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 PEÑA NIETO regained the presidency for the PRI in 2012. Left-leaning anti-establishment politician and former mayor of Mexico City (2000-05) Andrés Manuel LÓPEZ OBRADOR, from the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), became president in December 2018.
Mexico is currently the second-largest (after Canada) goods trading partner of the US with nearly $780 billion in two-way goods trade in 2022. Mexico’s GDP contracted by 8.2% in 2020 due to pandemic-induced closures, its lowest level since the Great Depression. Mexico’s economy is rebounding; it grew by 4.8% in 2021, driven largely by increased remittances, despite supply chain and pandemic-related challenges, and grew by 3% in 2022.The US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA, or T-MEC by its Spanish acronym) entered into force on 1 July 2020 and replaced its predecessor, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Mexico amended its constitution on 1 May 2019 to facilitate the implementation of the labor components of USMCA.Ongoing economic and social concerns include low real wages, high underemployment, inequitable income distribution, and few advancement opportunities, particularly for the largely indigenous population in the impoverished southern states. Since 2007, Mexico’s powerful transnational criminal organizations have engaged in a struggle to control criminal markets, resulting in tens of thousands of drug-related homicides and forced disappearances.
land: 1,943,945 sq km
water: 20,430 sq km
border countries (3): Belize 276 km; Guatemala 958 km; US 3,155 km
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m
mean elevation: 1,111 m
arable land: 11.8% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 1.4% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 41.7% (2018 est.)
forest: 33.3% (2018 est.)
other: 11.8% (2018 est.)
salt water lake(s): Laguna de Terminos - 1,550 sq km
note 2: some of the world’s most important food crops were first domesticated in Mexico; the “Three Sisters” companion plants - winter squash, maize (corn), and climbing beans - served as the main agricultural crops for various North American Indian groups; all three apparently originated in Mexico but then were widely disseminated through much of North America; avocado, amaranth, and chili peppers also emanate from Mexico, as does vanilla, the world’s most popular aroma and flavor spice; although cherry tomatoes originated in Ecuador, their domestication in Mexico transformed them into the larger modern tomato
note 3: the Sac Actun cave system at 348 km (216 mi) is the longest underwater cave in the world and the second longest cave worldwide, after Mammoth Cave in the United States (see “Geography - note” under United States)
note 4: the prominent Yucatán Peninsula that divides the Gulf of Mexico from the Caribbean Sea is shared by Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize; just on the northern coast of Yucatan, near the town of Chicxulub (pronounce cheek-sha-loob), lie the remnants of a massive crater (some 150 km in diameter and extending well out into the Gulf of Mexico); formed by an asteroid or comet when it struck the earth 66 million years ago, the impact is now widely accepted as initiating a worldwide climate disruption that caused a mass extinction of 75% of all the earth’s plant and animal species - including the non-avian dinosaurs
129,875,529 (2023 est.)
noun: Mexican(s)
adjective: Mexican
Mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 62%, predominantly Amerindian 21%, Amerindian 7%, other 10% (mostly European) (2012 est.)
note: Mexico does not collect census data on ethnicity
Spanish only 93.8%, Spanish and indigenous languages 5.4%, indigenous only 0.6%, unspecified 0.2%; note - indigenous languages include various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional languages (2020 est.)
major-language sample(s):
La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Roman Catholic 78%, Protestant/evangelical Christian 11.2%, other 0.002%, unaffiliated (includes atheism) 10.6% (2020 est.)
0-14 years: 23.76% (male 15,844,300/female 15,009,047)
15-64 years: 68.22% (male 43,086,673/female 45,518,891)
65 years and over: 8.02% (2023 est.) (male 4,560,225/female 5,856,393)
total dependency ratio: 49.4
youth dependency ratio: 37.3
elderly dependency ratio: 12.2
potential support ratio: 8.2 (2021 est.)
total: 30.6 years (2023 est.)
male: 28.9 years
female: 32.3 years
0.61% (2023 est.)
