Mexico (2003) | Luxembourg (2002) | |
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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 | 3 districts; Diekirch, Grevenmacher, Luxembourg |
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: 18.9% (male 43,634; female 41,164)
15-64 years: 67% (male 151,364; female 149,156) 65 years and over: 14.1% (male 25,486; female 37,765) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products | barley, oats, potatoes, wheat, fruits, wine grapes; livestock products |
Airports | 1,823 (2002) | 2 (2001) |
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: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (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: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Area | total: 1,972,550 sq km
land: 1,923,040 sq km water: 49,510 sq km |
total: 2,586 sq km
land: 2,586 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Texas | slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
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. | Founded in 963, Luxembourg became a grand duchy in 1815 and an independent state under the Netherlands. It lost more than half of its territory to Belgium in 1839, but gained a larger measure of autonomy. Full independence was attained in 1867. Overrun by Germany in both World Wars, it ended its neutrality in 1948 when it entered into the Benelux Customs Union and when it joined NATO the following year. In 1957, Luxembourg became one of the six founding countries of the European Economic Community (later the European Union) and in 1999 it joined the euro currency area. |
Birth rate | 21.92 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 12.06 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $136 billion
expenditures: $140 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $5.5 billion
expenditures: $5.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $760 million $NA (2002 est.) |
Capital | Mexico (Distrito Federal) | Luxembourg |
Climate | varies from tropical to desert | modified continental with mild winters, cool summers |
Coastline | 9,330 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 5 February 1917 | 17 October 1868, occasional revisions |
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: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
conventional short form: Luxembourg local long form: Grand Duche de Luxembourg local short form: Luxembourg |
Currency | Mexican peso (MXN) | euro (EUR); Luxembourg franc (LUF)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries |
Death rate | 4.97 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 8.83 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $150 billion (2000 est.) | $NA |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Peter TERPELUK, Jr.
embassy: 22 Boulevard Emmanuel-Servais, L-2535 Luxembourg City mailing address: American Embassy Luxembourg, Unit 1410, APO AE 09126-1410 (official mail); American Embassy Luxembourg, PSC 9, Box 9500, APO AE 09123 (personal mail) telephone: [352] 46 01 23 FAX: [352] 46 14 01 |
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) |
chief of mission: Ambassador Arlette CONZEMIUS-PACCOURD
chancery: 2200 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-4171 FAX: [1] (202) 328-8270 consulate(s) general: New York and San Francisco |
Disputes - international | prolonged regional drought in the border region with the US has strained water-sharing arrangements | none |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $160 million (1999) |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.166 billion (1995) | - |
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. | This stable, high-income economy features solid growth, low inflation, and low unemployment. The industrial sector, initially dominated by steel, has become increasingly diversified to include chemicals, rubber, and other products. Growth in the financial sector, which now accounts for about 22% of GDP, has more than compensated for the decline in steel. Most banks are foreign-owned and have extensive foreign dealings. Agriculture is based on small family-owned farms. The economy depends on foreign and trans-border workers for 30% of its labor force. Although Luxembourg, like all EU members, has suffered from the global economic slump, the country has maintained a fairly strong growth rate. |
Electricity - consumption | 186.7 billion kWh (2001) | 6.158 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 77 million kWh (2001) | 735 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 2.068 billion kWh (2001) | 6.458 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 198.6 billion kWh (2001) | 467.7 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 78.7%
hydro: 14.2% nuclear: 4.2% other: 2.9% (2001) |
fossil fuel: 58%
hydro: 26% nuclear: 0% other: 17% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m
highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m |
lowest point: Moselle River 133 m
highest point: Buurgplaatz 559 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 |
air and water pollution in urban areas, soil pollution of farmland |
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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1% | Celtic base (with French and German blend), Portuguese, Italian, Slavs (from Montenegro, Albania, and Kososvo) and European (guest and resident workers) |
