.4 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) |
Net migration rate: | -1.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2018 est.) |
Urbanization: | urban population: 80.2% of total population (2018) rate of urbanization: 1.59% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.) |
Major urban areas - population: | 21.581 million MEXICO CITY (capital) 5.023 million Guadalajara 4.712 million Monterrey 3.097 million Puebla 2.354 million Toluca de Lerdo 2.058 million Tijuana (2018) |
Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-24 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 25-54 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 55-64 years: 0.84 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2018 est.) Mother's mean age at first birth: 21.3 years (2008 est.) |
Maternal mortality rate: | 38 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.) |
Infant mortality rate: | total: 11.3 deaths/1,000 live births male: 12.6 deaths/1,000 live births female: 9.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.) |
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 76.3 years male: 73.5 years female: 79.2 years (2018 est.) |
Total fertility rate: | 2.22 children born/woman (2018 est.) |
Contraceptive prevalence rate: | 66.9% (2015) |
Physicians density: | 2.25 physicians/1,000 population (2016) |
Hospital bed density: | 1.5 beds/1,000 population (2015) |
Drinking water source: | improved: urban: 97.2% of population rural: 92.1% of population total: 96.1% of population unimproved: urban: 2.8% of population rural: 7.9% of population total: 3.9% of population (2015 est.) |
Sanitation facility access: | improved: urban: 88% of population (2015 est.) rural: 74.5% of population (2015 est.) total: 85.2% of population (2015 est.) unimproved: urban: 12% of population (2015 est.) rural: 25.5% of population (2015 est.) total: 14.8% of population (2015 est.) |
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 0.3% (2017 est.) |
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 230,000 (2017 est.) |
HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 4,000 (2017 est.) |
Obesity - adult prevalence rate: | 28.9% (2016) |
Children under the age of 5 years underweight: | 4.2% (2016) |
Education expenditures: | 5.2% of GDP (2015) |
Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2016 est.) total population: 94.9% male: 95.8% female: 94% (2016 est.) |
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): | total: 14 years male: 14 years female: 14 years (2016) Unemployment, youth ages 15-24: total: 6.9% male: 6.5% female: 7.6% (2018 est.) |
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Government | |
Country name: | conventional long form: United Mexican States conventional short form: Mexico local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos local short form: Mexico etymology: named after the capital city, whose name stems from the Mexica, the largest and most powerful branch of the Aztecs; the meaning of the name is uncertain |
Government type: | federal presidential republic |
Capital: | name: Mexico City (Ciudad de Mexico) geographic coordinates: 19 26 N, 99 08 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in October note: Mexico has four time zones etymology: named after the Mexica, the largest and most powerful branch of the Aztecs; the meaning of the name is uncertain |
Administrative divisions: | 32 states (estados, singular - estado); Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Colima, Cuidad de Mexico, 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 (declared independence from Spain); 27 September 1821 (recognized by Spain) |
National holiday: | Independence Day, 16 September (1810) |
Constitution: | history: several previous; latest approved 5 February 1917 amendments: proposed by the Congress of the Union; passage requires approval by at least two-thirds of the members present and approval by a majority of the state legislatures; amended many times, last in 2019 (2019) |
Legal system: | civil law system with US constitutional law influence; judicial review of legislative acts |
Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Executive branch: | chief of state: President Andres Manuel LOPEZ OBRADOR (since 1 December 2018); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Andres Manuel LOPEZ OBRADOR (since 1 December 2018) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of attorney general, the head of the Bank of Mexico, and senior treasury officials require consent of the Senate elections/appointments: president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a single 6-year term; election last held on 1 July 2018 (next to be held in July 2024) election results: Andres Manuel LOPEZ OBRADOR elected president; percent of vote - Andres Manuel LOPEZ OBRADOR (MORENA) 53.2%, Ricardo ANAYA (PAN) 22.3%, Jose Antonio MEADE Kuribrena (PRI) 16.4%, Jaime RODRIGUEZ Calderon 5.2% (independent), other 2.9% |
