General Information About Mexico

Official Name

United Mexican States

Area and Borders

·  Land area: 1 964 375 km2
·  Continental Area: 1 959 248 km2
·  Total area of islands: 5 127 km2
·  International land boundaries: 4 301 km
United States: 3 152 km2 
·  Guatemala: 956 km2 
·   Belize: 193 km2
·  Longitude of the coastline: 11 122 km2

Location of México in the world:

The geographic coordinates of Mexico are:
·  North: 32° 43´ 06´´ N latitude Monument 206 on the border with the United States (3 152.90 km).
·  South: 14° 32´ 27´´ N latitude, mouth of the Suciate River, border with Guatemala (1 149.8 km).
·  East: 86° 42´ 36´´ W longitude, southeast tip of Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo.
·  West: 118° 27´ 24´´ W longitude, Roca Elefante on Isla de Guadalupe, in the Pacific Ocean.

Political Divisions

·  31 States and one Federal District (Capital: México, Distrito Federal).
·  Municipalities: 2,454

Climate Zones

·  Total: 100%
·  Tropical: 4.7%
·  Subtropical: 23.0%
·  Humid Temperate: 2.7%
·  Subhumid Temperate: 20.5%
·  Semi-Arid: 28.3%
·  Arid: 20.8%

Official Time

·  In the south, east and center, GMT-6 horas (winter), -5 (summer); Sonora, Sinaloa, Nayarit, Baja California Sur -7 (winter), -6 (summer); Baja California -8 (winter), -7 (summer).

Population

·  Total population (2005): 103,263,388
·  Male: 50,249,955 Female: 53,013,433
·  Average Annual Population Growth Rate (2000-2005): 1.0%
·  Urban population (2000): 74.6%
·  Population Density (2006): 54.9 Inhab/Km2

Life expectancy at birth

·  68.5, male; 74.7, female

Ethnic Groups

·  60% Mestizo; 30% Amerindian; 9% White; 1% Other

Languages

·  Spanish (official), 66 regional indigenous languages.
·  Population over 5 years of age that speaks an indigenous language and cannot speak Spanish: 12.0% (2005)

Religion

·  89.7% Catholic; 4.9% Protestant; 0.1% Jewish; 2.1% Other; 3.2% No religion

Employment

·  Economically Active Population (EAP), 4th quarter 2005: 58.3%
·  Open Unemployment Rate (32 urban areas), 2005: 3.1% (EAP)
·  Minimum Daily Wage, general (January 1, 2006 to date): 47.05 pesos

National Holiday

·  September 16: Independence Day

Natural Resources

·  Oil, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, wood products

Currency

·  Peso (M$); 1 peso=100 cents

Economic Information

·  GNP at market prices (2005): 8,374,348.5 million pesos
·  GNP per capita (2005): 78,668.1 pesos per inhabitant
·  Real annual GNP growth rate (2005): 3.0%

Exports

·  United States (89%); Canada (1.7%); Japan, Spain, Venezuela, Chile, Brazil (2%).

Imports

·  United States (74.8%); Germany (3.8%); Japan (3.5%); Canada, Italy, Korea, France (6.2%) etc.