Mexico (2003) | French Polynesia (2003) | |
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 | none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 5 archipelagic divisions named Archipel des Marquises, Archipel des Tuamotu, Archipel des Tubuai, Iles du Vent, and Iles Sous-le-Vent
note: Clipperton Island is administered by France from French Polynesia |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 32.3% (male 17,298,964; female 16,617,728)
15-64 years: 63.1% (male 32,217,513; female 33,932,603) 65 years and over: 4.6% (male 2,145,252; female 2,695,931) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 28.3% (male 37,804; female 36,249)
15-64 years: 66.3% (male 90,421; female 83,304) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 7,226; female 7,121) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products | coconuts, vanilla, vegetables, fruits; poultry, beef, dairy products, coffee |
Airports | 1,823 (2002) | 45 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 231
over 3,047 m: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 28 1,524 to 2,437 m: 83 914 to 1,523 m: 82 under 914 m: 27 (2002) |
total: 37
over 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 22 under 914 m: 8 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1,592
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 69 914 to 1,523 m: 454 under 914 m: 1,067 (2002) |
total: 8
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 5 (2002) |
Area | total: 1,972,550 sq km
land: 1,923,040 sq km water: 49,510 sq km |
total: 4,167 sq km (118 islands and atolls)
land: 3,660 sq km water: 507 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Texas | slightly less than one-third the size of Connecticut |
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. 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. | The French annexed various Polynesian island groups during the 19th century. In September 1995, France stirred up widespread protests by resuming nuclear testing on the Mururoa atoll after a three-year moratorium. The tests were suspended in January 1996. |
Birth rate | 21.92 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 17.74 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $136 billion
expenditures: $140 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $1 billion
expenditures: $900 million, including capital expenditures of $185 million (1996) |
Capital | Mexico (Distrito Federal) | Papeete |
Climate | varies from tropical to desert | tropical, but moderate |
Coastline | 9,330 km | 2,525 km |
Constitution | 5 February 1917 | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
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: Territory of French Polynesia
conventional short form: French Polynesia local long form: Territoire de la Polynesie Francaise local short form: Polynesie Francaise former: French Colony of Oceania |
Currency | Mexican peso (MXN) | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (XPF); note - may adopt the euro in 2003 |
Death rate | 4.97 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 4.53 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $150 billion (2000 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of France since 1946 |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Antonio O. GARZA
embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 06500 Mexico, Distrito Federal mailing address: P. O. Box 9000, Brownsville, TX 78520-0900 telephone: [52] (55) 5080-2000 FAX: [52] (55) 5080-2005, 5080-2834 consulate(s) general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana consulate(s): Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nuevo Laredo, Nogales |
none (overseas territory of France) |
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 Jose, San Juan (Puerto Rico) consulate(s): Albuquerque, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Corpus Christi, Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Douglas (Arizona), Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), Indianapolis (Indiana), Las Vegas, McAllen (Texas), Midland (Texas), Omaha, Orlando, Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), Presidio (Texas), Raleigh, Saint Louis, Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, Santa Ana (California), Seattle, Tucson, Yuma (Arizona) |
none (overseas territory of France) |
Disputes - international | prolonged regional drought in the border region with the US has strained water-sharing arrangements | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.166 billion (1995) | $367 million (1997) |
Economy - overview | Mexico has a free market economy with a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. Recent administrations have expanded competition in seaports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity, natural gas distribution, and airports. Income distribution remains highly unequal. Trade with the US and Canada has tripled since the implementation of NAFTA in 1994. Following 6.9% growth in 2000, real GDP fell 0.3% in 2001, recovering to only a plus 1% in 2002, with the US slowdown the principal cause. Mexico implemented free trade agreements with Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and the European Free Trade Area in 2001, putting more than 90% of trade under free trade agreements. Foreign direct investment reached $25 billion in 2001, of which $12.5 billion came from the purchase of Mexico's second-largest bank, Banamex, by Citigroup. | Since 1962, when France stationed military personnel in the region, French Polynesia has changed from a subsistence agricultural economy to one in which a high proportion of the work force is either employed by the military or supports the tourist industry. With the halt of French nuclear testing in 1996, the military contribution to the economy fell sharply. Tourism accounts for about one-fourth of GDP and is a primary source of hard currency earnings. Other sources of income are pearl farming and deep-sea commercial fishing. The small manufacturing sector primarily processes agricultural products. The territory benefits substantially from development agreements with France aimed principally at creating new businesses and strengthening social services. |