Legislative branch: | description: bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of: Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; 96 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 32 directly elected in a single, nationwide constituency by proportional representation vote; members serve 6-year terms) Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 200 directly elected in a single, nationwide constituency by proportional representation vote; members serve 3-year terms) elections: Senate - last held on 1 July 2018 (next to be held on 1 July 2024) Chamber of Deputies - last held on 1 July 2018 (next to be held on 1 July 2021) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MORENA 58, PAN 22, PRI 14, PRD 9, MC 7, PT 7, PES 5, PVEM 5, PNA/PANAL 1; composition - men 65, women 63, percent of women 49.3% Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MORENA 193, PAN 79, PT 61, PES 58, PRI 42, MC 26, PRD 23, PVEM 17, PNA/PANAL 1; composition - men 259, women 241, percent of women 48.2%; note - total National Congress percent of women 48.4% note: for the 2018 election, senators will be eligible for a second term and deputies up to 4 consecutive terms |
Judicial branch: | highest courts: Supreme Court of Justice or Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nacion (consists of the chief justice and 11 justices and organized into civil, criminal, administrative, and labor panels) and the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary (organized into the superior court, with 7 judges including the court president, and 5 regional courts, each with 3 judges) judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court justices nominated by the president of the republic and approved by two-thirds vote of the members present in the Senate; justices serve 15-year terms; Electoral Tribunal superior and regional court judges nominated by the Supreme Court and elected by two-thirds vote of members present in the Senate; superior court president elected from among its members to hold office for a 4-year term; other judges of the superior and regional courts serve staggered, 9-year terms subordinate courts: federal level includes circuit, collegiate, and unitary courts; state and district level courts |
Political parties and leaders: | Citizen's Movement (Movimiento Ciudadano) or MC [Clemente CASTANEDA] Institutional Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario Institucional) or PRI [Claudia RUIZ Massieu] Labor Party (Partido del Trabajo) or PT [Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez] Mexican Green Ecological Party (Partido Verde Ecologista de Mexico) or PVEM [Carlos Alberto PUENTE Salas] Movement for National Regeneration (Movimiento Regeneracion Nacional) or MORENA [Andres Manuel LOPEZ Obrador] National Action Party (Partido Accion Nacional) or PAN [Damian ZEPEDA Vidales] Party of the Democratic Revolution (Partido de la Revolucion Democratica) or PRD [Manuel GRANADOS] |
International organization participation: | APEC, Australia Group, BCIE, BIS, CAN (observer), Caricom (observer), CD, CDB, CE (observer), CELAC, CSN (observer), EBRD, FAO, FATF, G-3, G-15, G-20, G-24, G-5, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAES, LAIA, MIGA, NAFTA, NAM (observer), NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW, Pacific Alliance, Paris Club (associate), PCA, SICA (observer), UN, UNASUR (observer), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina (observer), UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
National symbol(s): | golden eagle; national colors: green, white, red |
National anthem: | name: "Himno Nacional Mexicano" (National Anthem of Mexico) lyrics/music: Francisco Gonzalez BOCANEGRA/Jaime Nuno ROCA note: adopted 1943, in use since 1854; also known as "Mexicanos, al grito de Guerra" (Mexicans, to the War Cry); according to tradition, Francisco Gonzalez BOCANEGRA, an accomplished poet, was uninterested in submitting lyrics to a national anthem contest; his fiancee locked him in a room and refused to release him until the lyrics were completed |
Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Martha BARCENA Coqui (since 11 January 2019) 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 (TX), Houston, Laredo (TX), Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Nogales (AZ), Phoenix, Sacramento (CA), San Antonio (TX), San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose (CA), San Juan (Puerto Rico), Saint Paul (MN) consulate(s): Albuquerque (NM), Anchorage (AK), Boise (ID), Brownsville (TX), Calexico (CA), Del Rio (TX), Detroit, Douglas (AZ), Eagle Pass (TX), Fresno (CA), Indianapolis (IN), Kansas City (MO), Las Vegas, Little Rock (AR), McAllen (TX), Minneapolis (MN), New Orleans, Omaha (NE), Orlando (FL), Oxnard (CA), Philadelphia, Portland (OR), Presidio (TX), Raleigh (NC), Salt Lake City, San Bernardino (CA), Santa Ana (CA), Seattle, Tucson (AZ), Yuma (AZ); note - Washington DC Consular Section is located in a separate building from the Mexican Embassy and has jurisdiction over DC, parts of Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia note: Martha BARCENA Coqui is Mexico's first-ever female ambassador to the United States |
Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires John S. CREAMER (since 16 July 2018) embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 06500 Mexico, Distrito Federal mailing address: P. O. Box 9000, Brownsville, TX 78520-9000 telephone: (011) 52-55-5080-2000 FAX: (011) 52-55-5080-2005 consulate(s) general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Monterrey, Nogales, Nuevo Laredo, Tijuana |
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Economy | |
Mexico's $2.4 trillion economy – 11th largest in the world - has become increasingly oriented toward manufacturing since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) entered into force in 1994. Per capita income is roughly one-third that of the US; income distribution remains highly unequal. Mexico has become the US' second-largest export market and third-largest source of imports. In 2017, two-way trade in goods and services exceeded $623 billion. Mexico has free trade agreements with 46 countries, putting more than 90% of its trade under free trade agreements. In 2012, Mexico formed the Pacific Alliance with Peru, Colombia, and Chile. Mexico's current government, led by President Enrique PENA NIETO, has emphasized economic reforms, passing and implementing sweeping energy, financial, fiscal, and telecommunications reform legislation, among others, with the long-term aim to improve competitiveness and economic growth across the Mexican economy. Since 2015, Mexico has held public auctions of oil and gas exploration and development rights and for long-term electric power generation contracts. Mexico has also issued permits for private sector import, distribution, and retail sales of refined petroleum products in an effort to attract private investment into the energy sector and boost production. Since 2013, Mexico’s economic growth has averaged 2% annually, falling short of private-sector expectations that President PENA NIETO’s sweeping reforms would bolster economic prospects. Growth is predicted to remain below potential given falling oil production, weak oil prices, structural issues such as low productivity, high inequality, a large informal sector employing over half of the workforce, weak rule of law, and corruption. Mexico’s economy remains vulnerable to uncertainty surrounding the future of NAFTA — because the United States is its top trading partner and the two countries share integrated supply chains — and to potential shifts in domestic policies following the inauguration of a new a president in December 2018. | |
GDP (purchasing power parity): | $2.463 trillion (2017 est.) $2.413 trillion (2016 est.) $2.346 trillion (2015 est.) note: data are in 2017 dollars |
GDP (official exchange rate): | $1.151 trillion (2017 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate: | 2% (2017 est.) 2.9% (2016 est.) 3.3% (2015 est.) |
GDP - per capita (PPP): | $19,900 (2017 est.) $19,700 (2016 est.) $19,400 (2015 est.) note: data are in 2017 dollars |
Gross national saving: | 21.4% of GDP (2017 est.) 21.6% of GDP (2016 est.) 20.7% of GDP (2015 est.) GDP - composition, by end use: household consumption: 67% (2017 est.) government consumption: 11.8% (2017 est.) investment in fixed capital: 22.3% (2017 est.) investment in inventories: 0.8% (2017 est.) exports of goods and services: 37.8% (2017 est.) imports of goods and services: -39.7% (2017 est.) GDP - composition, by sector of origin: agriculture: 3.6% (2017 est.) industry: 31.9% (2017 est.) services: 64.5% (2017 est.) |
Agriculture - products: | corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products |
Industries: | food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism |
Industrial production growth rate: | -0.6% (2017 est.) |
Labor force: | 54.51 million (2017 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture: 13.4% industry: 24.1% services: 61.9% (2011) |
Unemployment rate: | 3.4% (2017 est.) 3.9% (2016 est.) note: underemployment may be as high as 25% |
Population below poverty line: | 46.2% (2014 est.) note: from a food-based definition of poverty; asset-based poverty amounted to more than 47% |
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 2% highest 10%: 40% (2014) |
Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 48.2 (2014) 48.3 (2008) |
Budget: | revenues: 261.4 billion (2017 est.) expenditures: 273.8 billion (2017 est.) |
Taxes and other revenues: | 22.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.) Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-): -1.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.) |
Public debt: | 54.3% of GDP (2017 est.) 56.8% of GDP (2016 est.) |
Fiscal year: | calendar year |
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 6% (2017 est.) 2.8% (2016 est.) |
Current account balance: | -$19.35 billion (2017 est.) -$23.32 billion (2016 est.) |
