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This page was last updated on 17 January, 2008


Map of Mexico
Legend: DefinitionDefinition Field ListingField Listing Rank OrderRank Order
   Introduction    Mexico Top of Page
Background:
Definition Field Listing
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. The 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.
   Geography    Mexico Top of Page
Location:
Definition Field Listing
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
Geographic coordinates:
Definition Field Listing
23 00 N, 102 00 W
Map references:
Definition Field Listing
North America
Area:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 1,972,550 sq km
land: 1,923,040 sq km
water: 49,510 sq km
Area - comparative:
Definition Field Listing
slightly less than three times the size of Texas
Land boundaries:
Definition Field Listing
total: 4,353 km
border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,141 km
Coastline:
Definition Field Listing
9,330 km
Maritime claims:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing
varies from tropical to desert
Terrain:
Definition Field Listing
high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert
Elevation extremes:
Definition Field Listing
lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m
highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m
Natural resources:
Definition Field Listing
petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber
Land use:
Definition Field Listing
arable land: 12.66%
permanent crops: 1.28%
other: 86.06% (2005)
Irrigated land:
Definition Field Listing
63,200 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
Definition Field Listing
457.2 cu km (2000)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
Definition Field Listing
Total: 78.22 cu km/yr (17%/5%/77%)
Per capita: 731 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
Definition Field Listing
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
Environment - current issues:
Definition Field Listing
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
Environment - international agreements:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing
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    Mexico Top of Page
Population:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
108,700,891 (July 2007 est.)
Age structure:
Definition Field Listing
0-14 years: 30.1% (male 16,696,089/female 16,011,563)
15-64 years: 64% (male 33,624,812/female 35,925,372)
65 years and over: 5.9% (male 2,917,563/female 3,525,492) (2007 est.)
Median age:
Definition Field Listing
total: 25.6 years
male: 24.6 years
female: 26.6 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate:
Definition Field Listing
1.153% (2007 est.)
Birth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
20.36 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
4.76 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate:
Definition Field Listing
-4.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Sex ratio:
Definition Field Listing
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.043 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.936 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.828 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 19.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.54 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 17.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total population: 75.63 years
male: 72.84 years
female: 78.56 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
2.39 children born/woman (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0.3% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
160,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
5,000 (2003 est.)
Nationality:
Definition Field Listing
noun: Mexican(s)
adjective: Mexican
Ethnic groups:
Definition Field Listing
mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1%
Religions:
Definition Field Listing
Roman Catholic 76.5%, Protestant 6.3% (Pentecostal 1.4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.1%, other 3.8%), other 0.3%, unspecified 13.8%, none 3.1% (2000 census)
Languages:
Definition Field Listing
Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages
Literacy:
Definition Field Listing
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91%
male: 92.4%
female: 89.6% (2004 est.)
   Government    Mexico Top of Page
Country name:
Definition Field Listing
conventional long form: United Mexican States
conventional short form: Mexico
local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos
local short form: Mexico
Government type:
Definition Field Listing
federal republic
Capital:
Definition Field Listing
name: Mexico (Distrito Federal)
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 is divided into four time zones
Administrative divisions:
Definition Field Listing
31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro de Arteaga, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz-Llave, Yucatan, Zacatecas
Independence:
Definition Field Listing
16 September 1810 (declared); 27 September 1821 (recognized by Spain)
National holiday:
Definition Field Listing
Independence Day, 16 September (1810)
Constitution:
Definition Field Listing
5 February 1917
Legal system:
Definition Field Listing
mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
Suffrage:
Definition Field Listing
18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced)
Executive branch:
Definition Field Listing
chief of state: President Felipe de Jesus CALDERON Hinojosa (since 1 December 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Felipe de Jesus CALDERON Hinojosa (since 1 December 2006)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of attorney general requires consent of the Senate
elections: president elected by popular vote for a single six-year term; election last held on 2 July 2006 (next to be held 1 July 2012)
election results: Felipe CALDERON elected president; percent of vote - Felipe CALDERON 35.89%, Andres Manuel LOPEZ OBRADOR 35.31%, Roberto MADRAZO 22.26%, other 6.54%
Legislative branch:
Definition Field Listing
bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; 96 members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 seats are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote) and the Federal Chamber of Deputies or Camara Federal de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members are elected by popular vote; remaining 200 members are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote; to serve three-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 2 July 2006 for all of the seats (next to be held 1 July 2012); Chamber of Deputies - last held 2 July 2006 (next to be held 5 July 2009)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PAN 52, PRI 33, PRD 26, PVEM 6, CD 5, PT 5, independent 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PAN 207, PRD 127, PRI 106, PVEM 17, CD 17, PT 11, other 15
Judicial branch:
Definition Field Listing