Exchange rates | Mexican pesos per US dollar - 9.66 (2002), 9.34 (2001), 9.46 (2000), 9.56 (1999), 9.14 (1998) | euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); Luxembourg francs per US dollar - 34.77 (January 1999), 36.299 (1998), 35.774 (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: Grand Duke HENRI (since 7 October 2000); Heir Apparent Prince GUILLAUME (son of the monarch, born 11 November 1981)
head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Claude JUNCKER (since 1 January 1995) and Vice Prime Minister Lydie POLFER (since 7 August 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers recommended by the prime minister and appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following popular elections to the Chamber of Deputies, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch; the deputy prime minister is appointed by the monarch; they are responsible to the Chamber of Deputies note: government coalition - CSV and DP |
Exports | 1.881 million bbl/day (2001) | $7.85 billion f.o.b. (2000) |
Exports - commodities | manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton | machinery and equipment, steel products, chemicals, rubber products, glass |
Exports - partners | US 82.7%, Canada 5.4%, Japan 1.1% (2002) | EU 84.7% (Germany 24.6%, France 19.6%, Belgium 12.3%), US 3.5% (2001) |
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 horizontal bands of red (top), white, and light blue; similar to the flag of the Netherlands, which uses a darker blue and is shorter; design was based on the flag of France |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $924.4 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $20 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 5%
industry: 26% services: 69% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 1%
industry: 30% services: 69% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,900 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $44,000 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.7% (2002 est.) | 2.3% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 23 00 N, 102 00 W | 49 45 N, 6 10 E |
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 | landlocked; the only Grand Duchy in the world, it is the smallest of the European Union member states |
Heliports | 2 (2002) | 1 (2002) |
Highways | total: 329,532 km
paved: 108,087 km (including 6,429 km of expressways) unpaved: 221,445 km (1999 est.) |
total: 5,166 km
paved: 5,166 km (including 118 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 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) | $10.25 billion c.i.f. (2000) |
Imports - commodities | metalworking machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts | minerals, metals, foodstuffs, quality consumer goods |
Imports - partners | US 70.6%, Germany 3.5%, Japan 2.7% (2002) | EU 86.7% (Belgium 34.3%, Germany 25.1%, France 12.8%), US 5.8% (2001) |
Independence | 16 September 1810 (from Spain) | 1839 (from the Netherlands) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.9% (2002 est.) | 2% (2002 est.) |
Industries | food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism | banking, iron and steel, food processing, chemicals, metal products, engineering, tires, glass, aluminum |
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.) |
4.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.4% (2002 est.) | 1.6% (2002 est.) |
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 | ACCT, Australia Group, Benelux, CCC, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, EMU, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NATO, NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 51 (2000) | 8 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 65,000 sq km (1998 est.) | 40 sq km (includes Belgium) (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are appointed by the president with consent of the Senate) | judicial courts and tribunals (3 Justices of the Peace, 2 district courts, and 1 Supreme Court of Appeals); administrative courts and tribunals (State Prosecutor's Office, administrative courts and tribunals, and the Constitutional Court); judges for all courts are appointed for life by the monarch |
Labor force | 39.8 million (2000) | 262,300 (of whom 87,400 are foreign cross-border workers primarily from France, Belgium, and Germany) (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 20%, industry 24%, services 56% (1998) | services 90%, industry 8%, agriculture 2% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 4,353 km
border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,141 km |
total: 359 km
border countries: Belgium 148 km, France 73 km, Germany 138 km |
Land use | arable land: 13.2%
permanent crops: 1.1% other: 85.7% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 25%
permanent crops: 0% other: 75% (includes Belgium) (1998 est.) |
Languages | Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages | Luxembourgish (national language), German (administrative language), French (administrative language) |
Legal system | mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (60 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 13 June 1999 (next to be held by June 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - CSV 29.79%, DP 21.58%, LSAP 23.75%, ADR 10.36%, Green Party 9.09%, the Left 3.77%; seats by party - CSV 19, DP 15, LSAP 13, ADR 6, Green Party 5, the Left 2 note: there is also a Council of State that serves as an advisory body to the Chamber of Deputies; the Council of State has 21 members appointed by the Grand Duke on the advice of the prime minister |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.3 years
male: 69.26 years female: 75.49 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 77.48 years