14 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
7.1 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
-0.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 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: 81.6% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 1.4% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
22.281 million MEXICO CITY (capital), 5.420 million Guadalajara, 5.117 million Monterrey, 3.345 million Puebla, 2.626 million Toluca de Lerdo, 2.260 million Tijuana (2023)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
21.3 years (2008 est.)
59 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
total: 12 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 13.2 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 10.7 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 73.5 years (2023 est.)
male: 70.3 years
female: 76.8 years
1.73 children born/woman (2023 est.)
0.85 (2023 est.)
73.1% (2018)
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: 98.3% of population
total: 99.7% of population
unimproved: urban: 0% of population
rural: 1.7% of population
total: 0.3% of population (2020 est.)
6.2% of GDP (2020)
2.43 physicians/1,000 population (2019)
1 beds/1,000 population (2018)
improved: urban: 99.9% of population
rural: 96.4% of population
total: 99.2% of population
unimproved: urban: 0.1% of population
rural: 3.6% of population
total: 0.8% of population (2020 est.)
degree of risk: intermediate (2023)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea and hepatitis A
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever
28.9% (2016)
total: 4.25 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 3.72 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0.19 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 0.19 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0.15 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total: 13.1% (2020 est.)
male: 19.9% (2020 est.)
female: 6.2% (2020 est.)
4.2% (2021)
56.6% (2023 est.)
women married by age 15: 3.6%
women married by age 18: 20.7% (2018 est.)
4.3% of GDP (2018 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95.2%
male: 96.1%
female: 94.5% (2020)
total: 15 years
male: 15 years
female: 15 years (2020)
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, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
varies from tropical to desert
agricultural land: 54.9% (2018 est.)
arable land: 11.8% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 1.4% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 41.7% (2018 est.)
forest: 33.3% (2018 est.)
other: 11.8% (2018 est.)
urban population: 81.6% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 1.4% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
0.1% of GDP (2018 est.)
0.03% of GDP (2018 est.)
particulate matter emissions: 17.83 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
carbon dioxide emissions: 486.41 megatons (2016 est.)
methane emissions: 135.77 megatons (2020 est.)
municipal solid waste generated annually: 53.1 million tons (2015 est.)
municipal solid waste recycled annually: 2.655 million tons (2013 est.)
percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 5% (2013 est.)
fresh water lake(s): Laguna de Chapala - 1,140 sq km
salt water lake(s): Laguna de Terminos - 1,550 sq km
Rio Grande river mouth (shared with US [s]) - 3,057 km; Colorado river mouth (shared with US [s]) - 2,333 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Atlantic Ocean drainage: (Gulf of Mexico) Rio Grande/Bravo (607,965 sq km)
Pacific Ocean drainage: (Gulf of California) Colorado (703,148 sq km)
Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains Aquifer
municipal: 13.17 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
industrial: 8.56 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
agricultural: 67.83 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
461.89 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
one of the world’s largest economies; USMCA buttresses its manufacturing sector; has underperformed growth targets for three decades; COVID-19 disrupted export-based economy; corruption and cartel-based violence undermine economic stability
$2.418 trillion (2021 est.)
$2.309 trillion (2020 est.)
$2.51 trillion (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
4.72% (2021 est.)
-7.99% (2020 est.)
-0.2% (2019 est.)
$19,100 (2021 est.)
$18,300 (2020 est.)
$20,100 (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
$1,269,956,000,000 (2019 est.)
5.69% (2021 est.)
3.4% (2020 est.)
3.64% (2019 est.)
Fitch rating: BBB- (2020)
Moody’s rating: Baa1 (2020)
Standard & Poors rating: BBB (2020)
note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.
agriculture: 3.6% (2017 est.)
industry: 31.9% (2017 est.)
services: 64.5% (2017 est.)comparison rankings:
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.)
sugarcane, maize, milk, oranges, sorghum, tomatoes, poultry, wheat, green chillies/peppers, eggs
food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism
5.44% (2021 est.)
56.132 million (2021 est.)
4.38% (2021 est.)
4.45% (2020 est.)
3.48% (2019 est.)
note: underemployment may be as high as 25%
total: 8.1% (2021 est.)
male: 7.9%
female: 8.6%
41.9% (2018 est.)
