Introduction

Background

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. 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

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

Map references

North America

Area

total: 1,964,375 sq km
land: 1,943,945 sq km
water: 20,430 sq km

Area - comparative

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 3,155 km

Coastline

9,330 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 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

Elevation

mean elevation: 1,111 m
elevation extremes: lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m
highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,675 m

Natural resources

petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber

Land use

agricultural land: 54.9%
arable land 11.8%; permanent crops 1.4%; permanent pasture 41.7%
forest: 33.3%
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 (elev. 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 (elev. 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

Environment - current 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

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, 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; corn (maize), one of the world's major grain crops, is thought to have originated in Mexico


People and Society

Population

123,166,749 (July 2016 est.)

Nationality

noun: Mexican(s)
adjective: Mexican

Ethnic groups

mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 62%, predominantly Amerindian 21%, Amerindian 7%, other 10% (mostly European)
note: Mexico does not collect census data on ethnicity (2012 est.)

Languages

Spanish only 92.7%, Spanish and indigenous languages 5.7%, indigenous only 0.8%, unspecified 0.8%
note: indigenous languages include various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional languages (2005)

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.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 27.26% (male 17,167,636/female 16,402,301)
15-24 years: 17.72% (male 11,049,818/female 10,770,843)
25-54 years: 40.69% (male 24,174,900/female 25,938,909)
55-64 years: 7.41% (male 4,187,644/female 4,944,802)
65 years and over: 6.93% (male 3,827,870/female 4,702,026) (2016 est.)

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 51.7%
youth dependency ratio: 41.9%
elderly dependency ratio: 9.8%
potential support ratio: 10.2% (2015 est.)

Median age

total: 28 years
male: 26.9 years
female: 29.1 years (2016 est.)

Population growth rate

1.15% (2016 est.)

Birth rate

18.5 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)

Death rate

5.3 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)

Net migration rate

-1.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)

Population distribution

most of the population is found in the middle of the country between the states of Jalisco and Veracruz; approximately a quarter of the population lives in and around Mexico City

Urbanization

urban population: 79.2% of total population (2015)
rate of urbanization: 1.57% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Major urban areas - population

MEXICO CITY (capital) 20.999 million; Guadalajara 4.843 million; Monterrey 4.513 million; Puebla 2.984 million; Toluca de Lerdo 2.164 million; Tijuana 1.987 million (2015)

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: 0.93 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.85 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

Child labor - children ages 5-14

total number: 1,105,617
percentage: 5% (2009 est.)

Maternal mortality rate

38 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 11.9 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.3 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 10.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 75.9 years
male: 73.1 years
female: 78.8 years (2016 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.25 children born/woman (2016 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

72.5% (2009)

Health expenditures

6.3% of GDP (2014)

Physicians density

2.1 physicians/1,000 population (2011)

Hospital bed density

1.5 beds/1,000 population (2011)

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
rural: 74.5% of population
total: 85.2% of population
unimproved:
urban: 12% of population
rural: 25.5% of population
total: 14.8% of population (2015 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

0.24% (2015 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

198,200 (2015 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

4,000 (2015 est.)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: intermediate
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea and hepatitis A
vectorborne disease: dengue fever
note: active local transmission of Zika virus by Aedes species mosquitoes has been identified in this country (as of August 2016); it poses an important risk (a large number of cases possible) among US citizens if bitten by an infective mosquito; other less common ways to get Zika are through sex, via blood transfusion, or during pregnancy, in which the pregnant woman passes Zika virus to her fetus (2016)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

27.6% (2014)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

2.8% (2012)

Education expenditures

5.2% of GDP (2012)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95.1%
male: 96.2%
female: 94.2% (2012 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 13 years
male: 13 years
female: 13 years (2014)

Mother's mean age at first birth

21.3 (2008 est.)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24

total: 9.6%
male: 9.2%
female: 10.3% (2014 est.)


