Mexico (2001) | Nigeria (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro de Arteaga, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz-Llave, Yucatan, Zacatecas | 36 states and 1 territory*; Abia, Abuja Federal Capital Territory*, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nassarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
33.32% (male 17,312,220; female 16,635,438) 15-64 years: 62.28% (male 30,888,015; female 32,558,359) 65 years and over: 4.4% (male 1,997,219; female 2,487,920) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 43.6% (male 28,503,211; female 28,156,976)
15-64 years: 53.6% (male 35,418,119; female 34,179,802) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 1,832,682; female 1,844,121) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products | cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava (tapioca), yams, rubber; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs; timber; fish |
Airports | 1,848 (2000 est.) | 70 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
238 over 3,047 m: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 28 1,524 to 2,437 m: 90 914 to 1,523 m: 82 under 914 m: 27 (2000 est.) |
total: 36
over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 3 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1,610 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 65 914 to 1,523 m: 470 under 914 m: 1,073 (2000 est.) |
total: 34
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 18 (2002) |
Area | total:
1,972,550 sq km land: 1,923,040 sq km water: 49,510 sq km |
total: 923,768 sq km
land: 910,768 sq km water: 13,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Texas | slightly more than twice the size of California |
Background | 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. | Following nearly 16 years of military rule, a new constitution was adopted in 1999, and a peaceful transition to civilian government was completed. The president faces the daunting task of rebuilding a petroleum-based economy, whose revenues have been squandered through corruption and mismanagement, and institutionalizing democracy. In addition, the OBASANJO administration must defuse longstanding ethnic and religious tensions, if it is to build a sound foundation for economic growth and political stability. |
Birth rate | 22.77 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 39.22 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$125 billion expenditures: $130 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $3.4 billion
expenditures: $3.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Mexico | Abuja; note - on 12 December 1991 the capital was officially transferred from Lagos to Abuja; most federal government offices have now made the move to Abuja |
Climate | varies from tropical to desert | varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in north |
Coastline | 9,330 km | 853 km |
Constitution | 5 February 1917 | new constitution adopted May 1999 |
Country name | conventional long form:
United Mexican States conventional short form: Mexico local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos local short form: Mexico |
conventional long form: Federal Republic of Nigeria
conventional short form: Nigeria |
Currency | Mexican peso (MXN) | naira (NGN) |
Death rate | 5.02 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 14.1 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $162 billion (2000) | $32 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Jeffery DAVIDOW embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 06500 Mexico, Distrito Federal mailing address: P. O. Box 3087, Laredo, TX 78044-3087 telephone: [52] (5) 209-9100 FAX: [52] (5) 208-3373, 511-9980 consulate(s) general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana consulate(s): Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nuevo Laredo, Nogales |
chief of mission: Ambassador Howard Franklin JETER
embassy: 7 Mambilla Drive, Abuja mailing address: P. O. Box 554, Lagos telephone: [234] (9) 523-0916/0906/5857/2235/2205 FAX: [234] (9) 523-0353 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Juan Jose BREMER Martino chancery: 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 728-1600 FAX: [1] (202) 728-1698 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Houston, Laredo (Texas), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Nogales (Arizona), Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico) consulate(s): Albuquerque, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Corpus Christi, Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Douglas (Arizona), Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), McAllen (Texas), Midland (Texas), Orlando, Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, San Jose, Santa Ana (California), Seattle, Tucson |
chief of mission: Ambassador Jibril AMINU
chancery: 1333 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 986-8400 FAX: [1] (202) 775-1385 consulate(s) general: Atlanta and New York |
Disputes - international | none | Nigeria disputes several villages with Benin along the Okpara River, and only 35 km of their common boundary are demarcated; the Benin-Niger-Nigeria tripoint remains undemarcated; Lake Chad Basin Commission urges signatories Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria to ratify delimitation treaty over lake region, the site of continuing armed clashes; oral arguments on the land and maritime boundary disputes between Cameroon and Nigeria were presented to the ICJ; disputes center around Bakasi Peninsula, where armed clashes continue, Bouram Island on Lake Chad, and the maritime boundary and economic zone dispute in the Gulf of Guinea, which also involves Equatorial Guinea; Nigeria requests and Chad rejects redemarcation of boundary, which lacks clear demarcation in sections and has caused several cross-border incidents |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.166 billion (1995) | ODA $250 million (1998) (1998) |