Electricity - consumption | 186.7 billion kWh (2001) | 398.3 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 77 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 2.068 billion kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 198.6 billion kWh (2001) | 428.3 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 78.7%
hydro: 14.2% nuclear: 4.2% other: 2.9% (2001) |
fossil fuel: 60.7%
hydro: 39.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0%; note - sun, wind, biomass (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m
highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Orohena 2,241 m |
Environment - current 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 |
NA |
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 |
- |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1% | Polynesian 78%, Chinese 12%, local French 6%, metropolitan French 4% |
Exchange rates | Mexican pesos per US dollar - 9.66 (2002), 9.34 (2001), 9.46 (2000), 9.56 (1999), 9.14 (1998) | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 126.41 (2002), 133.26 (2001), 129.44 (2000), 111.93 (1999), 107.25 (1998)
note: pegged at the rate of 119.25 XPF to the euro |
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 Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by High Commissioner of the Republic Michel MATHIEU (since 24 October 2001)
head of government: President of the Territorial Government of French Polynesia Gaston FLOSSE (since 4 April 1991); President of the Territorial Assembly Lucette TAERO (since 17 May 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers; president submits a list of members of the Territorial Assembly for approval by them to serve as ministers elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; high commissioner appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the Territorial Government and the president of the Territorial Assembly are elected by the members of the assembly |
Exports | 1.881 million bbl/day (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton | cultured pearls 50%, coconut products, mother-of-pearl, vanilla, shark meat (1997) |
Exports - partners | US 82.7%, Canada 5.4%, Japan 1.1% (2002) | France 37.4%, Japan 35.5%, US 17.5% (2002) |
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 | two narrow red horizontal bands encase a wide white band; centered on the white band is a disk with blue and white wave pattern on the lower half and gold and white ray pattern on the upper half; a stylized red, blue and white ship rides on the wave pattern; the French flag is used for official occasions |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $924.4 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1.3 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 5%
industry: 26% services: 69% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 6%
industry: 18% services: 76% (1997) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,900 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.7% (2002 est.) | 4% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 23 00 N, 102 00 W | 15 00 S, 140 00 W |
Geography - note | strategic location on southern border of US; corn (maize), one of the world's major grain crops, is thought to have originated in Mexico | includes five archipelagoes (4 volcanic, 1 coral); Makatea in French Polynesia is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and Nauru |
Heliports | 2 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 329,532 km
paved: 108,087 km (including 6,429 km of expressways) unpaved: 221,445 km (1999 est.) |
total: 2,590 km
paved: 1,735 km unpaved: 855 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 41.1% (2001) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | illicit cultivation of opium poppy (cultivation in 2001 - 4,400 hectares; potential heroin production - 7 metric tons) and of cannabis (in 2001 - 4,100 hectares); government eradication efforts have been key in keeping illicit crop levels low; major supplier of heroin and largest foreign supplier of marijuana and methamphetamine to the US market; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine from South America; major drug syndicates control majority of drug trafficking throughout the country; growing producer and distributor of ecstasy; significant money-laundering center | - |
Imports | 374,700 bbl/day (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | metalworking machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts | fuels, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment |
Imports - partners | US 70.6%, Germany 3.5%, Japan 2.7% (2002) | France 58.9%, Australia 12.2%, New Zealand 6.9%, US 6.6% (2002) |
Independence | 16 September 1810 (from Spain) | none (overseas territory of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.9% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Industries | food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism | tourism, pearls, agricultural processing, handicrafts, phosphates |
Infant mortality rate | total: 23.68 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 26.78 deaths/1,000 live births female: 20.43 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: 8.78 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 10.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.4% (2002 est.) | 1.5% |
International organization participation | APEC, BCIE, BIS, Caricom (observer), CDB, CE (observer), EBRD, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-6, G-15, G-19, G-24, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM (observer), NEA, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMOVIC, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ESCAP (associate), FZ, ICFTU, SPC, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 51 (2000) | 2 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 65,000 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are appointed by the president with consent of the Senate) | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Court of the First Instance or Tribunal de Premiere Instance; Court of Administrative Law or Tribunal Administratif |
Labor force | 39.8 million (2000) | 70,000 (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 20%, industry 24%, services 56% (1998) | agriculture 13%, industry 19%, services 68% (1997) |
Land boundaries | total: 4,353 km
border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,141 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 13.2%