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 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

Administrative divisions

31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 city* (ciudad); Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Colima, Cuidad de Mexico*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (Veracruz), Yucatan, Zacatecas

Independence

16 September 1810 (declared); 27 September 1821 (recognized by Spain)

National holiday

Independence Day, 16 September (1810)

Constitution

several previous; latest approved 5 February 1917; amended many times, last in 2015 (2016)

Legal system

civil law system with US constitutional law influence; judicial review of legislative acts

International law organization participation

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship

citizenship by birth: yes
citizenship by descent: yes
dual citizenship recognized: not specified
residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch

chief of state: President Enrique PENA NIETO (since 1 December 2012); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Enrique PENA NIETO (since 1 December 2012)
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 2012 (next to be held in July 2018)
election results: Enrique PENA NIETO elected president; percent of vote - Enrique PENA NIETO (PRI) 38.2%, Andres Manuel LOPEZ OBRADOR (PRD) 31.6%, Josefina Eugenia VAZQUEZ Mota (PAN) 25.4%, other 4.8%

Legislative branch

description: bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the 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) and the 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 2012 for all of the seats (next to be held 1 July 2018); Chamber of Deputies - last held on 7 June 2015 (next to be held on 1 July 2018)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRI 52, PAN 38, PRD 22, PVEM 9, PT 4, Movimiento Ciudadano 2, PANAL 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRI 203, PAN 108, PRD 56, PVEM 47, MORENA 35, MC 26, PNA/PANAL 10, PES 8, PT 6, independent 1

Judicial branch

highest court(s): 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 for life; 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 [Dante DELGADO Rannaoro]
Institutional Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario Institucional) or PRI [Cesar CAMACHO Quiroz]
Labor Party (Partido del Trabajo) or PT [Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez]
Mexican Green Ecological Party (Partido Verde Ecologista de Mexico) or PVEM [Jorge Emilio GONZALEZ Torres]
Movement for National Regeneration (Movimiento Regeneracion Nacional) or MORENA [Marti BATRES]
National Action Party (Partido Accion Nacional) or PAN [Gustavo MADERO Munoz]
New Alliance Party (Partido Nueva Alianza) or PNA/PANAL [Luis CASTRO Obregon]
Party of the Democratic Revolution (Partido de la Revolucion Democratica) or PRD [Jesus ZAMBRANO Grijalva]
Social Encounter Party (Partido Encuentro Social) or PES [Hugo Eric FLORES Cervantes]

Political pressure groups and leaders

Businessmen's Coordinating Council or CCE
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 Confederation of Popular Organizations or CNOP
National Coordinator for Education Workers or CNTE
National Peasant Confederation or CNC
National Small Business Chamber or CANACOPE
National Syndicate of Education Workers or SNTE
National Union of Workers or UNT
Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca or APPO
Roman Catholic Church

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

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Carlos Manuel SADA Solana (since 25 May 2016)
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 (NV), 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

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Roberta JACOBSON (since 20 June 2016)
embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 06500 Mexico, Distrito Federal
mailing address: P. O. Box 9000, Brownsville, TX 78520-9000
telephone: [52] (55) 5080-2000
FAX: [52] (55) 5080-2834
consulate(s) general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Monterrey, Nogales, Nuevo Laredo, Tijuana

Flag description

three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; Mexico's coat of arms (an eagle with a snake in its beak perched on a cactus) is centered in the white band; green signifies hope, joy, and love; white represents peace and honesty; red stands for hardiness, bravery, strength, and valor; the coat of arms is derived from a legend that the wandering Aztec people were to settle at a location where they would see an eagle on a cactus eating a snake; the city they founded, Tenochtitlan, is now Mexico City
note: similar to the flag of Italy, which is shorter, uses lighter shades of red and green, and does not display anything in its white band

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


Economy

Economy - overview

Mexico's $2.2 trillion economy 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 highl

Mexico has become the US' second-largest export market and third-largest source of imports. In 2015, two-way trade in goods and services exceeded $592 billion. Mexico has free trade agreements with 46 countries, putting more than 90% of trade under free t

