Mexico Travel Podcast with Valeria Cruz

Location

North America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of America, between Belize and the United States and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the United States

Terrain

High, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert

Climate

Varies from tropical to desert

Elevation

Highest point

Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,636 m

Lowest point

Laguna Salada -10 m

Mean elevation

1,111 m

Area

Total

1,964,375 sq km

Land

1,943,945 sq km

Water

20,430 sq km

Size comparison

Slightly less than three times the size of Texas

Coastline

9,330 km

Land borders

Total

4,389 km

Border countries

Belize 276 km; Guatemala 958 km; US 3,155 km

Natural resources

Petroleum, silver, antimony, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber

Land use

Agricultural land

50.7% (2023 est.)

Arable land

10.3% (2023 est.)

Permanent crops

2.3% (2023 est.)

Permanent pasture

38.1% (2023 est.)

Forest

34.2% (2023 est.)

Other

15.1% (2023 est.)

Natural hazards

Tsunamis along the Pacific coast; volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south; hurricanes on the Pacific, Gulf of America, and Caribbean coasts

Volcanism: volcanic activity in the central-southern part of the country; the volcanoes in Baja California are mostly dormant; Colima (3,850 m) is Mexico's most active volcano and is responsible for periodic evacuations of nearby villagers; it has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; Popocatepetl (5,426 m) poses a threat to Mexico City; other historically active volcanoes include Barcena, Ceboruco, El Chichon, Michoacan-Guanajuato, Pico de Orizaba, San Martin, Socorro, and Tacana; see note 2 under "Geography - note"

Note

Note 1: strategic location on southern border of the US; Mexico is one of the countries along the Ring of Fire, which is a belt bordering the Pacific Ocean that contains about 75% of the world's volcanoes and up to 90% of the world's earthquakes

Note 2: the Sac Actun cave system at 348 km (216 mi) is the longest underwater cave in the world and the second longest cave worldwide, after Mammoth Cave in the United States (see "Geography - note" under United States)

Note 3: the prominent Yucatán Peninsula that divides the Gulf of America from the Caribbean Sea is shared by Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize; on the northern coast of Yucatan near the town of Chicxulub lie the remnants of a massive asteroid or comet crater about 150 km (93 mi) in diameter and extending into the Gulf of America; the impact is believed to have initiated a worldwide climate disruption that caused a mass extinction of 75% of the earth's plant and animal species, including the non-avian dinosaurs

Population

Total

130,739,927 (2024 est.)

Male

63,899,138

Female

66,840,789

Nationality

Noun

Mexican(s)

Adjective

Mexican

Ethnic groups

Mestizo (Indigenous-Spanish) 62%, predominantly Indigenous 21%, Indigenous 7%, other 10% (mostly European) (2012 est.)

Languages

Languages

Spanish only 93.8%, Spanish and indigenous languages (including Mayan, Nahuatl, and others) 5.4%, indigenous only 0.6%, unspecified 0.2% (2020 est.)

Major-language sample(s)

La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)

Religions

Catholic 77.7%, no religion 10.6%, other Evangelical Churches 7.5%, Jehovah Witness 1.2%; less than 1 percent: Pentecostal, Seventh Day Adventist, Historics, not specified, Latter Day Saints, other religions (2020 est.)

Median age

Total

31 years (2025 est.)

Male

28.8 years

Female

32.7 years

Life expectancy

Total population

74.6 years (2024 est.)

Male

71.6 years

Female

77.7 years

Urbanisation

Urban population

81.6% of total population (2023)

Rate of urbanization

1.4% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Where people live

Most of the population is found in the middle of the country between the states of Jalisco and Veracruz; approximately a quarter of the population lives in and around Mexico City

Largest cities

22.281 million MEXICO CITY (capital), 5.420 million Guadalajara, 5.117 million Monterrey, 3.345 million Puebla, 2.626 million Toluca de Lerdo, 2.260 million Tijuana (2023)

Background

Mexico was the site of several advanced Amerindian civilizations -- including the Olmec, Toltec, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Maya, and Aztec -- until Spain conquered and colonized the area in the early 16th century. Administered as the Viceroyalty of New Spain for three centuries, it achieved independence early in the 19th century. Elections held in 2000 marked the first time since Mexican Revolution in 1910 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, but Enrique PEÑA NIETO regained the presidency for the PRI in 2012. Left-leaning anti-establishment politician and former mayor of Mexico City (2000-05) Andrés Manuel LÓPEZ OBRADOR, from the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), became president in 2018.

The US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA, or T-MEC by its Spanish acronym) entered into force in 2020 and replaced its predecessor, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Mexico amended its constitution in 2019 to facilitate the implementation of the labor components of USMCA.

Mexico is currently the US's second-largest goods trading partner, after Canada. Ongoing economic and social concerns include low real wages, high underemployment, inequitable income distribution, and few advancement opportunities, particularly for the largely indigenous population in the impoverished southern states. Since 2007, Mexico's powerful transnational criminal organizations have engaged in a struggle to control criminal markets, resulting in tens of thousands of drug-related homicides and forced disappearances.

Government

Federal presidential republic

Capital

Mexico City (Ciudad de Mexico)

Time zone

UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Local name

Estados Unidos Mexicanos

Independence

16 September 1810 (declared independence from Spain); 27 September 1821 (recognized by Spain)

National day

Independence Day, 16 September (1810)

Overview

Upper-middle-income economy; highly integrated with US via trade and nearshore manufacturing; weak domestic demand, fiscal consolidation, and trade uncertainty contributing to sluggish growth; low unemployment; challenges from income inequality, corruption, and cartel-based violence

GDP per capita

Real GDP per capita 2024

$22,000 (2024 est.)

Real GDP per capita 2023

$21,900 (2023 est.)

Real GDP per capita 2022

$21,400 (2022 est.)

Inflation

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2024

4.7% (2024 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2023

5.5% (2023 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2022

7.9% (2022 est.)

Unemployment

Unemployment rate 2024

2.8% (2024 est.)

Unemployment rate 2023

2.8% (2023 est.)

Unemployment rate 2022

3.3% (2022 est.)

Exchange rate

Currency

Mexican pesos (MXN) per US dollar -

Exchange rates 2024

18.305 (2024 est.)

Exchange rates 2023

17.759 (2023 est.)

Exchange rates 2022

20.127 (2022 est.)

Exchange rates 2021

20.272 (2021 est.)

Exchange rates 2020

21.486 (2020 est.)

Main industries

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

Agriculture

Sugarcane, maize, milk, oranges, sorghum, tomatoes, chicken, chillies/peppers, wheat, lemons/limes (2023)

Airports

1,580 (2025)

Railways

Total

23,389 km (2017)

Standard gauge

23,389 km (2017) 1.435-m gauge (27 km electrified)

Ports

Total ports

35 (2024)

Large

0

Medium

7

Small

10

Very small

14

Size unknown

4

Ports with oil terminals

21

Key ports

Acapulco, Ensenada, Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Tampico, Tuxpan, Veracruz

Internet domain

.mx

Internet users

Percent of population 81% (2023 est.)

Mobile subscriptions

Total subscriptions

140 million (2023 est.)

Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants

100 (2022 est.)

Environmental issues

Scarcity of hazardous waste disposal facilities; natural freshwater resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; urban river pollution from raw sewage and industrial effluents; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification; serious air and water pollution in urban areas; land subsidence in Valley of Mexico caused by groundwater depletion

Fresh water

461.888 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

UNESCO Global Geoparks

Total global geoparks and regional networks

2

Global geoparks and regional networks

Comarca Minera, Hidalgo; Mixteca Alta, Oaxaca (2023)