45.4 (2020 est.)
on food: 23.4% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
on alcohol and tobacco: 2.8% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 40% (2014)
revenues: $264.261 billion (2020 est.)
expenditures: $313.358 billion (2020 est.)
-1.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
54.3% of GDP (2017 est.)
56.8% of GDP (2016 est.)
14.29% (of GDP) (2020 est.)
calendar year
-$4.817 billion (2021 est.)
$27.103 billion (2020 est.)
-$3.406 billion (2019 est.)
$522.235 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$434.366 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$492.657 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
United States 75% (2019)
cars and vehicle parts, computers, delivery trucks, crude petroleum, video displays, insulated wiring (2021)
$544.752 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$411.458 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$495.391 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
United States 54%, China 14% (2019)
integrated circuits, refined petroleum, cars and vehicle parts, office machinery/parts, telephones (2019)
$207.799 billion (31 December 2021 est.)
$199.069 billion (31 December 2020 est.)
$183.056 billion (31 December 2019 est.)
note: Mexico also maintains access to an $88 million Flexible Credit Line with the IMF
$456.713 billion (2019 est.)
$448.268 billion (2018 est.)
Mexican pesos (MXN) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
20.272 (2021 est.)
21.486 (2020 est.)
19.264 (2019 est.)
19.244 (2018 est.)
18.927 (2017 est.)
electrification - total population: 100% (2021)
installed generating capacity: 93.43 million kW (2020 est.)
consumption: 267.34 billion kWh (2020 est.)
exports: 5.954 billion kWh (2020 est.)
imports: 9.965 billion kWh (2020 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 42.121 billion kWh (2020 est.)comparison rankings:
fossil fuels: 75.7% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
nuclear: 3.6% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
solar: 4.4% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
wind: 6.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
hydroelectricity: 7.6% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
geothermal: 1.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
biomass and waste: 0.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Number of operational nuclear reactors: 2 (2023)
Number of nuclear reactors under construction: 0
Net capacity of operational nuclear reactors: 1.55GW (2023)
Percent of total electricity production: 5.3% (2021)
Percent of total energy produced: 1.9% (2021)
Number of nuclear reactors permanently shut down: 0
production: 9.886 million metric tons (2020 est.)
consumption: 10.241 million metric tons (2020 est.)
exports: 3,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
imports: 5.182 million metric tons (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 1.211 billion metric tons (2019 est.)
total petroleum production: 1,905,500 bbl/day (2021 est.)
refined petroleum consumption: 1,928,800 bbl/day (2019 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate exports: 1,283,300 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate imports: 3,900 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil estimated reserves: 5,786,100,000 barrels (2021 est.)
844,600 bbl/day (2017 est.)
155,800 bbl/day (2017 est.)
867,500 bbl/day (2017 est.)
production: 27,037,730,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
consumption: 86,101,223,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
exports: 53.037 million cubic meters (2019 est.)
imports: 59,119,362,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
proven reserves: 180.321 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)
463.739 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 43.24 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids: 260.311 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from consumed natural gas: 160.188 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
61.597 million Btu/person (2019 est.)
number of registered air carriers: 16 (2020)
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 370
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 64,569,640 (2018)
annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 1,090,380,000 (2018) mt-km
XA
1,714 (2021)
243
note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
1,471
note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control
1 (2021)
17,210 km natural gas (2022), 9,757 km oil (2017), 10,237 km refined products (2020)
total: 23,389 km (2017)
standard gauge: 23,389 km (2017) 1.435-m gauge (27 km electrified)
total: 704,884 km (2017)
paved: 175,526 km (2017) (includes 10,845 km of expressways)
unpaved: 529,358 km (2017)
2,900 km (2012) (navigable rivers and coastal canals mostly connected with ports on the country’s east coast)
total: 669 (2022)
by type: container ship 1, bulk carrier 5, general cargo 10, oil tanker 32, other 621
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): Lazaro Cardenas (1,686,076), Manzanillo (3,371,400), Veracruz (1,165,043) (2021)
LNG terminal(s) (import): Altamira, Ensenada
manyapis