Exports: | $409.8 billion (2017 est.) $374.3 billion (2016 est.) |
Exports - commodities: | manufactured goods, electronics, vehicles and auto parts, oil and oil products, silver, plastics, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton; Mexico is the world's leading producer of silver |
Exports - partners: | US 79.9% (2017) |
Imports: | $420.8 billion (2017 est.) $387.4 billion (2016 est.) |
Imports - commodities: | metalworking machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, automobile parts for assembly and repair, aircraft, aircraft parts, plastics, natural gas and oil products |
Imports - partners: | US 46.4%, China 17.7%, Japan 4.3% (2017) |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $175.3 billion (31 December 2017 est.) $178.4 billion (31 December 2016 est.) note: Mexico also maintains access to an $88 million Flexible Credit Line with the IMF |
Debt - external: | $445.8 billion (31 December 2017 est.) $450.2 billion (31 December 2016 est.) |
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: | $554.3 billion (31 December 2017 est.) $473.5 billion (31 December 2016 est.) |
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: | $243.8 billion (31 December 2017 est.) $148.6 billion (31 December 2016 est.) |
Market value of publicly traded shares: | $402.3 billion (31 December 2015 est.) $480.2 billion (31 December 2014 est.) $526 billion (31 December 2013 est.) |
Exchange rates: | Mexican pesos (MXN) per US dollar - 18.26 (2017 est.) 18.664 (2016 est.) 18.664 (2015 est.) 15.848 (2014 est.) 13.292 (2013 est.) |
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Energy | |
Electricity - production: | 302.7 billion kWh (2016 est.) |
Electricity - consumption: | 258.7 billion kWh (2016 est.) |
Electricity - exports: | 7.308 billion kWh (2016 est.) |
Electricity - imports: | 3.532 billion kWh (2016 est.) |
Electricity - installed generating capacity: | 72.56 million kW (2016 est.) |
Electricity - from fossil fuels: | 71% of total installed capacity (2016 est.) |
Electricity - from nuclear fuels: | 2% of total installed capacity (2017 est.) |
Electricity - from hydroelectric plants: | 17% of total installed capacity (2017 est.) |
Electricity - from other renewable sources: | 9% of total installed capacity (2017 est.) |
Crude oil - production: | 1.981 million bbl/day (2017 est.) |
Crude oil - exports: | 1.214 million bbl/day (2017 est.) |
Crude oil - imports: | 0 bbl/day (2017 est.) |
Crude oil - proved reserves: | 6.63 billion bbl (1 January 2018 est.) |
Refined petroleum products - production: | 844,600 bbl/day (2017 est.) |
Refined petroleum products - consumption: | 1.984 million bbl/day (2017 est.) |
Refined petroleum products - exports: | 155,800 bbl/day (2017 est.) |
Refined petroleum products - imports: | 867,500 bbl/day (2017 est.) |
Natural gas - production: | 31.57 billion cu m (2017 est.) |
Natural gas - consumption: | 81.61 billion cu m (2017 est.) |
Natural gas - exports: | 36.81 million cu m (2017 est.) |
Natural gas - imports: | 50.12 billion cu m (2017 est.) |
Natural gas - proved reserves: | 279.8 billion cu m (1 January 2018 est.) |
Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy: | 454.1 million Mt (2017 est.) |
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Communications | |
Cellular Phones in use: | total subscriptions: 114,326,842 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 92 (2017 est.) |
Telephone system: | general assessment: adequate telephone service for business and government; improving quality and increasing mobile cellular availability, with mobile subscribers far outnumbering fixed-line subscribers; domestic satellite system with 120 earth stations; extensive microwave radio relay network; considerable use of fiber-optic cable and coaxial cable; two main MNOs despite efforts for competition; preparation for 5G and LTE-M services; Mexico’s first local Internet Exchange Point opens in Mexico City (2018) domestic: competition has spurred the mobile-cellular market; fixed-line teledensity exceeds 17 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular teledensity is about 92 per 100 persons (2018) international: country code - 52; Columbus-2 fiber-optic submarine cable with access to the US, Virgin Islands, Canary Islands, Spain, and Italy; the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) and the MAYA-1 submarine cable system together provide access to Central America, parts of South America and the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth stations - 120 (32 Intelsat, 2 Solidaridad (giving Mexico improved access to South America, Central America, and much of the US as well as enhancing domestic communications), 1 Panamsat, numerous Inmarsat mobile earth stations); linked to Central American Microwave System of trunk connections (2016) |
