Mexico

Airports

total: 1,993 usable: 1,585 with permanent-surface runways: 202 with runways over 3,659 m: 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 35 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 286

Highways

total: 242,300 km paved: 84,800 km (including 3,166 km of expressways) unpaved: gravel and earth 157,500 km

Inland waterways

2,900 km navigable rivers and coastal canals

Merchant marine

58 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 853,161 GRT/1,269,018 DWT, cargo 3, chemical tanker 4, container 4, liquefied gas 7, oil tanker 32, refrigerated cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2, short-sea passenger 4

Pipelines

crude oil 28,200 km; petroleum products 10,150 km; natural gas 13,254 km; petrochemical 1,400 km

Ports

Acapulco, Altamira, Coatzacoalcos, Ensenada, Guaymas, Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Progreso, Puerto Vallarta, Salina Cruz, Tampico, Tuxpan, Veracruz

Railroads

24,500 km total

Telecommunications

highly developed system with extensive microwave radio relay links; privatized in December 1990; connected into Central America Microwave System; 6,410,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 679 AM, no FM, 238 TV, 22 shortwave; 120 domestic satellite terminals; earth stations - 4 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT; launched Solidarity I satellite in November 1993

Branches

National Defense (including Army and Air Force), Navy (including Marines)

Defense expenditures

$NA, NA% of GDP

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 22,779,635; fit for military service 16,619,809; reach military age (18) annually 1,053,025 (1994 est.)

Agriculture

accounts for 9% of GDP and over 25% of work force; large number of small farms at subsistence level; major food crops - corn, wheat, rice, beans; cash crops - cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes

Budget

revenues: $58.1 billion expenditures: $53 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.4 billion (1992 est.)

Currency

1 New Mexican peso (Mex$) = 100 centavos

Economic aid

recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $3.1 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $7.7 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $110 million

Electricity

capacity: 27,000,000 kW production: 120.725 billion kWh consumption per capita: 1,300 kWh (1992)

Exchange rates

market rate of Mexican pesos (Mex$) per US$1 - 3.3556 (March 1994), 3,094.9 (1992), 3,018.4 (1991), 2,812.6 (1990), 2,461.3 (1989) note: the new peso replaced the old peso on 1 January 1993; 1 new peso = 1,000 old pesos

Exports

$50.5 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.), includes in-bond industries commodities: crude oil, oil products, coffee, silver, engines, motor vehicles, cotton, consumer electronics partners: US 74%, Japan 8%, EC 4% (1992 est.)

External debt

$125 billion (1993 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Illicit drugs

illicit cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis continues in spite of active government eradication program; major supplier to the US market; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine and marijuana from South America

Imports

$65.5 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.), includes in-bond industries commodities: metal-working machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts partners: US 74%, Japan, 11%, EC 6% (1992)

Industrial production

growth rate 2.8% (1992 est.); accounts for 28% of GDP

Industries

food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

8% (1993 est.)

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $740 billion (1993 est.)

National product per capita

$8,200 (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate

0.4% (1993)

Overview

Mexico's economy, made up predominantly of private manufacturing and services and both large-scale and traditional agriculture, is beginning to rebound from the economic difficulties of the 1980s but still faces key challenges. During the 1980s, the accumulation of large external debts, falling world petroleum prices, rapid population growth, and mounting inflation and unemployment plagued the economy. In recent years, the government has responded by implementing sweeping economic reforms. Strict fiscal and monetary discipline have brought inflation under control, reduced the internal debt, and produced budgetary surpluses in 1992 and 1993. The tight money policies, however, have restricted growth: barely 0.4% in 1993 after a rise of 2.6% in 1992 and 3.6% in 1991. Another aspect of the reform has been the privatization of more than 80% of Mexico's businesses, including all of the commercial banks. Seeking out increased trade and investment opportunities, the government negotiated the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the United States and Canada, which entered into force on 1 January 1994. Within Latin America, Mexico has completed bilateral free trade agreements with Chile and Costa Rica, and is continuing negotiations with Colombia and Venezuela for a trilateral deal in addition to holding trade discussions with various other nations. In January of 1993, Mexico replaced its old peso at the rate of 1,000 old to 1 new peso. Despite its hard-won economic progress and the prospects of long-term gains under NAFTA, Mexico still faces difficult problems, including sluggish growth, unemployment, continuing social inequalities, serious pollution, and the prospect of increased competition with the opening of trade.

Unemployment rate

10.7% (1992 est.)