Economy - overview | Mexico has a free market economy with a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. The number of state-owned enterprises in Mexico has fallen from more than 1,000 in 1982 to fewer than 200 in 2000. The ZEDILLO administration privatized and expanded competition in seaports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity, natural gas distribution, and airports. A strong export sector helped to cushion the economy's decline in 1995 and led the recovery in 1996-2000. Private consumption became the leading driver of growth in 2000, accompanied by increased employment and higher real wages. Mexico still needs to overcome many structural problems as it strives to modernize its economy and raise living standards. Income distribution is very unequal, with the top 20% of income earners accounting for 55% of income. Trade with the US and Canada has tripled since NAFTA was implemented in 1994. Mexico completed free trade agreements with the EU, Israel, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala in 2000, and is pursuing additional trade agreements with countries in Latin America and Asia to lessen its dependence on the US. | The oil-rich Nigerian economy, long hobbled by political instability, corruption, and poor macroeconomic management, is undergoing substantial economic reform under the new civilian administration. Nigeria's former military rulers failed to diversify the economy away from overdependence on the capital-intensive oil sector, which provides 20% of GDP, 95% of foreign exchange earnings, and about 65% of budgetary revenues. The largely subsistence agricultural sector has failed to keep up with rapid population growth, and Nigeria, once a large net exporter of food, now must import food. Following the signing of an IMF stand-by agreement in August 2000, Nigeria received a debt-restructuring deal from the Paris Club and a $1 billion credit from the IMF, both contingent on economic reforms. The agreement was allowed to expire by the IMF in November 2001, however, and Nigeria appears unlikely to receive substantial multilateral assistance in 2002. Nonetheless, increases in foreign oil investment and oil production should push growth over 4% in 2002. |
Electricity - consumption | 170.754 billion kWh (1999) | 14.768 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 11 million kWh (1999) | 19 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 1.047 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 182.492 billion kWh (1999) | 15.9 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
74.12% hydro: 17.75% nuclear: 5.21% other: 2.92% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 64%
hydro: 36% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Laguna Salada -10 m highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Chappal Waddi 2,419 m |
Environment - current issues | 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; serious air pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border | soil degradation; rapid deforestation; urban air and water pollution; desertification; oil pollution - water, air, and soil; has suffered serious damage from oil spills; loss of arable land; rapid urbanization |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1% | Nigeria, which is Africa's most populous country, is composed of more than 250 ethnic groups; the following are the most populous and politically influential: Hausa and Fulani 29%, Yoruba 21%, Igbo (Ibo) 18%, Ijaw 10%, Kanuri 4%, Ibibio 3.5%, Tiv 2.5% |
Exchange rates | Mexican pesos per US dollar - 9.7701 (January 2001), 9.4556 (2000), 9.5604 (1999), 9.1360 (1998), 7.9185 (1997), 7.5994 (1996) | nairas per US dollar - 115 (January 2002), 101.697 (2000), 92.338 (1999), 21.886 (1998), 21.886 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of attorney general requires consent of the Senate elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA July 2006) election results: Vicente FOX Quesada elected president; percent of vote - Vicente FOX Quesada (PAN) 42.52%, Francisco LABASTIDA Ochoa (PRI) 36.1%, Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (PRD) 16.64%, other 4.74% |
chief of state: President Olusegun OBASANJO (since 29 May 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Olusegun OBASANJO (since 29 May 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Federal Executive Council elections: president is elected by popular vote for no more than two four-year terms; election last held 27 February 1999 (next to be held 19 April 2003) election results: Olusegun OBASANJO elected president; percent of vote - Olusegun OBASANJO (PDP) 62.8%, Olu FALAE (APP-AD) 37.2% |
Exports | $168 billion (f.o.b., 2000), includes in-bond industries (assembly plant operations) | $20.3 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton | petroleum and petroleum products 95%, cocoa, rubber |
Exports - partners | US 88.6%, Canada 2%, Spain 0.9%, Germany 0.9%, Japan 0.6%, UK 0.6%, Netherlands Antilles 0.5%, Switzerland 0.3% Venezuela 0.3%, Chile 0.3% (2000 est.) | US 46%, Spain 11%, India 6%, France 5%, Brazil (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; the coat of arms (an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its beak) is centered in the white band | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $915 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $105.9 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
5% industry: 27% services: 68% (2000) |
agriculture: 39%
industry: 33% services: 28% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $9,100 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $840 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.1% (2000 est.) | 3.5% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 23 00 N, 102 00 W | 10 00 N, 8 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location on southern border of US | the Niger enters the country in the northwest and flows southward through tropical rain forests and swamps to its delta in the Gulf of Guinea |
Heliports | 2 (2000 est.) | 1 (2002) |
Highways | total:
323,977 km paved: 96,221 km (including 6,335 km of expressways) unpaved: 227,756 km (1997) |
total: 193,200 km
paved: 59,892 km (including 1,194 km of expressways) unpaved: 133,308 km note: many of the roads reported as paved may be graveled; because of poor maintenance and years of heavy freight traffic - in part the result of the failure of the railroad system - much of the road system is barely usable (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
1.8% highest 10%: 36.6% (1996) |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 41% (1996-97) |