Mexico's current government, led by President Enrique PENA NIETO, emphasized economic reforms during its first two years in office, passing and implementing sweeping education, energy, financial, fiscal, and telecommunications reform legislation, among ot

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 prod

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$2.307 trillion (2016 est.)
$2.259 trillion (2015 est.)
$2.205 trillion (2014 est.)
note: data are in 2016 dollars

GDP (official exchange rate)

$1.064 trillion (2015 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

2.1% (2016 est.)
2.5% (2015 est.)
2.2% (2014 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$18,900 (2016 est.)
$18,700 (2015 est.)
$18,400 (2014 est.)
note: data are in 2016 dollars

Gross national saving

20.3% of GDP (2016 est.)
19.9% of GDP (2015 est.)
19.5% of GDP (2014 est.)

GDP - composition, by end use

household consumption: 69.6%
government consumption: 12.3%
investment in fixed capital: 22.6%
investment in inventories: -1.8%
exports of goods and services: 36.1%
imports of goods and services: -38.8% (2016 est.)

GDP - composition, by sector of origin

agriculture: 3.7%
industry: 33.1%
services: 63.2% (2016 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

3.3% (2016 est.)

Labor force

53.74 million (2016 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 13.4%
industry: 24.1%
services: 61.9% (2011)

Unemployment rate

4.4% (2016 est.)
4.4% (2015 est.)
note: underemployment may be as high as 25%

Population below poverty line

52.3%
note: based on food-based definition of poverty; asset-based poverty amounted to more than 47% (2012 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 37.5% (2010)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

48.3 (2008)
53.1 (1998)

Budget

revenues: $224.3 billion
expenditures: $255.9 billion (2016 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

21.1% of GDP (2016 est.)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

-3% of GDP (2016 est.)

Public debt

49.7% of GDP (2016 est.)
46.5% of GDP (2015 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

2.7% (2016 est.)
2.7% (2015 est.)

Central bank discount rate

4.5% (31 December 2012)
4.5% (31 December 2011)

Commercial bank prime lending rate

4.3% (31 December 2016 est.)
3.42% (31 December 2015 est.)

Stock of narrow money

$192.3 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$194.8 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

Stock of broad money

$826.7 billion (31 December 2014 est.)
$727 billion (31 December 2013 est.)

Stock of domestic credit

$400.3 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$398.9 billion (31 December 2015 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.)

Current account balance

-$29.03 billion (2016 est.)
-$32.71 billion (2015 est.)

Exports

$359.3 billion (2016 est.)
$381 billion (2015 est.)

Exports - commodities

manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton

Exports - partners

US 81.1% (2015)

Imports

$372.8 billion (2016 est.)
$395.6 billion (2015 est.)

Imports - commodities

metalworking machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, automobile parts for assembly and repair, aircraft, aircraft parts

Imports - partners

US 47.3%, China 17.7%, Japan 4.4% (2015)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$176.4 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$178 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

Debt - external

$484.6 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$441.6 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home

$384.3 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$356.9 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad

$153.3 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$142.9 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

Exchange rates

Mexican pesos (MXN) per US dollar -
18.34 (2016 est.)
15.848 (2015 est.)
15.848 (2014 est.)
13.292 (2013 est.)
13.17 (2012 est.)


Energy

Electricity - access

population without electricity: 1,231,667
electrification - total population: 99%
electrification - urban areas: 100%
electrification - rural areas: 97% (2012)

Electricity - production

286 billion kWh (2014 est.)

Electricity - consumption

238 billion kWh (2014 est.)

Electricity - exports

7.1 billion kWh (2014 est.)

Electricity - imports

400 million kWh (2014 est.)

Electricity - installed generating capacity

66 million kW (2014 est.)

Electricity - from fossil fuels

74.2% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

Electricity - from nuclear fuels

2.5% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

Electricity - from hydroelectric plants

18.7% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

Electricity - from other renewable sources

4.7% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

Crude oil - production

2.302 million bbl/day (2015 est.)

