Dialing code +52
ISO 2 code MX
ISO 3 code MEX
Capital Mexico City
Main Language Mexican Spanish
Currency Peso (MXN)
GDP $1.6 trillion 10th
Population 112,468,855 11th

Geography

Continent North America
Location Middle America bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico between Belize and the United States and bordering the North Pacific Ocean between Guatemala and the United States
Land 1,972,550 km2 13th
Terrain High rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert
Climate Varies from tropical to desert
Natural Hazards High rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert
Note: Strategic location on southern border of US; corn (maize) one of the world's major grain crops is thought to have originated in Mexico

Neighbouring Countries

Belize Guatemala United States

History

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 had been making an impressive recovery until the global financial crisis hit in late 2008. 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. In January 2009 Mexico assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2009-10 term.
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Demographics

Life Expectancy 76.06 years 62nd
Median Age 26.3 years 110th
Birth Rate 19.71 births/1,000 population 94th
Death Rate 4.8 births/1,000 population 179th
Sex Ratio 0.82 male(s)/female 77th
Literacy 91.0% 109th
Population

112.5 million

Transportation

Roadways 356945 km 18th
Railways 17516 km 15th
Airports 1848 3rd
Waterways 2900 km 32nd
Heliports 1 81st
Airports paved 12 9th

Economy

Currency Peso (MXN)
GDP $1.6 trillion 10th
GDP per capita (PPP) $14200 72nd