Illicit drugs | illicit cultivation of opium poppy (cultivation in 2000 - 1,900 hectares; potential heroin production - 2.4 metric tons) and cannabis cultivation in 2000 - 3,900 hectares; government eradication efforts have been key in keeping illicit crop levels low; major supplier of heroin and marijuana to the US market; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine from South America; two major drug syndicates control majority of drug trafficking throughout the country; primary supplier of methamphetamine to the US market; growing producer and distributor of ecstasy | a transit point for heroin and cocaine intended for European, East Asian, and North American markets; safehaven for Nigerian narcotraffickers operating worldwide; major money-laundering center; massive corruption and criminal activity, along with unwillingness of the government to address the deficiencies in its anti-money-laundering regime make money laundering a major problem |
Imports | $176 billion (f.o.b., 2000), includes in-bond industries (assembly plant operations) | $13.7 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | metal-working machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts | machinery, chemicals, transport equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals |
Imports - partners | US 73.6%, Japan 3.7%, Germany 3.3%, Canada 2.3%, South Korea 2%, China 1.6%, Taiwan 1.2%, Italy 1%, Brazil 1% (2000 est.) | UK 11%, US 9%, France 9%, Germany 7%, China (2000) |
Independence | 16 September 1810 (from Spain) | 1 October 1960 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.5% (2000 est.) | -0.3% (2001 est.) |
Industries | food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism | crude oil, coal, tin, columbite, palm oil, peanuts, cotton, rubber, wood, hides and skins, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food products, footwear, chemicals, fertilizer, printing, ceramics, steel |
Infant mortality rate | 25.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 72.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9% (2000 est.) | 14.9% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | APEC, BCIE, BIS, Caricom (observer), CCC, CDB, CE (observer), EBRD, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-6, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM (observer), NEA, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNMOVIC, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 51 (2000) | 11 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 61,000 sq km (1993 est.) | 2,330 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are appointed by the president with consent of the Senate) | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the President); Federal Court of Appeal (judges are appointed by the federal government on the advice of the Advisory Judicial Committee) |
Labor force | 39.8 million (2000) | 66 million (1999 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 20%, industry 24%, services 56% (1998) | agriculture 70%, industry 10%, services 20% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
4,538 km border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,326 km |
total: 4,047 km
border countries: Benin 773 km, Cameroon 1,690 km, Chad 87 km, Niger 1,497 km |
Land use | arable land:
12% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 39% forests and woodland: 26% other: 22% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 30.96%
permanent crops: 2.79% other: 66.25% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages | English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani |
Legal system | mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on English common law, Islamic Shariah law (only in some northern states), and traditional law |
Legislative branch | bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; 96 are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote) and the Federal Chamber of Deputies or Camara Federal de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members are directly elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; remaining 200 members are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote, also for three-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 2 July 2000 for all of the seats (next to be held NA 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 59, PAN 45, PRD 17, PVEM 5, PT 1, PCD 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 211, PAN 208, PRD 50, PVEM 16, PT 7, PCD 3, PSN 3, PAS 2 |
bicameral National Assembly consists of Senate (109 seats, three from each state and one from the Federal Capital Territory; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and House of Representatives (360 seats, members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 20-24 February 1999 (next to be held 13 April 2003); House of Representatives - last held 20-24 February 1999 (next to be held 13 April 2003) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - PDP 58%, APP 23%, AD 19%; seats by party - PDP 67, APP 23, AD 19; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - PDP 58%, APP 30%, AD 12%; seats by party - PDP 221, APP 70, AD 69 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
71.76 years male: 68.73 years female: 74.93 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 50.59 years
male: 50.58 years female: 50.6 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 89.6% male: 91.8% female: 87.4% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 57.1% male: 67.3% female: 47.3% (1995 est.) |
Location | 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 | Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon |
Map references | North America | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total:
43 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 590,657 GRT/920,456 DWT ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 1, chemical tanker 4, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 28, roll on/roll off 2, short-sea passenger 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 43 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 331,094 GRT/614,171 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 7, chemical tanker 4, petroleum tanker 29, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Bulgaria 1, Greece 1, Norway 1, Pakistan 1, Togo 1, United States 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | National Defense Secretariat (includes Army and Air Force), Navy Secretariat (includes Naval Air and Naval Infantry) | Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $4 billion (FY99) | $374.9 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1% (FY99) | 1% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
