Saint Pierre and Miquelon (2006) | Mexico (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territorial collectivity of France); note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are two communes - Saint Pierre, Miquelon at the second order | 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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 23.5% (male 843/female 807)
15-64 years: 65.7% (male 2,342/female 2,272) 65 years and over: 10.8% (male 348/female 414) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 30.6% (male 16,770,957/female 16,086,172)
15-64 years: 63.6% (male 33,071,809/female 35,316,281) 65 years and over: 5.8% (male 2,814,707/female 3,389,599) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish | corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products |
Airports | 2 (2006) | 1,839 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 228
over 3,047 m: 12 2,438 to 3,047 m: 28 1,524 to 2,437 m: 82 914 to 1,523 m: 77 under 914 m: 29 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 1,611
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 68 914 to 1,523 m: 460 under 914 m: 1,081 (2006) |
Area | total: 242 sq km
land: 242 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes eight small islands in the Saint Pierre and the Miquelon groups |
total: 1,972,550 sq km
land: 1,923,040 sq km water: 49,510 sq km |
Area - comparative | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly less than three times the size of Texas |
Background | First settled by the French in the early 17th century, the islands represent the sole remaining vestige of France's once vast North American possessions. | 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. |
Birth rate | 13.52 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 20.69 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $70 million
expenditures: $60 million; including capital expenditures of $24 million (1996 est.) |
revenues: $181 billion
expenditures: $184 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005) |
Capital | name: Saint-Pierre
geographic coordinates: 46 46 N, 56 11 W time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November; note - these new dates become effective in 2007 |
name: Mexico (Distrito Federal)
geographic coordinates: 19 24 N, 99 09 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 four time zones |
Climate | cold and wet, with much mist and fog; spring and autumn are windy | varies from tropical to desert |
Coastline | 120 km | 9,330 km |
Constitution | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) | 5 February 1917 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territorial Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon
conventional short form: Saint Pierre and Miquelon local long form: Departement de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon local short form: Saint-Pierre et Miquelon |
conventional long form: United Mexican States
conventional short form: Mexico local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos local short form: Mexico |
Death rate | 6.83 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 4.74 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $137.2 billion (2005 est.) |
Dependency status | self-governing territorial collectivity of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territorial collectivity of France) | 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territorial collectivity of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Carlos Alberto DE ICAZA Gonzalez
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, 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, McAllen (Texas), Midland (Texas), Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), Presidio (Texas), Raleigh, Saint Paul (Minnesota), Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, Santa Ana (California), Seattle, Tucson, Yuma (Arizona) |
Disputes - international | none | prolonged drought, population growth, and outmoded practices and infrastructure in the border region have strained water-sharing arrangements with the US; the US has stepped up efforts to stem nationals from Mexico, Central America, and other parts of the world from illegally crossing the border with Mexico |
Economic aid - recipient | approximately $60 million in annual grants from France | $1.166 billion (1995) |
Economy - overview | The inhabitants have traditionally earned their livelihood by fishing and by servicing fishing fleets operating off the coast of Newfoundland. The economy has been declining, however, because of disputes with Canada over fishing quotas and a steady decline in the number of ships stopping at Saint Pierre. In 1992, an arbitration panel awarded the islands an exclusive economic zone of 12,348 sq km to settle a longstanding territorial dispute with Canada, although it represents only 25% of what France had sought. The islands are heavily subsidized by France to the great betterment of living standards. The government hopes an expansion of tourism will boost economic prospects. Recent test drilling for oil may pave the way for development of the energy sector. | Mexico has a free market economy that recently entered 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. The FOX administration is cognizant of the need to upgrade infrastructure, modernize the tax system and labor laws, and allow private investment in the energy sector, but has been unable to win the support of the opposition-led Congress. The next government that takes office in December 2006 will confront the same challenges of boosting economic growth, improving Mexico's international competitiveness, and reducing poverty. |
Electricity - consumption | 41.06 million kWh (2003) | 193.9 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 1.07 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 390.2 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 44.15 million kWh (2003) | 209.2 billion kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Morne de la Grande Montagne 240 m |
lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m
highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m |
Environment - current issues | recent test drilling for oil in waters around Saint Pierre and Miquelon may bring future development that would impact the environment | 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 |
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 |
Ethnic groups | Basques and Bretons (French fishermen) | mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1% |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) | Mexican pesos per US dollar - 10.898 (2005), 11.286 (2004), 10.789 (2003), 9.656 (2002), 9.342 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Yves FAUQUEUR (since 28 August 2006)
head of government: President of the General Council Marc PLANTAGENEST (since NA) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held, 21 April 2002 (first round) and 5 May 2002 (second round) (next to be held in 2007); prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the General Council is elected by the members of the council |
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 2 July 2006 (next to be held 1 July 2012) election results: Felipe CALDERON elected president; percent of vote - Felipe CALDERON (PAN) 35.89%, Andres Manuel Lopez OBRADOR (PRD) 35.31%, Roberto MADRAZO (PRI) 22.26%, other 6.54% |
Exports | NA bbl/day | 1.863 million bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | fish and fish products, soybeans, animal feed, mollusks and crustaceans, fox and mink pelts | manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton |
Exports - partners | Spain 33.6%, Belgium 21.8%, India 18.3%, France 9.4%, US 7.5% (2005) | US 85.7%, Canada 2%, Spain 1.4% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | a yellow sailing ship facing the hoist side rides on a dark blue background with yellow wavy lines under the ship; on the hoist side, a vertical band is divided into three parts: the top part (called ikkurina) is red with a green diagonal cross extending to the corners overlaid by a white cross dividing the rectangle into four sections; the middle part has a white background with an ermine pattern; the third part has a red background with two stylized yellow lions outlined in black, one above the other; these three heraldic arms represent settlement by colonists from the Basque Country (top), Brittany, and Normandy; the flag of France is used for official occasions | 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 |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 3.8%
industry: 25.9% services: 70.2% (2005 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 3% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 46 50 N, 56 20 W | 23 00 N, 102 00 W |
Geography - note | vegetation scanty | strategic location on southern border of US; corn (maize), one of the world's major grain crops, is thought to have originated in Mexico |
Heliports | - | 1 (2006) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 35.6% (2002) |
Illicit drugs | - | major drug-producing nation; cultivation of opium poppy in 2004 amounted to 3,500 hectares, but opium cultivation stayed within the range - between 3,500 and 5,500 hectares - observed in nine of the last 12 years; potential production of 9 metric tons of pure heroin, or 23 metric tons of "black tar" heroin, the dominant form of Mexican heroin in the western United States; marijuana cultivation decreased 23% to 5,800 hectares in 2004 after decade-high cultivation peak in 2003; potential production of 10,400 metric tons of marijuana in 2004; government conducts the largest independent illicit-crop eradication program in the world; 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, accounting for about 90% of estimated annual cocaine movement to the US; major drug syndicates control majority of drug trafficking throughout the country; producer and distributor of ecstasy; significant money-laundering center |
Imports | NA bbl/day | 205,000 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | meat, clothing, fuel, electrical equipment, machinery, building materials | metalworking machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts |
Imports - partners | France 51.3%, Canada 31.8%, Belgium 4.1% (2005) | US 53.4%, China 8%, Japan 5.9% (2005) |
Independence | none (territorial collectivity of France; has been under French control since 1763) | 16 September 1810 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 1.9% (2005 est.) |
Industries | fish processing and supply base for fishing fleets; tourism | food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 7.38 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.46 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 20.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.19 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.1% (1991-96 average) | 4% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU, WFTU | APEC, BCIE, BIS, CAN (observer), CDB, CE (observer), CSN (observer), EBRD, FAO, G-3, G-6, G-15, G-24, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAFTA, NAM (observer), NEA, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMOVIC, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | NA | 63,200 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Superior Tribunal of Appeals or Tribunal Superieur d'Appel | Supreme Court of Justice or Suprema Corte de Justicia Nacional (justices or ministros are appointed by the president with consent of the Senate) |
Labor force | 3,261 (1999) | 43.4 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 18%
industry: 41% services: 41% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 18%
industry: 24% services: 58% (2003) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 4,353 km
border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,141 km |
Land use | arable land: 12.5%
permanent crops: 0% other: 87.5% (2005) |
