Factbook dossier
Background
Mexico was the site of several advanced Amerindian civilizations -- including the Olmec, Toltec, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Maya, and Aztec -- until Spain conquered and colonized the area 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 Mexican Revolution in 1910 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 PE A NIETO regained the presidency for the PRI in 2012. Left-leaning anti-establishment politician and former mayor of Mexico City (2000-05) Andr s Manuel L PEZ OBRADOR, from the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), became president in 2018. The US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA, or T-MEC by its Spanish acronym) entered into force in 2020 and replaced its predecessor, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Mexico amended its constitution in 2019 to facilitate the implementation of the labor components of USMCA. Mexico is currently the US's second-largest goods trading partner, after Canada. 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 contro…
Location
North America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of America, between Belize and the United States and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the United States
Area
total : 1,964,375 sq km land: 1,943,945 sq km water: 20,430 sq km
Natural resources
petroleum, silver, antimony, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber
Natural hazards
tsunamis along the Pacific coast; volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south; hurricanes on the Pacific, Gulf of America, 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) is Mexico's most active volcano and is responsible for 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"
Population
total: 130,739,927 (2024 est.) male: 63,899,138 female: 66,840,789
Ethnic groups
Mestizo (Indigenous-Spanish) 62%, predominantly Indigenous 21%, Indigenous 7%, other 10% (mostly European) (2012 est.) note: Mexico does not collect census data on ethnicity
Languages
Spanish only 93.8%, Spanish and indigenous languages (including Mayan, Nahuatl, and others) 5.4%, indigenous only 0.6%, unspecified 0.2% (2020 est.) major-language sample(s): La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de informaci n b sica. (Spanish) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions
Catholic 77.7%, no religion 10.6%, other Evangelical Churches 7.5%, Jehovah Witness 1.2%; less than 1 percent: Pentecostal, Seventh Day Adventist, Historics, not specified, Latter Day Saints, other religions (2020 est.)
Environmental issues
scarcity of hazardous waste disposal facilities; natural freshwater resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; urban river pollution from raw sewage and industrial effluents; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification; serious air and water pollution in urban areas; land subsidence in Valley of Mexico caused by groundwater depletion note: the government considers the lack of clean water and deforestation as national security issues
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: DST was permanently removed in October 2022 time zone note: Mexico has four time zones etymology: name may derive from one of the Nahuatl (Aztec) names for the capital city, Metztlixihtlico, which probably meant "the center of the moon;" alternatively, it may come from Mexica, the original name of the Aztec people
Executive branch
chief of state: President Claudia SHEINBAUM Pardo (since 1 October 2024) head of government: President Claudia SHEINBAUM Pardo (since 1 October 2024) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president election/appointment process: president directly elected by simple-majority popular vote for a single 6-year term most recent election date: 2 June 2024 election results: 2024: Claudia SHEINBAUM Pardo elected president; percent of vote - Claudia SHEINBAUM Pardo (MORENA) 59.4%, X chitl G LVEZ Ruiz (PAN) 27.9%, Jorge lvarez M YNEZ (MC) 10.4%, other 2.3% 2018: Andr s Manuel L PEZ OBRADOR elected president; percent of vote - Andr s Manuel L PEZ OBRADOR (MORENA) 53.2%, Ricardo ANAYA Cort s (PAN) 22.3%, Jos Antonio MEADE Kuribre a (PRI) 16.4%, Jaime RODR GUEZ Calder n (independent) 5.2%, other 2.9% 2012: Enrique PE A NIETO elected president; percent of vote - Enrique PE A NIETO (PRI) 38.2%, Andr s Manuel L PEZ OBRADOR (PRD) 31.6%, Josefina Eugenia V ZQUEZ Mota (PAN) 25.4%, other 4.8% expected date of next election: 2030 note: the president is both chief of state and head of government
Legislative branch
legislature name: Congress of the Union (Congreso de la Unión) legislative structure: bicameral note: as of the 2018 election, senators will be eligible for a second term and deputies up to 4 consecutive terms
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$2.883 trillion (2024 est.) $2.842 trillion (2023 est.) $2.751 trillion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars
Real GDP per capita
$22,000 (2024 est.) $21,900 (2023 est.) $21,400 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
4.7% (2024 est.) 5.5% (2023 est.) 7.9% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices
Exports - partners
USA 76%, Canada 5%, China 2%, Germany 2%, Spain 1% (2023) note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports
Imports - partners
USA 46%, China 20%, Germany 4%, Japan 3%, S. Korea 3% (2023) note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
Military and security forces
the Mexican Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas de M xico) are divided between the Secretariat of National Defense and the Secretariat of the Navy: Secretariat of National Defense (Secretaria de Defensa Nacional, SEDENA): Army (Ejercito), Mexican Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Mexicana, FAM), National Guard (Guardia Nacional); 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)) Secretariat of Security and Civilian Protection/SEDENA: National Guard (2025) note: the National Guard was formed in 2019 of personnel from the former Federal Police (disbanded in December 2019) and military police units of the Army and Navy
Military expenditures
0.9% of GDP (2024 est.) 0.7% of GDP (2023 est.) 0.7% of GDP (2022 est.) 0.7% of GDP (2021 est.) 0.6% of GDP (2020 est.)