Mexico (2008) | Pakistan (2006) | |
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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 | 4 provinces, 1 territory*, and 1 capital territory**; Balochistan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas*, Islamabad Capital Territory**, North-West Frontier Province, Punjab, Sindh
note: the Pakistani-administered portion of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region consists of two administrative entities: Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 30.1% (male 16,696,089/female 16,011,563)
15-64 years: 64% (male 33,624,812/female 35,925,372) 65 years and over: 5.9% (male 2,917,563/female 3,525,492) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 39% (male 33,293,428/female 31,434,314)
15-64 years: 56.9% (male 48,214,298/female 46,062,933) 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 3,256,065/female 3,542,522) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products | cotton, wheat, rice, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; milk, beef, mutton, eggs |
Airports | 1,834 (2007) | 139 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 231
over 3,047 m: 12 2,438 to 3,047 m: 29 1,524 to 2,437 m: 84 914 to 1,523 m: 77 under 914 m: 29 (2007) |
total: 91
over 3,047 m: 14 2,438 to 3,047 m: 21 1,524 to 2,437 m: 33 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 8 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1,603
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 63 914 to 1,523 m: 408 under 914 m: 1,131 (2007) |
total: 48
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 23 (2006) |
Area | total: 1,972,550 sq km
land: 1,923,040 sq km water: 49,510 sq km |
total: 803,940 sq km
land: 778,720 sq km water: 25,220 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Texas | slightly less 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. The elections held in 2000 marked the first time since the 1910 Mexican Revolution that an opposition candidate - Vicente FOX of the National Action Party (PAN) - defeated the party in government, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He was succeeded in 2006 by another PAN candidate Felipe CALDERON. | The separation in 1947 of British India into the Muslim state of Pakistan (with two sections West and East) and largely Hindu India was never satisfactorily resolved, and India and Pakistan fought two wars - in 1947-48 and 1965 - over the disputed Kashmir territory. A third war between these countries in 1971 - in which India capitalized on Islamabad's marginalization of Bengalis in Pakistani politics - resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. In response to Indian nuclear weapons testing, Pakistan conducted its own tests in 1998. The dispute over the state of Kashmir is ongoing, but discussions and confidence-building measures have led to decreased tensions since 2002. |
Birth rate | 20.36 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 29.74 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $209.2 billion
expenditures: $209.2 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues: $15.45 billion
expenditures: $20.07 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | name: Mexico (Distrito Federal)
geographic coordinates: 19 26 N, 99 08 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in October note: Mexico is divided into three time zones |
name: Islamabad
geographic coordinates: 33 42 N, 73 10 E time difference: UTC+5 (10 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | varies from tropical to desert | mostly hot, dry desert; temperate in northwest; arctic in north |
Coastline | 9,330 km | 1,046 km |
Constitution | 5 February 1917 | 12 April 1973; suspended 5 July 1977, restored with amendments 30 December 1985; suspended 15 October 1999, restored in stages in 2002; amended 31 December 2003 |
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: Islamic Republic of Pakistan
conventional short form: Pakistan local long form: Jamhuryat Islami Pakistan local short form: Pakistan former: West Pakistan |
Death rate | 4.76 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 8.23 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $182 billion (30 June 2007) | $38.8 billion (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Antonio O. GARZA, Jr.
embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 06500 Mexico, Distrito Federal mailing address: P. O. Box 9000, Brownsville, TX 78520-9000 telephone: [52] (55) 5080-2000 FAX: [52] (55) 5511-9980 consulate(s) general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana consulate(s): Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nogales, Nuevo Laredo |
chief of mission: Ambassador Ryan CROCKER
embassy: Diplomatic Enclave, Ramna 5, Islamabad mailing address: P. O. Box 1048, Unit 62200, APO AE 09812-2200 telephone: [92] (51) 208-0000 FAX: [92] (51) 2276427 consulate(s) general: Karachi consulate(s): Lahore, Peshawar |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Arturo SARUKHAN Casamitjana
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), Omaha, Orlando, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Juan (Puerto Rico) consulate(s): Albuquerque, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Douglas (Arizona), Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), Indianapolis (Indiana), Kansas City (Missouri), Laredo (Texas), Las Vegas, Little Rock (Arkansas), McAllen (Texas), New Orleans, Omaha, Orlando, Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), Presidio (Texas), Raleigh, Saint Paul (Minnesota), Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, Santa Ana (California), Seattle, Tucson, Yuma (Arizona) |
chief of mission: Ambassador Mahmud Ali DURRANI
chancery: 3517 International Court, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 243-6500 FAX: [1] (202) 686-1544 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Sunnyvale (California) |
Disputes - international | abundant rainfall in recent years along much of the Mexico-US border region has ameliorated periodically strained water-sharing arrangements; the US has intensified security measures to monitor and control legal and illegal personnel, transport, and commodities across its border with Mexico; Mexico must deal with thousands of impoverished Guatemalans and other Central Americans who cross the porous border looking for work in Mexico and the United States | various talks and confidence-building measures cautiously have begun to defuse tensions over Kashmir, particularly since the October 2005 earthquake in the region; Kashmir nevertheless remains the site of the world's largest and most militarized territorial dispute with portions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas); UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) has maintained a small group of peacekeepers since 1949; India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding historic Kashmir lands to China in 1964; in 2004, India and Pakistan instituted a cease-fire in the Kashmir, and in 2005 restored bus service across the highly militarized Line of Control; Pakistan has taken its dispute on the impact of India's building the Baglihar Dam on the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir to the World Bank for arbitration and in general the two states still dispute Indus River water sharing; to defuse tensions and prepare discussions on a maritime boundary, in 2004, India and Pakistan resurveyed a portion of the disputed the Sir Creek estuary at the mouth of the Rann of Kutch; Pakistani maps continue to show the Junagadh claim in India's Gujarat State; by 2005, Pakistan, with UN assistance, had repatriated 2.3 million Afghan refugees and had undertaken a census to count the remaining million or more, many of whom remain at their own choosing; Pakistan has sent troops into remote tribal areas to control the border with Afghanistan and stem organized terrorist or other illegal cross-border activities; regular meetings with Afghan and Coalition allies aim to resolve periodic claims of boundary encroachments |
Economic aid - recipient | $189.4 million (2005) | $2.4 billion (FY01/02) |
Economy - overview | Mexico has a free market economy in the trillion dollar class. It contains 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 generation, natural gas distribution, and airports. Per capita income is one-fourth that of the US; income distribution remains highly unequal. Trade with the US and Canada has tripled since the implementation of NAFTA in 1994. Mexico has 12 free trade agreements with over 40 countries including, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, the European Free Trade Area, and Japan, putting more than 90% of trade under free trade agreements. In 2007, during his first year in office, the Felipe CALDERON administration was able to garner support from the opposition to successfully pass a pension and a fiscal reform. The administration continues to face many economic challenges including the need to upgrade infrastructure, modernize labor laws, and allow private investment in the energy sector. CALDERON has stated that his top economic priorities remain reducing poverty and creating jobs. | Pakistan, an impoverished and underdeveloped country, has suffered from decades of internal political disputes, low levels of foreign investment, and a costly, ongoing confrontation with neighboring India. However, IMF-approved government policies, bolstered by generous foreign assistance and renewed access to global markets since 2001, have generated solid macroeconomic recovery the last four years. The government has made substantial macroeconomic reforms since 2000, although progress on more politically sensitive reforms