Broadcast media: | telecom reform in 2013 enabled the creation of new broadcast television channels after decades of a quasi-monopoly; Mexico has 821 TV stations and 1,745 radio stations and most are privately owned; the Televisa group once had a virtual monopoly in TV broadcasting, but new broadcasting groups and foreign satellite and cable operators are now available; in 2016, Mexico became the first country in Latin America to complete the transition from analog to digital transmissions, allowing for better image and audio quality and a wider selection of programming from networks |
Internet country code: | .mx |
Internet users: | total: 73,334,032 percent of population: 59.5% (July 2016 est.) |
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Transportation | |
Airports: | 1,714 (2013) |
Airports (paved runways): | total 243 (2017) over 3,047 m: 12 (2017) 2,438 to 3,047 m: 32 (2017) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 80 (2017) 914 to 1,523 m: 86 (2017) under 914 m: 33 (2017) |
Airports (unpaved runways): | total 1,471 (2013) over 3,047 m: 1 (2013) 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2013) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 42 (2013) 914 to 1,523 m: 281 (2013) under 914 m: 1,146 (2013) |
Heliports: | 1 (2013) |
Pipelines: | 15,986 km natural gas (2019), 10,365 km oil (2017), 8,946 km refined products (2016) |
Railways: | total 20,825 km (2017) standard gauge: 20,825 km 1.435-m gauge (27 km electrified) (2017) |
Roadways: | total 398,148 km (2017) paved: 174,911 km (includes 10,362 km of expressways) (2017) unpaved: 223,237 km (2017) |
Waterways: | 2,900 km (navigable rivers and coastal canals mostly connected with ports on the country's east coast) (2012) |
Merchant marine: | total 617 by type: bulk carrier 6, general cargo 11, oil tanker 35, other 565 (2018) |
Ports and terminals: | major seaport(s): Altamira, Coatzacoalcos, Lazaro Cardenas, Manzanillo, Veracruz oil terminal(s): Cayo Arcas terminal, Dos Bocas terminal cruise port(s): Cancun, Cozumel, Ensenada container port(s) (TEUs): Manzanillo (2,830,370), Lazaro Cardenas (1,149,079) (2017) LNG terminal(s) (import): Altamira, Ensenada |
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Military | |
Military branches: | Secretariat of National Defense (Secretaria de Defensa Nacional, Sedena): Army (Ejercito), Mexican Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Mexicana, FAM); Secretariat of the Navy (Secretaria de Marina, Semar): Mexican Navy (Armada de Mexico (ARM); includes Naval Air Force (FAN), Mexican Naval Infantry Corps (Cuerpo de Infanteria de Marina, Mexmar or CIM)) (2013) |
Military service age and obligation: | 18 years of age for compulsory military service, conscript service obligation is 12 months; 16 years of age with consent for voluntary enlistment; conscripts serve only in the Army; Navy and Air Force service is all voluntary; women are eligible for voluntary military service; cadets enrolled in military schools from the age of 15 are considered members of the armed forces (2012) |
Military expenditures: | 0.47% of GDP (2017) 0.58% of GDP (2016) 0.67% of GDP (2015) 0.67% of GDP (2014) 0.62% of GDP (2013) |
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Transnational Issues | |
Disputes - International: | abundant rainfall in recent years along much of the Mexico-US border region has ameliorated periodically strained water-sharing arrangements; the US has intensified security measures to monitor and control legal and illegal personnel, transport, and commodities across its border with Mexico; Mexico must deal with thousands of impoverished Guatemalans and other Central Americans who cross the porous border looking for work in Mexico and the US; Belize and Mexico are working to solve minor border demarcation discrepancies arising from inaccuracies in the 1898 border treaty |
Refugees and internally displaced persons: | refugees (country of origin): 5,155 (El Salvador) (2018); 95,760 (Venezuela) (economic and political crisis; includes Venezuelans who have claimed asylum or have received alternative legal stay) (2019) IDPs: 338,000 (government's quashing of Zapatista uprising in 1994 in eastern Chiapas Region; drug cartel violence and government's military response since 2007; violence between and within indigenous groups) (2018) stateless persons: 13 (2018) |
Illicit drugs: | major drug-producing and transit nation; Mexico is estimated to be the world's third largest producer of opium with poppy cultivation in 2015 estimated to be 28,000 hectares yielding a potential production of 475 metric tons of raw opium; government conducts the largest independent illicit-crop eradication program in the world; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine from South America, with an estimated 95% of annual cocaine movements toward the US stopping in Mexico; major drug syndicates control the majority of drug trafficking throughout the country; producer and distributor of ecstasy; significant money-laundering center; major supplier of heroin and largest foreign supplier of marijuana and methamphetamine to the US market |
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Source: CIA - The World Factbook