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NAVIGATION
United Mexican States
Estados Unidos Mexicanos
INTRODUCTION
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Background:
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The site of advanced Amerindian civilizations, Mexico came under Spanish rule for three centuries before achieving independence early in the 19th century. A devaluation of the peso in late 1994 threw Mexico into economic turmoil, triggering the worst recession in over half a century. The nation continues to make an impressive recovery. Ongoing economic and social concerns include low real wages, underemployment for a large segment of the population, inequitable income distribution, and few advancement opportunities for the largely Amerindian population in the impoverished southern states. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first time since the 1910 Mexican Revolution that the opposition defeated the party in government, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Vicente FOX of the National Action Party (PAN) was sworn in on 1 December 2000 as the first chief executive elected in free and fair elections. |
GEOGRAPHY
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Location:
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Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the US |
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Geographic coordinates:
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23 00 N, 102 00 W |
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Map references:
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North America |
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Area:
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total: 1,972,550 sq km
land: 1,923,040 sq km water: 49,510 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly less than three times the size of Texas |
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Land boundaries:
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total: 4,353 km
border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,141 km |
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Coastline:
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9,330 km |
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Maritime claims:
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contiguous zone: 24 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin |
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Climate:
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varies from tropical to desert |
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Terrain:
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high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m
highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m |
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Natural resources:
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petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber |
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Land use:
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arable land: 13.2%
permanent crops: 1.1% other: 85.7% (1998 est.) |
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Irrigated land:
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65,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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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 |
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Environment - current issues:
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scarcity of hazardous waste disposal facilities; rural to urban migration; natural fresh water 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 |
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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Geography - note:
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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
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Population:
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103,400,165 (July 2002 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 32.8% (male 17,310,230; female 16,630,935)
15-64 years: 62.7% (male 31,552,877; female 33,246,668) 65 years and over: 4.5% (male 2,069,826; female 2,589,629) (2002 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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1.47% (2002 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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22.36 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
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Death rate:
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4.99 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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-2.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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24.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 72.03 years
female: 75.21 years (2002 est.) male: 68.99 years |
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Total fertility rate:
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2.57 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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0.29% (1999 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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150,000 (1999 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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4,700 (1999 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun: Mexican(s)
adjective: Mexican |
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Ethnic groups:
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mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1% |
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Religions:
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nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%, other 5% |
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Languages:
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Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 89.6% male: 91.8% female: 87.4% (1995 est.) |