has slowed. For example, in the budget for fiscal year 2006, Islamabad did not impose taxes on the agriculture or real estate sectors, despite Pakistan's chronically low tax-to-GDP ratio. While long-term prospects remain uncertain, given Pakistan's low level of development, medium-term prospects for job creation and poverty reduction are the best in more than a decade. Islamabad has raised development spending from about 2% of GDP in the 1990s to 4% in 2003, a necessary step towards reversing the broad underdevelopment of its social sector. GDP growth, spurred by double-digit gains in industrial production over the past year, has become less dependent on agriculture, and remained above 7% in 2004 and 2005. Inflation remains the biggest threat to the economy, jumping to more than 9% in 2005. The World Bank and Asian Development Bank announced that they would provide US $1 billion each in aid to help Pakistan rebuild areas hit by the October 2005 earthquake in Kashmir. Foreign exchange reserves continued to reach new levels in 2005, supported by steady worker remittances. In the near term, growth probably cannot be sustained at the 7% level; however, massive international aid, increased government spending, lower taxes, and pay increases for government workers will help Pakistan maintain strong GDP growth over the longer term. |
Electricity - consumption | 183.3 billion kWh (2005) | 71.54 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 1.597 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 470.7 million kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 222.4 billion kWh (2005) | 76.92 billion kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m
highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: K2 (Mt. Godwin-Austen) 8,611 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 |
water pollution from raw sewage, industrial wastes, and agricultural runoff; limited natural fresh water resources; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification |
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, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1% | Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtun (Pathan), Baloch, Muhajir (immigrants from India at the time of partition and their descendants) |
Exchange rates | Mexican pesos per US dollar - 10.8 (2007), 10.899 (2006), 10.898 (2005), 11.286 (2004), 10.789 (2003) | Pakistani rupees per US dollar - 59.515 (2005), 58.258 (2004), 57.752 (2003), 59.724 (2002), 61.927 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Felipe de Jesus CALDERON Hinojosa (since 1 December 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Felipe de Jesus CALDERON Hinojosa (since 1 December 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of attorney general requires consent of the Senate elections: president elected by popular vote for a single six-year term; election last held on 2 July 2006 (next to be held 1 July 2012) election results: Felipe CALDERON elected president; percent of vote - Felipe CALDERON 35.89%, Andres Manuel LOPEZ OBRADOR 35.31%, Roberto MADRAZO 22.26%, other 6.54% |
note: following a military takeover on 12 October 1999, Chief of Army Staff and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Pervez MUSHARRAF, suspended Pakistan's constitution and assumed the additional title of Chief Executive; on 12 May 2000, Pakistan's Supreme Court unanimously validated the October 1999 coup and granted MUSHARRAF executive and legislative authority for three years from the coup date; on 20 June 2001, MUSHARRAF named himself as president and was sworn in, replacing Mohammad Rafiq TARAR; in a referendum held on 30 April 2002, MUSHARRAF's presidency was extended by five more years; on 1 January 2004, MUSHARRAF won a vote of confidence in the Senate, National Assembly, and four provincial assemblies
chief of state: President General Pervez MUSHARRAF (since 20 June 2001) head of government: Prime Minister Shaukat AZIZ (since 28 August 2004) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister elections: the president is elected by Parliament for a five-year term; note - in a referendum held on 30 April 2002, MUSHARRAF's presidency was extended by five more years (next to be held in 2007); the prime minister is selected by the National Assembly (next to be held in 2007) election results: AZIZ elected by the National Assembly on 27 August 2004 with 191 of the votes |
Exports | 2.268 million bbl/day (2004) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton | textiles (garments, bed linen, cotton cloth, yarn), rice, leather goods, sports goods, chemicals, manufactures, carpets and rugs |
Exports - partners | US 84.7%, Canada 2.1%, Spain 1.3% (2006) | US 22.5%, UAE 8.9%, UK 5.8%, China 5.4%, Germany 4.6% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
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 | green with a vertical white band (symbolizing the role of religious minorities) on the hoist side; a large white crescent and star are centered in the green field; the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.9%
industry: 26.3% services: 69.9% (2007 est.) |
agriculture: 21.6%
industry: 25.1% services: 53.3% (2005 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2007 est.) | 6.6% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 23 00 N, 102 00 W | 30 00 N, 70 00 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 | controls Khyber Pass and Bolan Pass, traditional invasion routes between Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent |
Heliports | 1 (2007) | 18 (2006) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.2%
highest 10%: 37% (2006) |
lowest 10%: 4.1%
highest 10%: 27.6% (FY96/97) |
Illicit drugs | major drug-producing nation; cultivation of opium poppy in 2005 amounted to 3,300 hectares yielding a potential production of 8 metric tons of pure heroin, or 17 metric tons of "black tar" heroin, the dominant form of Mexican heroin in the western United States; marijuana cultivation decreased 3% to 5,600 hectares in 2005 - just two years after a decade-high cultivation peak in 2003 - and yielded a potential production of 10,100 metric tons; government conducts the largest independent illicit-crop eradication program in the world; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine from South America, with an estimated 90% of annual cocaine movements towards the US stopping in Mexico; major drug syndicates control majority of drug trafficking throughout the country; producer and distributor of ecstasy; significant money-laundering center; major supplier of heroin and largest foreign supplier of marijuana and methamphetamine to the US market | opium poppy cultivation declined 58% to 3,147 hectares in 2005; federal and provincial authorities continue to conduct anti-poppy campaigns that force eradication - fines and arrests will take place if the ban on poppy cultivation is not observed; key transit point for Afghan drugs, including heroin, opium, morphine, and hashish, bound for Western markets, the Gulf States, and Africa; financial crimes related to drug trafficking, terrorism, corruption, and smuggling remain problems |
Imports | 308,500 bbl/day (2004) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | metalworking machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts | petroleum, petroleum products, machinery, plastics, transportation equipment, edible oils, paper and paperboard, iron and steel, tea |
Imports - partners | US 50.9%, China 9.5%, Japan 6%, South Korea 4.2% (2006) | China 13.8%, Saudi Arabia 10.3%, UAE 8.8%, Japan 6.1%, US 5%, Kuwait 5%, Germany 4.8% (2005) |
Independence | 16 September 1810 (declared); 27 September 1821 (recognized by Spain) | 14 August 1947 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1.2% (2007 est.) | 10.7% (2005 est.) |
Industries | food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism | textiles and apparel, food processing, pharmaceuticals, construction materials, paper products, fertilizer, shrimp |
Infant mortality rate | total: 19.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.54 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 70.45 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 70.84 deaths/1,000 live births female: 70.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.8% (2007) | 9.1% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | APEC, BCIE, BIS, CAN (observer), Caricom (observer), CDB, CE (observer), CSN (observer), EBRD, FAO, G-3, G-15, G-24, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA, NAFTA, NAM (observer), NEA, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNITAR, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ARF, AsDB, C (reinstated 2004), CP, ECO, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, SCO (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 63,200 sq km (2003) | 182,300 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Justice or Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nacion (justices or ministros are appointed by the president with consent of the Senate) | Supreme Court (justices appointed by the president); Federal Islamic or Shari'a Court |
Labor force | 45.38 million (2007 est.) | 46.84 million
note: extensive export of labor, mostly to the Middle East, and use of child labor (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 18%
industry: 24% services: 58% (2003) |
agriculture: 42%
industry: 20% services: 38% (2004 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 4,353 km
border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,141 km |
total: 6,774 km
border countries: Afghanistan 2,430 km, China 523 km, India 2,912 km, Iran 909 km |
Land use | arable land: 12.66%
permanent crops: 1.28% other: 86.06% (2005) |
arable land: 24.44%
permanent crops: 0.84% other: 74.72% (2005) |
Languages | Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages | Punjabi 48%, Sindhi 12%, Siraiki (a Punjabi variant) 10%, Pashtu 8%, Urdu (official) 8%, Balochi 3%, Hindko 2%, Brahui 1%, English (official and lingua franca of Pakistani elite and most government ministries), Burushaski, and other 8% |
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 with provisions to accommodate Pakistan's status as an Islamic state; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; 96 members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 seats 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 elected by popular vote; remaining 200 members are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote; to serve three-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 2 July 2006 for all of the seats (next to be held 1 July 2012); Chamber of Deputies - last held 2 July 2006 (next to be held 5 July 2009) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PAN 52, PRI 33, PRD 26, PVEM 6, CD 5, PT 5, independent 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PAN 207, PRD 127, PRI 106, PVEM 17, CD 17, PT 11, other 15 |
