Official Name: Known as The United Mexican States (Estados Unidos Mexicanos). Mexico was called New Spain in 1521, after Spain conquered the Aztecs.
Capital: The capital of Mexico is Mexico City (Distrito Federal). Mexico City was built on the site of the ancient city of Tenochtitlán (Tenochtitlán was built in 1325 by the Aztecs). Mexico City is the city at the highest altitude in North America and is one of the world's largest urbanized areas in the world. The population of the area around Mexico City is nearly 22 million.
Location: Mexico is located in North America and is bordered by the United States to the North, Belize and Guatemala to its South, the Gulf of Mexico to its East and the North Pacific Ocean to its West. Mexico is located in an area known as the "Pacific Ring of Fire". It is one of the Earth's most active tectonic areas with many active volcanoes and frequent earthquake activity.
Size: The total land and water area of Mexico is 1,964,375 sq km. The total land area is 1,943,945 sq km and the total water area is 20,430 sq km. Mexico is slightly larger than Indonesia and smaller than Saudi Arabia. Mexico is the fifth largest country in the Americas and the 14th largest independent nation in the world.
Climate: The climate in Mexico varies from tropical to desert. The weather in Mexico is determined not only by latitude but also by altitude. The low-lying coastal areas are typically tropical, hot and humid. On the high central plateau the weather is mild throughout the year, though a little cooler from December through to March. Inland, Northern Mexico is mostly desert, hot in the day, and cold in the night. Mexico City has a high altitude of 2,300 meters above sea level, which gives the city pleasant summers and mild winters, with an annual average temperature of 64°F (18°C).
Population: Mexico has a gross population of approximately 111,211,789 million people and the country ranks 11th worldwide in gross population. This is comparable to the population of the Philippines or Japan.
Life expectancy at Birth: The total average life expectancy at birth for Mexico is 76.06 years. The life expectancy for males is 73.25 years from birth, while females live a bit longer at an average of 79 years. Mexico is ranked 71 in the world for life expectancy, putting it between Tunisia and United Arab Emirates.
Prevalence of HIV/AIDS: The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Mexico is less than 0.3%, ranking Mexico at 88th globally, comparable to India and Tajikistan. There are 200,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in the country. Mexico accounts for around 11% of those living with HIV/AIDS in Latin America.
Major Illnesses: Food or waterborne diseases such as: Diarrhea, Hepatitis A, and Typhoid Fever are the most common diseases in Mexico. Food or waterborne diseases are acquired through eating or drinking contaminated substances. Dengue Fever which is acquired through insect bites is widespread among all age groups. The risk to an individual traveler varies considerably by the specific location, visit duration, type of activities, type of accommodations, time of year, and other factors.
Ethnic Groups: Mexico is a melting pot of all races. The major ethnic groups in Mexico are: Mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1%. Whites are most descendants of the first Spanish settlers, there are also Mexicans of: French, Italian, German, Irish, and Russian descend. Mexico has also received a large number of Lebanese, Syrian, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese immigrants.
Languages: Mexico has no official language. Spanish is spoken by 97% of the population and Mexico has the largest Spanish speaking population in the world. Approximately 7.1% of the population speaks an indigenous language and there are more than 62 different indigenous languages. English is widely used in business at the border cities.
Religion: Mexico has no official religion and the government does not provide any financial contributions to the church. The church does not participate in the public education and the priests do not have the right to vote nor be elected to public office. Over 95% of the population is Christian. Mexico has the world's second largest number of Catholics after Brazil.
Government: Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821. The Mexican government is a Federal Constitutional Republic. The United Mexican States are a federation of thirty-one free and sovereign states, which form a union that exercises jurisdiction over the Federal District and other territories. The president of Mexico is both head of state and head of government, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Mexican military forces. The President also appoints the Cabinet and other officers. The President is responsible for executing and enforcing the law, and has the authority of vetoing bills. The president is elected, from a multi party electoral system, for one six year term without the possibility of re election.
Head of State: The Head of State in Mexico is The President Felipe de Jesus Calderon Hinojosa. President Felipe de Jesus Calderon Hinojosa is affiliated with the National Action Party (PAN), the most conservative of the three major Mexican political parties. The President is a devout Catholic and he opposes euthanasia, abortion, and gay marriage.
Head of Government: The Head of Government in Mexico is The President Felipe de Jesus Calderon Hinojosa.
Military: The Mexican Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas de Mexico) consist of the Mexican Army which includes the Mexican Air force and the Mexican Navy which includes the Mexican Naval Infantry and Naval Aviation. The size of the armed forces is modest considering Mexico's size and importance. Mexico has the smallest number of military personnel per capita of any country of Latin America and the military expenditure is very low at 0.5% of the GDP. Mexico's armed forces number some 620,400, including the reserves. Mexico's available military manpower is 72,000,000 with 58,000,000 fit for military service, and 2,638,214 annually reaching military service age.
Economy: Mexico has a free and diverse economy and it is firmly positioned as a upper middle income country. Mexico has the 11th largest economy in the world and also the largest GDP per capita in Latin America. According to the Forbes Global list of the world’s largest companies in the year 2000, Mexico had 16 companies on the list. Goldman Sachs predicted that Mexico's economy will become one of the top countries, by the year 2050, after China, India, United States, Brazil. Mexico is the sixth-largest oil producer in the world with over 3.7 million barrels each day. Mexico is replete with minerals such as: silver (Mexico is the world’s leading producer of silver), copper, sulfur, lead, and zinc. Agricultural is also an important part of the Mexican economy. The growing of fruits, nuts, sugar cane, and vegetables has become the main production crops in the agriculture sector. Mexico has one of the largest tourism industries in the world (the tourism sector employs over 2.25 million people) and Mexico was the seventh most popular destination in 2005. Tourism was up 25% just in the first 11 months in 2008, and there was a 3% increase of visitors to Mexico in the first quarter of 2009.
GDP: The purchasing power parity of Mexico is USD$1.563 trillion dollars. This ranks Mexico 12th worldwide, putting the country above Spain and just below Italy.
|
