Introduction

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. 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. Mexico's natural resources include petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, and timber. Mexico has several environment 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.

Geographical Location

Mexico is located in Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the US, and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the US. Slightly less than three times the size of Texas, Mexico has a total area of 1,972,550 sq. km, of which 1,923,040 sq. km. is land and 49,510 sq. km. is water. It has 9,330 km. of coastline.

Climate

Mexico's climate varies from tropical to desert. The terrain varies from high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; and desert. The lowest point in Mexico is Laguna Salada at 10 m. and the highest point is Volcan Pico de Orizaba at 5,700 m. Mexico is subject to natural hazards such as tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Pacific, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean coasts.

Population

In July 2009 the population of Mexico was estimated to be 111,211,789. Of that total, over 29% are 14 years old and under. With a birth rate of 19.71 births per 1000 and the death rate of 4.8 per 1000, the population growth is 1.13%. Life expectancy at birth is 76.03 years. The ethnic groups are mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominately Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1%.

Languages

The languages spoken are Spanish only 92.7%, Spanish and indigenous languages 5.7%, indigenous only 0.8%, unspecified 0.8%. 91% of the population age 15 and over can read and write.

Religion

The religions of Mexico breakdown: Roman Catholic 76.5%, Protestant 6.3% (Pentecostal 1.4%, Jehovah's Witness 1.1%, other Protestant religions 3.8%), unspecified 13.8% , other .3%, and none 3.1% (2000 census).