bicameral Parliament or Majlis-e-Shoora consists of the Senate (100 seats - formerly 87; members indirectly elected by provincial assemblies to serve six-year terms and the National Assembly (342 seats - formerly 217; 60 seats represent women; 10 seats represent minorities; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held in March 2006 (next to be held in March 2009); National Assembly - last held 10 October 2002 (next to be held in 2007) election results: Senate results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PML 47, PPPP 9, MMA 20, MQM/A 6, PML/N 4, PML/F 1, PkMAP 3, ANP 2, PPP 3, JWP 1, BNP-Awami 1, BNP-Mengal 1, BNP/H 1, independents 1; National Assembly results - percent of votes by party - NA; seats by party - PML/Q 126, PPPP 81, MMA 63, PML/N 19, MQM/A 17, NA 16, PML/F 5, PML/J 3, PPP/S 2, BNP 1, JWP 1, PAT 1, PML/Z 1, PTI 1, MQM/H 1, PkMAP 1, independents 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.63 years
male: 72.84 years female: 78.56 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 63.39 years
male: 62.4 years female: 64.44 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91% male: 92.4% female: 89.6% (2004 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 48.7% male: 61.7% female: 35.2% (2004 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 | Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea, between India on the east and Iran and Afghanistan on the west and China in the north |
Map references | North America | Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | total: 60 ships (1000 GRT or over) 802,128 GRT/1,157,971 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 7, chemical tanker 6, liquefied gas 4, passenger/cargo 11, petroleum tanker 25, roll on/roll off 5 foreign-owned: 4 (Denmark 2, Norway 1, UAE 1) registered in other countries: 14 (Brazil 1, Honduras 1, Liberia 1, Panama 4, Portugal 1, Spain 3, Venezuela 3) (2007) |
total: 16 ships (1000 GRT or over) 397,740 GRT/657,656 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 10, container 1, petroleum tanker 4 registered in other countries: 11 (Comoros 2, North Korea 3, Malta 1, Nigeria 1, Panama 3, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1) (2006) |
Military branches | Secretariat of National Defense (Secretaria de Defensa Nacional, Sedena): Army (Ejercito), Mexican Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Mexicana, FAM); Secretariat of the Navy (Secretaria de Marina, Semar): Mexican Navy (Armada de Mexico, ARM, includes Naval Air Force (FAN) and Marines) (2007) | Army (includes National Guard), Navy (includes Marines), Pakistan Air Force (Pakistan Fiza'ya) (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $4.26 billion (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.5% (2006 est.) | 3.9% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 16 September (1810) | Republic Day, 23 March (1956) |
Nationality | noun: Mexican(s)
adjective: Mexican |
noun: Pakistani(s)
adjective: Pakistani |
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 | frequent earthquakes, occasionally severe especially in north and west; flooding along the Indus after heavy rains (July and August) |
Natural resources | petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber | land, extensive natural gas reserves, limited petroleum, poor quality coal, iron ore, copper, salt, limestone |
Net migration rate | -4.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -0.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 22,705 km; liquid petroleum gas 1,875 km; oil 8,688 km; oil/gas/water 228 km; refined products 6,520 km (2006) | gas 10,257 km; oil 2,001 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Convergence for Democracy or CD [Luis MALDONADO Venegas]; Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI [Beatriz PAREDES]; Labor Party or PT [Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez]; Mexican Green Ecological Party or PVEM [Jorge Emilio GONZALEZ Martinez]; National Action Party (Partido Accion Nacional) or PAN [German MARTINEZ Cazares]; New Alliance Party (Partido Nueva Alianza) or PNA [Jorge Antonio KAHWAGI Macari]; Party of the Democratic Revolution (Partido de la Revolucion Democratica) or PRD [Leonel COTA Montano]; Social Democratic and Peasant Alternative Party (Partido Alternativa Socialdemocrata y Campesina) or Alternativa [Alberto BEGNE Guerra] | Awami National Party or ANP [Asfandyar Wali KHAN]; Balochistan National Party/Hayee Group or BNP/H [Dr. Hayee BALUCH]; Baluch National Party/Awami or BNP/Awami [Moheem Khan BALOCH]; Baluch National Party-Mengal or BNP/M [Sardar Ataullah MENGAL]; Jamhoori Watan Party or JWP; Jamiat-al-Hadith or JAH [Sajid MIR]; Jamiat-i-Islami or JI [Qazi Hussain AHMED]; Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, Fazlur Rehman faction or JUI/F [Fazlur REHMAN]; Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, Sami ul-HAQ faction or JUI/S [Sami ul-HAQ]; Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan or JUP [Shah Faridul HAQ]; Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal Pakistan or MMA [Qazi Hussain AHMED]; Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Altaf faction or MQM/A [Altaf HUSSAIN]; Muttahida Quami Movement, Haqiqi faction or MQM/H [Afaq AHMAD]; National Alliance or NA [Ghulam Mustapha JATOI]; Pakhtun Khwa Milli Awami Party or PkMAP [Mahmood Khan ACHAKZAI]; Pakhtun Quami Party or PQP [Mohammed Afzal KHAN]; Pakistan Awami Tehrik or PAT [Tahir ul QADRI]; Pakistan Muslim League, Functional Group or PML/F [Pir PAGARO]; Pakistan Muslim League, Nawaz Sharif faction or PML/N [Nawaz SHARIF]; Pakistan Muslim League or PML [Chaudhry Shujaat HUSSAIN]; note - as of May 2004, the PML/Q changed its name to PML and absorbed the PML/J, PML/Z, and NA; Pakistan National Party or PNP [Hasil BIZENJO]; Pakistan People's Party or PPP [Aftab Ahmed Khan SHERPAO]; Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians or PPPP [Benazir BHUTTO]; Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf or PTI [Imran KHAN]; Tehrik-i-Islami [Allama Sajid NAQVI]