Supreme Court of Justice or Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nacion (justices or ministros are appointed by the president with consent of the Senate)
Political parties and leaders:
Definition Field Listing
Convergence for Democracy or CD [Luis MALDONADO Venegas]; Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI [Beatriz PAREDES]; Labor Party or PT [Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez]; Mexican Green Ecological Party or PVEM [Jorge Emilio GONZALEZ Martinez]; National Action Party (Partido Accion Nacional) or PAN [German MARTINEZ Cazares]; New Alliance Party (Partido Nueva Alianza) or PNA [Jorge Antonio KAHWAGI Macari]; Party of the Democratic Revolution (Partido de la Revolucion Democratica) or PRD [Leonel COTA Montano]; Social Democratic and Peasant Alternative Party (Partido Alternativa Socialdemocrata y Campesina) or Alternativa [Alberto BEGNE Guerra]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Definition Field Listing
Broad Progressive Front or FAP; 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 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:
Definition Field Listing
APEC, BCIE, BIS, CAN (observer), Caricom (observer), CDB, CE (observer), CSN (observer), EBRD, FAO, G-3, G-6, G-15, G-24, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA, NAFTA, NAM (observer), NEA, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNITAR, UNMOVIC, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
Definition Field Listing
chief of mission: Ambassador Arturo SARUKHAN Casamitjana
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, Houston, Laredo (Texas), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Nogales (Arizona), Omaha, Orlando, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Juan (Puerto Rico)
consulate(s): Albuquerque, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Douglas (Arizona), Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), Indianapolis (Indiana), Kansas City (Missouri), Laredo (Texas), Las Vegas, Little Rock (Arkansas), McAllen (Texas), New Orleans, Omaha, Orlando, Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), Presidio (Texas), Raleigh, Saint Paul (Minnesota), Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, Santa Ana (California), Seattle, Tucson, Yuma (Arizona)
Diplomatic representation from the US:
Definition Field Listing
chief of mission: Ambassador Antonio O. GARZA, Jr.
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) 5511-9980
consulate(s) general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana
consulate(s): Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nogales, Nuevo Laredo
Flag description:
Definition Field Listing
three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; the coat of arms (an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its beak) is centered in the white band
   Economy    Mexico Top of Page
Economy - overview:
Definition Field Listing
Mexico has a free market economy that recently entered the trillion dollar class. It contains a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. Recent administrations have expanded competition in seaports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity generation, natural gas distribution, and airports. Per capita income is one-fourth that of the US; income distribution remains highly unequal. Trade with the US and Canada has tripled since the implementation of NAFTA in 1994. Mexico has 12 free trade agreements with over 40 countries including, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, the European Free Trade Area, and Japan, putting more than 90% of trade under free trade agreements. In 2007, during his first year in office, the Felipe CALDERON administration was able to garner support from the opposition to successfully pass a pension and a fiscal reform. The administration continues to face many economic challenges including the need to upgrade infrastructure, modernize labor laws, and allow private investment in the energy sector. CALDERON has stated that his top economic priorities remain reducing poverty and creating jobs.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$1.353 trillion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
Definition Field Listing
$784.4 billion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
3% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$12,500 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
Definition Field Listing
agriculture: 3.9%
industry: 26.3%
services: 69.9% (2007 est.)
Labor force:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
45.38 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
Definition Field Listing
agriculture: 18%
industry: 24%
services: 58% (2003)
Unemployment rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
3.7% plus underemployment of perhaps 25% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line:
Definition Field Listing
17.6% (2004)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
Definition Field Listing
lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 39.4% (2004)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
Definition Field Listing
46.1 (2004)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
4% (2007 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
21.5% of GDP (2007 est.)
Budget:
Definition Field Listing
revenues: $209.2 billion
expenditures: $209.2 billion (2007 est.)
Public debt:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
23.1% of GDP (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products:
Definition Field Listing
corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products
Industries:
Definition Field Listing
food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism
Industrial production growth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1.2% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
222.4 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
183.3 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports:
Definition Field Listing
1.597 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports:
Definition Field Listing
470.7 million kWh (2005)
Oil - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
3.784 million bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
2.078 million bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
2.268 million bbl/day (2004)
Oil - imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
308,500 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - proved reserves:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
12.88 billion bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
Natural gas - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
41.37 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
47.5 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
282.9 million cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
9.717 billion cu m (2005)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
434.1 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Current account balance:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
-$5.414 billion (2007 est.)
Exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$267.5 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:
Definition Field Listing
manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton
Exports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
US 84.7%, Canada 2.1%, Spain 1.3% (2006)
Imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$279.3 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Imports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
US 50.9%, China 9.5%, Japan 6%, South Korea 4.2% (2006)
Economic aid - recipient:
Definition Field Listing
$189.4 million (2005)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$85.11 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$182 billion (30 June 2007)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$236.2 billion (2006 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$30.75 billion (2006 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$348.3 billion (2006)
Currency (code):
Definition Field Listing
Mexican peso (MXN)
Exchange rates:
Definition Field Listing
Mexican pesos per US dollar - 10.8 (2007), 10.899 (2006), 10.898 (2005), 11.286 (2004), 10.789 (2003)
Fiscal year:
Definition Field Listing
calendar year
   Communications    Mexico Top of Page
Telephones - main lines in use:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
19.861 million (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
57.016 million (2006)
Telephone system:
Definition Field Listing
general assessment: adequate telephone service for business and government, but the population is poorly served; mobile subscribers far outnumber fixed-line subscribers; domestic satellite system with 120 earth stations; extensive microwave radio relay network; considerable use of fiber-optic cable and coaxial cable
domestic: low telephone density with about 18 fixed lines per 100 persons; privatized in December 1990; despite the opening to competition in January 1997, Telmex remains dominant; legal challenges to Telmex's alleged anti-competitive behaviour in the mobile and fixed-line markets culminated in a World Trade Organisation ruling in 2004 against Mexico prompting some strengthening of the powers granted Mexico's telecom regulator
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 America, parts of South America and the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth stations - 32 Intelsat, 2 Solidaridad (giving Mexico improved access to South America, Central America, and much of the US as well as enhancing domestic communications), 1 Panamsat, numerous Inmarsat mobile earth stations; linked to Central American Microwave System of trunk connections (2005)
Radio broadcast stations:
Definition Field Listing
AM 850, FM 545, shortwave 15 (2003)
Television broadcast stations:
Definition Field Listing
236 (plus repeaters) (1997)
Internet country code:
Definition Field Listing
.mx
Internet hosts:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
7.629 million (2007)
Internet users:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
22 million (2006)
   Transportation    Mexico Top of Page
Airports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1,834 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 231
over 3,047 m: 12
2,438 to 3,047 m: 29
1,524 to 2,437 m: 84
914 to 1,523 m: 77
under 914 m: 29 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 1,603
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 63
914 to 1,523 m: 408
under 914 m: 1,131 (2007)
Heliports:
Definition Field Listing
1 (2007)
Pipelines:
Definition Field Listing
gas 22,705 km; liquid petroleum gas 1,875 km; oil 8,688 km; oil/gas/water 228 km; refined products 6,520 km (2006)
Railways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 17,665 km
standard gauge: 17,665 km 1.435-m gauge (2006)
Roadways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 235,670 km
paved: 116,751 km (includes 6,144 km of expressways)
unpaved: 118,919 km (2004)
Waterways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
2,900 km (navigable rivers and coastal canals) (2007)
Merchant marine:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 60 ships (1000 GRT or over) 802,128 GRT/1,157,971 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 7, chemical tanker 6, liquefied gas 4, passenger/cargo 11, petroleum tanker 25, roll on/roll off 5
foreign-owned: 4 (Denmark 2, Norway 1, UAE 1)
registered in other countries: 14 (Brazil 1, Honduras 1, Liberia 1, Panama 4, Portugal 1, Spain 3, Venezuela 3) (2007)
Ports and terminals:
Definition Field Listing
Altamira, Coatzacoalcos, Manzanillo, Morro Redondo, Salina Cruz, Tampico, Veracruz
   Military    Mexico Top of Page
Military branches:
Definition Field Listing
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) and Marines) (2007)
Military service age and obligation:
Definition Field Listing
18 years of age for compulsory military service, conscript service obligation - 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 (2007)
Manpower available for military service:
Definition Field Listing
males age 18-49: 24,488,008
females age 18-49: 26,128,046 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
Definition Field Listing
males age 18-49: 19,058,337
females age 18-49: 21,966,796 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
Definition Field Listing
males age 18-49: 1,063,233
females age 18-49: 1,043,816 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0.5% (2006 est.)
   Transnational Issues    Mexico Top of Page
Disputes - international:
Definition Field Listing
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 United States
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
Definition Field Listing
IDPs: 10,000-12,000 (government's quashing of Zapatista uprising in 1994 in eastern Chiapas Region) (2006)
Trafficking in persons:
Definition Field Listing
current situation: Mexico is a source, transit, and destination country for persons trafficked for sexual exploitation and labor; while the vast majority of victims are Central Americans trafficked along Mexico's southern border, other source regions include South America, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia; women and children are trafficked from rural regions to urban centers and tourist areas for sexual exploitation, often through fraudulent offers of employment or through threats of physical violence; the Mexican trafficking problem is often conflated with alien smuggling, and frequently the same criminal networks are involved; pervasive corruption among state and local law enforcement often impedes investigations
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Mexico remains on the Tier 2 Watch List for the third consecutive year based on future commitments to undertake additional efforts in prosecution, protection, and prevention of trafficking in persons, and the failure of the government to provide critical law enforcement data
Illicit drugs:
Definition Field Listing
major drug-producing nation; cultivation of opium poppy in 2005 amounted to 3,300 hectares yielding a potential production of 8 metric tons of pure heroin, or 17 metric tons of "black tar" heroin, the dominant form of Mexican heroin in the western United States; marijuana cultivation decreased 3% to 5,600 hectares in 2005 - just two years after a decade-high cultivation peak in 2003 - and yielded a potential production of 10,100 metric tons; 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 90% of annual cocaine movements towards the US stopping in Mexico; major drug syndicates control 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

This page was last updated on 17 January, 2008


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