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.
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
23 00 N, 102 00 W
North America
total: 1,964,375 sq km
land: 1,943,945 sq km
water: 20,430 sq km
slightly less than three times the size of Texas
total: 4,389 km
border countries (3): Belize 276 km, Guatemala 958 km, US 3,155 km
9,330 km
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
varies from tropical to desert
high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert
mean elevation: 1,111 m
elevation extremes: lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m
highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,675 m
petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber
agricultural land: 54.9%
arable land 11.8%; permanent crops 1.4%; permanent pasture 41.7%
forest: 33.3%
other: 11.8% (2011 est.)
65,000 sq km (2012)
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
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
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
strategic location on southern border of US; corn (maize), one of the world's major grain crops, is thought to have originated in Mexico
123,166,749 (July 2016 est.)
noun: Mexican(s)
adjective: Mexican
mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 62%, predominantly Amerindian 21%, Amerindian 7%, other 10% (mostly European)
note: Mexico does not collect census data on ethnicity (2012 est.)
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)
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.)
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.)
total dependency ratio: 51.7%
youth dependency ratio: 41.9%
elderly dependency ratio: 9.8%
potential support ratio: 10.2% (2015 est.)
total: 28 years
male: 26.9 years
female: 29.1 years (2016 est.)
1.15% (2016 est.)
18.5 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)
5.3 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)
-1.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)
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
urban population: 79.2% of total population (2015)
rate of urbanization: 1.57% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
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)
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.)
total number: 1,105,617
percentage: 5% (2009 est.)
38 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
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.)
total population: 75.9 years
male: 73.1 years
female: 78.8 years (2016 est.)
2.25 children born/woman (2016 est.)
72.5% (2009)
6.3% of GDP (2014)
2.1 physicians/1,000 population (2011)
1.5 beds/1,000 population (2011)
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.)
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.)
0.24% (2015 est.)
198,200 (2015 est.)
4,000 (2015 est.)
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)
27.6% (2014)
2.8% (2012)
5.2% of GDP (2012)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95.1%
male: 96.2%
female: 94.2% (2012 est.)
total: 13 years
male: 13 years
female: 13 years (2014)
21.3 (2008 est.)
total: 9.6%
male: 9.2%
female: 10.3% (2014 est.)
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
federal presidential republic
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
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
16 September 1810 (declared); 27 September 1821 (recognized by Spain)
Independence Day, 16 September (1810)
several previous; latest approved 5 February 1917; amended many times, last in 2015 (2016)
civil law system with US constitutional law influence; judicial review of legislative acts
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
citizenship by birth: yes
citizenship by descent: yes
dual citizenship recognized: not specified
residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
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%
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
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
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]
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
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
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
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
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
golden eagle; national colors: green, white, red
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
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
$2.307 trillion (2016 est.)
$2.259 trillion (2015 est.)
$2.205 trillion (2014 est.)
note: data are in 2016 dollars
$1.064 trillion (2015 est.)
2.1% (2016 est.)
2.5% (2015 est.)
2.2% (2014 est.)
$18,900 (2016 est.)
$18,700 (2015 est.)
$18,400 (2014 est.)
note: data are in 2016 dollars
20.3% of GDP (2016 est.)
19.9% of GDP (2015 est.)
19.5% of GDP (2014 est.)
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.)
agriculture: 3.7%
industry: 33.1%
services: 63.2% (2016 est.)
corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products
food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism
3.3% (2016 est.)
53.74 million (2016 est.)
agriculture: 13.4%
industry: 24.1%
services: 61.9% (2011)
4.4% (2016 est.)
4.4% (2015 est.)
note: underemployment may be as high as 25%
52.3%
note: based on food-based definition of poverty; asset-based poverty amounted to more than 47% (2012 est.)
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 37.5% (2010)
48.3 (2008)
53.1 (1998)
revenues: $224.3 billion
expenditures: $255.9 billion (2016 est.)
21.1% of GDP (2016 est.)
-3% of GDP (2016 est.)
49.7% of GDP (2016 est.)
46.5% of GDP (2015 est.)
calendar year
2.7% (2016 est.)
2.7% (2015 est.)
4.5% (31 December 2012)
4.5% (31 December 2011)
4.3% (31 December 2016 est.)
3.42% (31 December 2015 est.)
$192.3 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$194.8 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$826.7 billion (31 December 2014 est.)
$727 billion (31 December 2013 est.)
$400.3 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$398.9 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$402.3 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$480.2 billion (31 December 2014 est.)
$526 billion (31 December 2013 est.)
-$29.03 billion (2016 est.)
-$32.71 billion (2015 est.)
$359.3 billion (2016 est.)
$381 billion (2015 est.)
manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton
US 81.1% (2015)
$372.8 billion (2016 est.)
$395.6 billion (2015 est.)
metalworking machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, automobile parts for assembly and repair, aircraft, aircraft parts
US 47.3%, China 17.7%, Japan 4.4% (2015)
$176.4 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$178 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$484.6 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$441.6 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$384.3 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$356.9 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$153.3 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$142.9 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
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.)
population without electricity: 1,231,667
electrification - total population: 99%
electrification - urban areas: 100%
electrification - rural areas: 97% (2012)
286 billion kWh (2014 est.)
238 billion kWh (2014 est.)
7.1 billion kWh (2014 est.)
400 million kWh (2014 est.)
66 million kW (2014 est.)
74.2% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
2.5% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
18.7% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
4.7% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
2.302 million bbl/day (2015 est.)
1.199 million bbl/day (2015 est.)
11,110 bbl/day (2015 est.)
9.7 billion bbl (1 January 2016 es)
1.258 million bbl/day (2015 est.)
2.007 million bbl/day (2015 est.)
190,900 bbl/day (2015 est.)
713,500 bbl/day (2015 est.)
44.37 billion cu m (2014 est.)
72.77 billion cu m (2014 est.)
52 million cu m (2014 est.)
28.84 billion cu m (2014 est.)
432.9 billion cu m (1 January 2016 es)
455 million Mt (2013 est.)
total subscriptions: 19,886,949
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 16 (July 2015 est.)
total: 106.831 million
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 88 (July 2015 est.)
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)
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)
.mx
total: 69.915 million
percent of population: 57.4% (July 2015 est.)
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)
XA (2016)
1,714 (2013)
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)
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)
1 (2013)
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)
total: 15,389 km
standard gauge: 15,389 km 1.435-m gauge (27 km electrified) (2014)
total: 377,660 km
paved: 137,544 km (includes 7,176 km of expressways)
unpaved: 240,116 km (2012)
2,900 km (navigable rivers and coastal canals mostly connected with ports on the country's east coast) (2012)
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)
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
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)
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)
0.59% of GDP (2012)
0.56% of GDP (2011)
0.59% of GDP (2010)
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
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)
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)