26,703,300 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 30,808,598 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
19,394,184 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 17,698,911 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age
note: starting in 2000, females will be allowed to volunteer for military service |
18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
1,077,536 (2001 est.) |
males: 1,375,112 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 16 September (1810) | Independence Day (National Day), 1 October (1960) |
Nationality | noun:
Mexican(s) adjective: Mexican |
noun: Nigerian(s)
adjective: Nigerian |
Natural hazards | tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean coasts | periodic droughts; flooding |
Natural resources | petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber | natural gas, petroleum, tin, columbite, iron ore, coal, limestone, lead, zinc, arable land |
Net migration rate | -2.77 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 28,200 km; petroleum products 10,150 km; natural gas 13,254 km; petrochemical 1,400 km | crude oil 2,042 km; petroleum products 3,000 km; natural gas 500 km |
Political parties and leaders | Convergence for Democracy or CD [Dante DELGADO Ranauro]; Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI [Dulce Maria SAURI Riancho]; Mexican Green Ecological Party or PVEM [Jorge GONZALEZ Torres]; National Action Party or PAN [Luis Felipe BRAVO Mena]; Party of the Democratic Center or PCD [Manuel CAMACHO Solis]; Party of the Democratic Revolution or PRD [Amalia GARCIA Medina]; Party of the Nationalist Society or PSN [Gustavo RIOJAIS Santana]; Social Alliance Party or PAS [Jose Antonio CALDERON Cardoso]; Workers Party or PT [Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez] | All People's Party or APP [leader NA]; Alliance for Democracy or AD [Alhaji Adamu ABDULKADIR]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Audu OGBEH] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic or COPARMEX; Confederation of Industrial Chambers or CONCAMIN; Confederation of Mexican Workers or CTM; Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce or CONCANACO; Coordinator for Foreign Trade Business Organizations or COECE; Federation of Unions Providing Goods and Services or FESEBES; National Chamber of Transformation Industries or CANACINTRA; National Peasant Confederation or CNC; National Union of Workers or UNT; Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers or CROM; Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants or CROC; Roman Catholic Church | NA |
Population | 101,879,171 (July 2001 est.) | 129,934,911
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 27% (1998 est.) | 45% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.5% (2001 est.) | 2.54% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Acapulco, Altamira, Coatzacoalcos, Ensenada, Guaymas, La Paz, Lazaro Cardenas, Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Progreso, Salina Cruz, Tampico, Topolobampo, Tuxpan, Veracruz | Calabar, Lagos, Onne, Port Harcourt, Sapele, Warri |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 865, FM about 500, shortwave 13 (1999) | AM 83, FM 36, shortwave 11 (2001) |
Radios | 31 million (1997) | 23.5 million (1997) |
Railways | total:
31,048 km standard gauge: 30,958 km 1.435-m gauge (246 km electrified) narrow gauge: 90 km 0.914-m gauge (1998 est.) |
total: 3,557 km
narrow gauge: 3,505 km 1.067-m gauge standard gauge: 52 km 1.435-m gauge note: years of neglect of both the rolling stock and the right-of-way have seriously reduced the capacity and utility of the system; a project to restore Nigeria's railways is now underway (2001) |
Religions | nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%, other 5% | Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.99 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced) | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
low telephone density with about 11 main lines per 100 persons; privatized in December 1990; the opening to competition in January 1997 has brightened prospects for development domestic: adequate telephone service for business and government, but the population is poorly served; domestic satellite system with 120 earth stations; extensive microwave radio relay network; considerable use of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, and mobile cellular service international: satellite earth stations - 32 Intelsat, 2 Solidaridad (giving Mexico improved access to South America, Central America, and much of the US as well as enhancing domestic communications), numerous Inmarsat mobile earth stations; linked to Central American Microwave System of trunk connections; high capacity Columbus-2 fiber-optic submarine cable with access to the US, Virgin Islands, Canary Islands, Morocco, Spain, and Italy (1997) |
general assessment: an inadequate system, further limited by poor maintenance; major expansion is required and a start has been made
domestic: intercity traffic is carried by coaxial cable, microwave radio relay, a domestic communications satellite system with 19 earth stations, and a coastal submarine cable; mobile cellular facilities and the Internet are available international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean); coaxial submarine cable SAFE (South African Far East) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 9.6 million (1998) | 500,000 (2000 est) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2.02 million (1998) | 200,000 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 236 (plus repeaters) (1997) | 3 (the government controls 2 of the broadcasting stations and 15 repeater stations) (2002) |
Terrain | high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert | southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus; mountains in southeast, plains in north |
Total fertility rate | 2.62 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 5.49 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | urban - 2.2% (2000); plus considerable underemployment | 0.28% 28% (1992 est.) (1992 est.) |
Waterways | 2,900 km
note: navigable rivers and coastal canals |
8,575 km
note: consisting of the Niger and Benue rivers and smaller rivers and creeks |