permanent crops: 1.1% other: 85.7% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 1.64%
permanent crops: 6.01% other: 92.35% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages | French (official), Tahitian (official) |
Legal system | mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on French system |
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 6 July 2003 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 60, PAN 46, PRD 15, PVEM 5, PT 1, CD 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 224, PAN 153, PRD 95, other 28 |
unicameral Territorial Assembly or Assemblee Territoriale (49 seats - changed from 41 seats for May 2001 election; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 6 May 2001 (next to be held NA May 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - People's Rally for the Republic (Gaullist) 28, Independent Front for the Liberation of Polynesia 13, New Fatherland Party 7, other 1 note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on NA September 1998 (next to be held NA September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; two seats were elected to the French National Assembly on 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP/RPR 1, UMP 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.3 years
male: 69.26 years female: 75.49 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 75.45 years
male: 73.08 years female: 77.93 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.2% male: 94% female: 90.5% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 14 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 98% female: 98% (1977 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 | Oceania, archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from South America to Australia |
Map references | North America | Oceania |
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 |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 636,271 GRT/933,686 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 1, chemical tanker 4, combination ore/oil 1, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 26, roll on/roll off 8, short-sea passenger 3 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Canada 2, Denmark 1 (2002 est.) |
total: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 12,679 GRT/13,915 DWT
ships by type: cargo 2, passenger/cargo 3, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | National Defense Secretariat (SEDENA) (including Army and Air Force), Navy Secretariat (including Naval Air and Marines) | no regular indigenous military forces; French Forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force), Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $4 billion (FY99) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1% (FY99) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 27,751,539 (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 20,123,970 (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age
note: starting in 2000, females were allowed to volunteer for military service (2003 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 1,093,752 (2003 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 16 September (1810) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Mexican(s)
adjective: Mexican |
noun: French Polynesian(s)
adjective: French Polynesian |
Natural hazards | 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 | occasional cyclonic storms in January |
Natural resources | petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber | timber, fish, cobalt, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -2.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 2.99 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 28,200 km; petroleum products 10,150 km; natural gas 13,254 km; petrochemical 1,400 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 Emilio GONZALEZ Martinez]; National Action Party or PAN [Luis Felipe BRAVO Mena]; Party of the Democratic Revolution or PRD [Amalia GARCIA Medina]; Party of the Nationalist Society or PSN [Gustavo RIOJAS Santana]; Social Alliance Party or PAS [Guillermo CALDERON Dominguez]; Workers Party or PT [Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez] | Independent Front for the Liberation of Polynesia (Tavini Huiraatira) [Oscar TEMARU]; New Fatherland Party (Ai'a Api) [Emile VERNAUDON]; People's Rally for the Republic of Polynesia or RPR (Tahoeraa Huiraatira) [Gaston FLOSSE]; The New Star (Te Fetia Api) [leader NA] |
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 | 104,907,991 (July 2003 est.) | 262,125 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 40% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.43% (2003 est.) | 1.62% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Acapulco, Altamira, Coatzacoalcos, Ensenada, Guaymas, La Paz, Lazaro Cardenas, Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Progreso, Salina Cruz, Tampico, Topolobampo, Tuxpan, Veracruz | Mataura, Papeete, Rikitea, Uturoa |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 851, FM 598, shortwave 16 (2000) | AM 2, FM 14, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Railways | total: 19,510 km
standard gauge: 19,510 km 1.435-m gauge (2002) |
0 km |
Religions | nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%, other 5% | Protestant 54%, Roman Catholic 30%, other 10%, no religion 6% |
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 (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.09 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2003 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 12 main lines per 100 persons; privatized in December 1990; the opening to competition in January 1997 improved 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: NA
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 12.332 million (2000) | 52,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2.02 million (1998) | 5,427 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 236 (plus repeaters) (1997) | 7 (plus 17 low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert | mixture of rugged high islands and low islands with reefs |
Total fertility rate | 2.53 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 2.14 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | urban - 3% plus considerable underemployment (2002) | 11.8% (1994) |
Waterways | 2,900 km
note: navigable rivers and coastal canals |
none |