male: 74.2 years female: 80.97 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.2% male: 94% female: 90.5% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (2000 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 Europe, between France and Germany |
Map references | North America | Europe |
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 |
none (landlocked) |
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: 60 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,487,752 GRT/2,123,579 DWT
ships by type: bulk 2, chemical tanker 13, container 8, liquefied gas 19, passenger 4, petroleum tanker 8, roll on/roll off 6 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belgium 21, Finland 3, France 8, Germany 10, Monaco 1, Netherlands 3, Norway 1, United Kingdom 9, United States 3 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | National Defense Secretariat (SEDENA) (including Army and Air Force), Navy Secretariat (including Naval Air and Marines) | Army, Grand Ducal Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $4 billion (FY99) | $147.8 million (FY01/02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1% (FY99) | 0.8% (FY01/02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 27,751,539 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 113,557 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 20,123,970 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 93,429 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age
note: starting in 2000, females were allowed to volunteer for military service (2003 est.) |
19 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 1,093,752 (2003 est.) | males: 2,565 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 16 September (1810) | National Day (Birthday of Grand Duchess Charlotte) 23 June |
Nationality | noun: Mexican(s)
adjective: Mexican |
noun: Luxembourger(s)
adjective: Luxembourg |
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 | NA |
Natural resources | petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber | iron ore (no longer exploited), arable land |
Net migration rate | -2.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 9.26 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 | petroleum products 48 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] | Action Committee for Democracy and Justice or ADR [Robert MEHLEN]; Christian Social People's Party or CSV (known also as Christian Social Party or PCS) [Erna HENNICOT-SCHOEPGES]; Democratic Party or DP [Lydie POLFER]; Green Party [Abbes JACOBY and Felix BRAS]; Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party or LSAP [Jean ASSELBORN]; Marxist and Reformed Communist Party DEI LENK (the Left) [no formal leadership]; other minor parties |
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 | ABBL (bankers' association); ALEBA (financial sector trade union); Centrale Paysanne (federation of agricultural producers); CEP (professional sector chamber); CGFP (trade union representing civil service); Chambre de Commerce (Chamber of Commerce); Chambre des Metiers (Chamber of Artisans); FEDIL (federation of industrialists); LCGP (center-right trade union); OGBL (center-left trade union) |
Population | 104,907,991 (July 2003 est.) | 448,569 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 40% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.43% (2003 est.) | 1.25% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Acapulco, Altamira, Coatzacoalcos, Ensenada, Guaymas, La Paz, Lazaro Cardenas, Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Progreso, Salina Cruz, Tampico, Topolobampo, Tuxpan, Veracruz | Mertert |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 851, FM 598, shortwave 16 (2000) | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999) |
Radios | - | 285,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 19,510 km
standard gauge: 19,510 km 1.435-m gauge (2002) |
total: 274 km
standard gauge: 274 km 1.435-m gauge (242 km electrified) (2001) |
Religions | nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%, other 5% | the greatest preponderance of the population is Roman Catholic with a very few Protestants, Jews, and Muslims
note: 1979 legislation forbids the collection of religious statistics |
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: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced) | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
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: highly developed, completely automated and efficient system, mainly buried cables
domestic: nationwide cellular telephone system; buried cable international: 3 channels leased on TAT-6 coaxial submarine cable (Europe to North America) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 12.332 million (2000) | 314,700 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2.02 million (1998) | 215,741 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 236 (plus repeaters) (1997) | 5 (1999) |
Terrain | high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert | mostly gently rolling uplands with broad, shallow valleys; uplands to slightly mountainous in the north; steep slope down to Moselle flood plain in the southeast |
Total fertility rate | 2.53 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.7 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | urban - 3% plus considerable underemployment (2002) | 4.1% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | 2,900 km
note: navigable rivers and coastal canals |
37 km (on the Moselle) |