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 continues to make an impressive recovery. 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. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first time since the 1910 Mexican Revolution that the opposition defeated the party in government, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Vicente FOX of the National Action Party (PAN) was sworn in on 1 December 2000 as the first chief executive elected in free and fair elections.

 

Quick Facts:

Population:

104,907,991 (July 2003 est.)

0-14 years: 32.3%
15-64 years: 63.1%
65 years and over: 4.6%

Ethnic Groups:

60% Mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish)
30% Amerindian
9% White
1% Other

Religion(s):

89% Nominally Roman Catholic
6% Protestant
5% Other

Language(s):

Spanish
Various Mayan
Nahuatl
Other regional indigenous languages

Life Expectancy:

total population: 72.3 years
male: 69.26 years
female: 75.49 years (2003 est.)

Literacy*:

92.2% total population
94% male
90.5% female (2003 est.)

*definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Independence Day:

16 September 1810 (from Spain)

Below Poverty:

40% (2001 est.)

 

 

Labor Force:

20% agriculture
24%industry
56% services (1998)

Industries:

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

Agriculture:

corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products

Exports:

manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton

Natural Resources:

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

Environmental Issues:

scarcity of hazardous waste disposal facilities; rural to urban migration; natural fresh water resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in urban areas; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification; deteriorating agricultural lands; serious air and water pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border; land subsidence in Valley of Mexico caused by groundwater depletion

Note - the government considers the lack of clean water and deforestation national security issues

Governmental Structure:

Federal Republic

Chief of State: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000)

Note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

 

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