arable land: 12.66%
permanent crops: 1.28% other: 86.06% (2005) |
Languages | French (official) | Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages |
Legal system | French law with special adaptations for local conditions, such as housing and taxation | mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats - 15 from Saint Pierre and 4 from Miquelon; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: elections last held 19 and 26 March 2000 (next to be held in April 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PS 12, PRG 2, UDF-RPR 5 note: Saint Pierre and Miquelon elect 1 seat to the French Senate; elections last held 26 September 2004 (next to be held in September 2013); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 1; Saint Pierre and Miquelon also elects 1 seat to the French National Assembly; elections last held, first round - 9 June 2002, second round - 16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UDF 1 |
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 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 29, PVEM 6, CD 5, PT 2, PNA 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PAN 206, PRD 127, PRI 103, PVEM 18, CD 17, PT 16, other 13; note - election results pending certification |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.61 years
male: 76.27 years female: 81.06 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 75.41 years
male: 72.63 years female: 78.33 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (1982 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.2% male: 94% female: 90.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Northern North America, islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Newfoundland (Canada) | 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 |
Map references | North America | North America |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
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: 56 ships (1000 GRT or over) 751,607 GRT/1,129,234 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 6, chemical tanker 6, liquefied gas 4, passenger/cargo 9, petroleum tanker 25, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 5 (Denmark 2, France 1, Norway 1, UAE 1) registered in other countries: 15 (Belize 1, Honduras 1, Liberia 1, Panama 5, Portugal 1, Spain 3, Venezuela 3) (2006) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
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) (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $6.07 billion (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 0.8% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Independence Day, 16 September (1810) |
Nationality | noun: Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women)
adjective: French |
noun: Mexican(s)
adjective: Mexican |
Natural hazards | persistent fog throughout the year can be a maritime hazard | 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 |
Natural resources | fish, deepwater ports | petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber |
Net migration rate | -4.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | -4.32 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) |
Political parties and leaders | Left Radical Party or PRG; Rassemblement pour la Republique or RPR (now UMP); Socialist Party or PS; Union pour la Democratie Francaise or UDF | Convergence for Democracy or CD [Dante DELGADO Ranauro]; Institutional Revolutionary Party (Institutional Revolutionary Party) or PRI [leader NA]; Mexican Green Ecological Party or PVEM [Jorge Emilio GONZALEZ Martinez]; National Action Party (Partido Accion Nacional) or PAN [Manuel ESPINO Barrientos]; New Alliance Party (Partido Nueva Alianza) or PNA [Miguel Angel JIMENEZ Godines]; Party of the Democratic Revolution (Partido de la Revolucion Democratica) or PRD [Leonel COTA Montano]; Workers Party or PT [Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | 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 |
Population | 7,026 (July 2006 est.) | 107,449,525 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 40% (2003 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.17% (2006 est.) | 1.16% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 850, FM 545, shortwave 15 (2003) |
Railways | - | total: 17,562 km
standard gauge: 17,562 km 1.435-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 99% | nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%, other 5% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced) |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate
domestic: NA international: country code - 508; radiotelephone communication with most countries in the world; 1 earth station in French domestic satellite system |
general assessment: low telephone density with about 18 main lines per 100 persons; privatized in December 1990; the opening to competition in January 1997 improved prospects for development, but Telmex remains dominant
domestic: 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 international: country code - 52; 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; high capacity Columbus-2 fiber-optic submarine cable with access to the US, Virgin Islands, Canary Islands, Morocco, Spain, and Italy (2005) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 4,800 (2002) | 19.512 million (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 47.462 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (there are, however, two repeaters which rebroadcast programs from France, Canada, and the US) (1997) | 236 (plus repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly barren rock | high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert |
Total fertility rate | 2.01 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 2.42 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10.3% (1999) | 3.6% plus underemployment of perhaps 25% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | - | 2,900 km (navigable rivers and coastal canals) (2005) |