Area

total area: 1,972,550 sq km land area: 1,923,040 sq km comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Texas

Climate

varies from tropical to desert

Coastline

9,330 km

Environment

current issues: natural water resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; untreated sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in urban areas; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification; serious air pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border natural hazards: subject to tsunamis along the Pacific coast, destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Gulf and Caribbean coasts international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

International disputes

claims Clipperton Island (French possession)

Irrigated land

51,500 sq km (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

total 4,538 km, Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,326 km

Land use

arable land: 12% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 39% forest and woodland: 24% other: 24%

Location

Middle America, between Guatemala and the US

Map references

North America, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or the natural prolongation of continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources

petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber

Note

strategic location on southern border of US

Terrain

high, rugged mountains, low coastal plains, high plateaus, and desert

Administrative divisions

31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Yucatan, Zacatecas

Capital

Mexico

Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados)

elections last held on 18 August 1991 (next to be held 21 August 1994); results - PRI 53%, PAN 20%, PFCRN 10%, PPS 6%, PARM 7%, PMS (now part of PRD) 4%; seats - (500 total) PRI 320, PAN 89, PRD 41, PFCRN 23, PARM 15, PPS 12

Constitution

5 February 1917

Digraph

MX

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Jorge MONTANO Martinez chancery: 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: (202) 728-1600 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico) consulate(s): Albuquerque, Austin, Boston, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Corpus Christi, Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), Loredo, Mc Allen (Texas), Midland (Texas), Nogales (Arizona), Oxnard (California), Philadelphia

Executive branch

chief of state and head of government: President Carlos SALINAS de Gortari (since 1 December 1988); election last held on 6 July 1988 (next to be held 21 August 1994); results - Carlos SALINAS de Gortari (PRI) 50.74%, Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (FDN) 31.06%, Manuel CLOUTHIER (PAN) 16.81%; other 1.39%; note - several of the smaller parties ran a common candidate under a coalition called the National Democratic Front (FDN) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president

FAX

[52] (5) 511-9980, 208-3373 consulate(s) general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana consulate(s): Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nuevo Laredo

Flag

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

Independence

16 September 1810 (from Spain)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia)

Legal system

mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Legislative branch

bicameral National Congress (Congreso de la Union)

Member of

AG (observer), BCIE, CARICOM (observer), CCC, CDB, CG, EBRD, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-6, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS, NAM (observer), OAS, OECD, ONUSAL, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTI, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Names

conventional long form: United Mexican States conventional short form: Mexico local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos local short form: Mexico

National holiday

Independence Day, 16 September (1810)

Other political or pressure groups

Roman Catholic Church; Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM); Confederation of Industrial Chambers (CONCAMIN); Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce (CONCANACO); National Peasant Confederation (CNC); Revolutionary Workers Party (PRT); Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants (CROC); Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers (CROM); Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic (COPARMEX); National Chamber of Transformation Industries (CANACINTRA); Coordinator for Foreign Trade Business Organizations (COECE); Federation of Unions Providing Goods and Services (FESEBES)

Political parties and leaders

(recognized parties) Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Ignacio Pichardo PAGAZA; National Action Party (PAN), Carlos CASTILLO; Popular Socialist Party (PPS), Indalecio SAYAGO Herrera; Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), Porfirio MUNOZ Ledo; Cardenist Front for the National Reconstruction Party (PFCRN), Rafael AGUILAR Talamantes; Authentic Party of the Mexican Revolution (PARM), Rosa Maria MARTINEZ Denagri; Democratic Forum Party (PFD), Pablo Emilio MADERO; Mexican Green Ecologist Party (PVEM), Jorge GONZALEZ Torres

Senate (Camara de Senadores)

elections last held on 18 August 1991 (next to be held 21 August 1994); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats in full Senate - (64 total; Senate will expand to 128 seats following next election) PRI 62, PRD 1, PAN 1

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced)

Type

federal republic operating under a centralized government

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador James JONES embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 06500 Mexico, D.F. mailing address: P. O. Box 3087, Laredo, TX 78044-3087 telephone: [52] (5) 211-0042

Birth rate

27.17 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate

4.73 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Ethnic divisions

mestizo (Indian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, Caucasian or predominantly Caucasian 9%, other 1%

Infant mortality rate

27.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Labor force

26.2 million (1990) by occupation: services 31.7%, agriculture, forestry, hunting, and fishing 28%, commerce 14.6%, manufacturing 11.1%, construction 8.4%, transportation 4.7%, mining and quarrying 1.5%

Languages

Spanish, various Mayan dialects

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 72.94 years male: 69.36 years female: 76.7 years (1994 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 87% male: 90% female: 85%

Nationality

noun: Mexican(s) adjective: Mexican

Net migration rate

-3.09 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Population

92,202,199 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate

1.94% (1994 est.)

Religions

nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%

Total fertility rate

3.17 children born/woman (1994 est.)