Country Profile

Physical Geography

1. Official Name of Country: United Mexican States
   
2. Climate: varies from tropical to desert
   
3. Map:
   

 

1. Absolute Location: 23 degree North, 120 degree West
   
2. Relative location: bordering Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and North Pacific Ocean. Bordering United State, Belize and Guatemala.
   

Political Geography

1. Type of government: federal republic
   
2. Capital: Brazil
   
3. International Organization participation: APEC, BCIE, BIS, CAN (observer), Caricom (observer), CDB, CE (observer), CSN (observer), EBRD, FAO, G-20, G-3, 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, MIGA, NAFTA, NAM (observer), NEA, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, SICA (observer), UN, UNASUR (observer), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
   
4. Size of armed forces:
   

Cultural Geography

1. Official language: Portuguese
   
2. Other languages spoken: Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, English and indigenous language
   
3. Ethnic composition: mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1%
   
4. Major religions: Catholic
   
5. Population: 111,211,789 (July 2009 est.)
   
6. Population growth rate: 1.13% (2009 est.)
   
7. Population distribution:
   

0-14 years: 29.1% (male 16,544,223/female 15,861,141)

15-64 years: 64.6% (male 34,734,571/female 37,129,793)

65 years and over: 6.2% (male 3,130,518/female 3,811,543) (2009 est.)

1. Major cities: Brasilia
   
2. Infant mortality rate: 18.42 deaths/1,000 live births
   
3. Average life expectancy:
   

male: 73.25 years

female: 79 years (2009 est.)

1. Teachers and doctors per population:
   

Economic Geography

1. GNP (Gross National Product):
   
2. GDP (Gross Domestic Product): $14,200 (2008 est.) US dollar
   
3. Percent of arable land used for agriculture: 12.66%
   
4. Natural resources: petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber
   
5. Major agricultural products: corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products
   
6. Industrial products: food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism
   
7. Major exports: manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton
   
8. Major imports: metalworking machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts
   
9. Currency (include exchange rate vs. TWD): Mexican pesos (MXN) per US dollar - 11.016
   
10. Balance of trade (include amounts in TWD currency of total exports and imports)
    
11. Historical events:
    

1980			Mexican economy slumps after oil revenues fail to meet expectations.  U.S. bails Mexico out by buying surplus oil at high prices
1982	Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado elected president
1985			Earthquake in Mexico City kills as many as 30,000 people
1988	Carlos Salinas de Gortari elected President.  Opposition parties to PRI form in large amounts		Economy gets big stimulus from Salinas. U.S. oil companies allowed to look for oil in Mexico for the first time since 1938
1990		Ocatvio Paz becomes first Mexican to win the Noble Prize	President Salinas leads efforts to establish free trade between Central American Countries
1994	PRI presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta is assassinated while campaigning Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León replaces Murrieta and is elected president		Salinas is instrumental in the creation of NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Act) Peso value declines considerably
Jan. 1994	Zapatista rebellion in southern Mexico generates movements for political reform
1995	Zedillo disbands entire Supreme Court and installs a new court which rules against him in most cases		Mexico receives an emergency loan from the World Bank to prevent to collapse of the peso
1996	Zapatista rebellion continues
1997	Jesús Gutiérrez Rebollo, head of Mexico's National Institute to Combat Drugs is arrested for safeguarding an important drug lord, indicating drug corruption high in the government
1999	PRI losses majority control of the House of Deputies for the first time PRI holds its first primary elections in Mexican history
2000	Vicente Fox of the National Action Party is elected President, the first president not from the PRI since 1929