note: political alliances in Pakistan can shift frequently |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Broad Progressive Front or FAP; Businessmen's Coordinating Council or CCE; 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 Small Business Chamber or CANACOPE; National Syndicate of Education Workers or SNTE; National Union of Workers or UNT; Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca or APPO; Roman Catholic Church | military remains most important political force; ulema (clergy), landowners, industrialists, and small merchants also influential |
Population | 108,700,891 (July 2007 est.) | 165,803,560 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 13.8%
note: food-based poverty. Asset based poverty amounted to more than 40% (2006) |
32% (FY00/01 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.153% (2007 est.) | 2.09% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 850, FM 545, shortwave 15 (2003) | AM 27, FM 1, shortwave 21 (1998) |
Railways | total: 17,665 km
standard gauge: 17,665 km 1.435-m gauge (2006) |
total: 8,163 km
broad gauge: 7,718 km 1.676-m gauge (293 km electrified) narrow gauge: 445 km 1.000-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 76.5%, Protestant 6.3% (Pentecostal 1.4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.1%, other 3.8%), other 0.3%, unspecified 13.8%, none 3.1% (2000 census) | Muslim 97% (Sunni 77%, Shi'a 20%), Christian, Hindu, and other 3% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.043 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.936 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.828 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.92 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced) | 18 years of age; universal; joint electorates and reserved parliamentary seats for women and non-Muslims |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate telephone service for business and government, but the population is poorly served; mobile subscribers far outnumber fixed-line subscribers; domestic satellite system with 120 earth stations; extensive microwave radio relay network; considerable use of fiber-optic cable and coaxial cable
domestic: low telephone density with about 18 fixed lines per 100 persons; privatized in December 1990; despite the opening to competition in January 1997, Telmex remains dominant; legal challenges to Telmex's alleged anti-competitive behavior in the mobile and fixed-line markets culminated in a World Trade Organization ruling in 2004 against Mexico prompting some strengthening of the powers granted Mexico's telecom regulator international: country code - 52; Columbus-2 fiber-optic submarine cable with access to the US, Virgin Islands, Canary Islands, Spain, and Italy; the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) and the MAYA-1 submarine cable system together provide access to Central America, parts of South America and the Caribbean, and the US; 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), 1 Panamsat, numerous Inmarsat mobile earth stations; linked to Central American Microwave System of trunk connections (2005) |
general assessment: the domestic system is mediocre, but improving; service is adequate for government and business use, in part because major businesses have established their own private systems; since 1988, the government has promoted investment in the national telecommunications system on a priority basis, significantly increasing network capacity; despite major improvements in trunk and urban systems, telecommunication services are still not readily available to the majority of the rural population
domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, fiber-optic cable, cellular, and satellite networks international: country code - 92; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean); 3 operational international gateway exchanges (1 at Karachi and 2 at Islamabad); microwave radio relay to neighboring countries (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 19.861 million (2006) | 5,277,500 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 57.016 million (2006) | 12.771 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 236 (plus repeaters) (1997) | 22 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert | flat Indus plain in east; mountains in north and northwest; Balochistan plateau in west |
Total fertility rate | 2.39 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 4 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 3.7% plus underemployment of perhaps 25% (2007 est.) | 6.6% plus substantial underemployment (2005 est.) |
Waterways | 2,900 km (navigable rivers and coastal canals) (2007) | - |