Crude oil - exports

1.199 million bbl/day (2015 est.)

Crude oil - imports

11,110 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Crude oil - proved reserves

9.7 billion bbl (1 January 2016 es)

Refined petroleum products - production

1.258 million bbl/day (2015 est.)

Refined petroleum products - consumption

2.007 million bbl/day (2015 est.)

Refined petroleum products - exports

190,900 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Refined petroleum products - imports

713,500 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Natural gas - production

44.37 billion cu m (2014 est.)

Natural gas - consumption

72.77 billion cu m (2014 est.)

Natural gas - exports

52 million cu m (2014 est.)

Natural gas - imports

28.84 billion cu m (2014 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves

432.9 billion cu m (1 January 2016 es)

Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy

455 million Mt (2013 est.)


Communications

Telephones - fixed lines

total subscriptions: 19,886,949
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 16 (July 2015 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular

total: 106.831 million
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 88 (July 2015 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
domestic: competition has spurred the mobile-cellular market; fixed-line teledensity is less than 20 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular teledensity is about 90 per 100 persons
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 (2015)

Broadcast media

many TV stations and more than 1,400 radio stations with most 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 (2012)

Internet country code

.mx

Internet users

total: 69.915 million
percent of population: 57.4% (July 2015 est.)


Transportation

National air transport system

number of registered air carriers: 21
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 357
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 45,560,063
annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 713,985,467 mt-km (2015)

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

XA (2016)

Airports

1,714 (2013)

Airports - with paved runways

total: 243
over 3,047 m: 12
2,438 to 3,047 m: 32
1,524 to 2,437 m: 80
914 to 1,523 m: 86
under 914 m: 33 (2013)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 1,471
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 42
914 to 1,523 m: 281
under 914 m: 1,146 (2013)

Heliports

1 (2013)

Pipelines

gas 18,074 km; liquid petroleum 2,102 km; oil 8,775 km; oil/gas/water 369 km; refined products 7,565 km; water 123 km (2013)

Railways

total: 15,389 km
standard gauge: 15,389 km 1.435-m gauge (27 km electrified) (2014)

Roadways

total: 377,660 km
paved: 137,544 km (includes 7,176 km of expressways)
unpaved: 240,116 km (2012)

Waterways

2,900 km (navigable rivers and coastal canals mostly connected with ports on the country's east coast) (2012)

Merchant marine

total: 52
by type: bulk carrier 5, cargo 3, chemical tanker 11, liquefied gas 3, passenger/cargo 10, petroleum tanker 17, roll on/roll off 3
foreign-owned: 5 (France 1, Greece 2, South Africa 1, UAE 1)
registered in other countries: 12 (Antigua and Barbuda 1, Marshall Islands 2, Panama 5, Portugal 1, Spain 1, Venezuela 1, unknown 1) (2010)

Ports and terminals

major seaport(s): Altamira, Coatzacoalcos, Lazaro Cardenas, Manzanillo, Veracruz
container port(s) (TEUs): Manzanillo (1,992,176), Lazaro Cardenas (1,242,777) (2012)
oil terminals: Cayo Arcas terminal, Dos Bocas terminal
LNG terminal(s) (import): Altamira, Ensenada
cruise port(s): Cancun, Cozumel, Ensenada


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

0.59% of GDP (2012)
0.56% of GDP (2011)
0.59% of GDP (2010)


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

IDPs: 287,000 (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) (2015)
stateless persons: 13 (2015)

Illicit drugs

major drug-producing and transit nation; world's second largest opium poppy cultivator; opium poppy cultivation in 2009 rose 31% over 2008 to 19,500 hectares yielding a potential production of 50 metric tons of pure heroin, or 125 metric tons of "black tar" heroin, the dominant form of Mexican heroin in the western United States; marijuana cultivation increased 45% to 17,500 hectares in 2009; 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 (2007)