Singapore (2001) | Mexico (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | none | 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:
17.89% (male 397,124; female 372,058) 15-64 years: 75.16% (male 1,575,381; female 1,656,838) 65 years and over: 6.95% (male 130,815; female 168,203) (2001 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | rubber, copra, fruit, orchids, vegetables; poultry, eggs, fish, ornamental fish | corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products |
Airports | 9 (2000 est.) | 1,823 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
9 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
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) |
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) |
Area | total:
647.5 sq km land: 637.5 sq km water: 10 sq km |
total: 1,972,550 sq km
land: 1,923,040 sq km water: 49,510 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly less than three times the size of Texas |
Background | Founded as a British trading colony in 1819, Singapore joined Malaysia in 1963, but withdrew two years later and became independent. It subsequently became one of the world's most prosperous countries, with strong international trading links (its port is one of the world's busiest) and with per capita GDP above that of the leading nations of Western Europe. | 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 | 12.8 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 21.92 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$18.1 billion expenditures: $17.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $9.5 billion (FY99/00 est.) |
revenues: $136 billion
expenditures: $140 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Singapore | Mexico (Distrito Federal) |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid, rainy; two distinct monsoon seasons - Northeastern monsoon from December to March and Southwestern monsoon from June to September; inter-monsoon - frequent afternoon and early evening thunderstorms | varies from tropical to desert |
Coastline | 193 km | 9,330 km |
Constitution | 3 June 1959, amended 1965 (based on preindependence State of Singapore Constitution) | 5 February 1917 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Singapore conventional short form: Singapore |
conventional long form: United Mexican States
conventional short form: Mexico local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos local short form: Mexico |
Currency | Singapore dollar (SGD) | Mexican peso (MXN) |
Death rate | 4.24 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.97 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $9.7 billion (2000) | $150 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant) embassy: 27 Napier Road, Singapore 258508 mailing address: PSC Box 470, FPO AP 96534-0001 telephone: [65] 476-9100 FAX: [65] 476-9340 |
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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador CHAN Heng Chee chancery: 3501 International Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 537-3100 FAX: [1] (202) 537-0876 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, San Francisco consulate(s): New York |
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) |
Disputes - international | Pedra Branca Island (Pulau Batu Putih) disputed with Malaysia | prolonged regional drought in the border region with the US has strained water-sharing arrangements |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $1.166 billion (1995) |
Economy - overview | Singapore is blessed with a highly developed and successful free-market economy, a remarkably open and corruption-free business environment, stable prices, and the fifth highest per capita GDP in the world. Exports, particularly in electronics and chemicals, and services are the main drivers of the economy. Mainly because of robust exports, especially electronic goods, the economy grew 10.1% in 2000. Forecasters, however, are projecting only 4%-6% growth in 2001 largely because of weaker global demand, especially in the US. The government promotes high levels of savings and investment through a mandatory savings scheme and spends heavily in education and technology. It also owns government-linked companies (GLCs) - particularly in manufacturing - that operate as commercial entities. As Singapore looks to a future increasingly marked by globalization, the country is positioning itself as the region's financial and high-tech hub. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 25.464 billion kWh (1999) | 186.7 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 77 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 2.068 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 27.381 billion kWh (1999) | 198.6 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 78.7%
hydro: 14.2% nuclear: 4.2% other: 2.9% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Singapore Strait 0 m highest point: Bukit Timah 166 m |
lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m
highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m |
Environment - current issues | industrial pollution; limited natural fresh water resources; limited land availability presents waste disposal problems; seasonal smoke/haze resulting from forest fires in Indonesia | 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Chinese 76.7%, Malay 14%, Indian 7.9%, other 1.4% | mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1% |
Exchange rates | Singapore dollars per US dollar - 1.7365 (January 2001), 1.7240 (2000), 1.6950 (1999), 1.6736 (1998), 1.4848 (1997), 1.4100 (1996) | Mexican pesos per US dollar - 9.66 (2002), 9.34 (2001), 9.46 (2000), 9.56 (1999), 9.14 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Sellapan Rama (S. R.) NATHAN (since 1 September 1999) head of government: Prime Minister GOH Chok Tong (since 28 November 1990) and Deputy Prime Ministers LEE Hsien Loong (since 28 November 1990) and Tony TAN Keng Yam (since 1 August 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president, responsible to Parliament elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 28 August 1999 (next to be held NA August 2005); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president; deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Sellapan Rama (S. R.) NATHAN elected president unopposed |
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% |
Exports | $137 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | 1.881 million bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment (including electronics), chemicals, mineral fuels | manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton |
Exports - partners | US 19%, Malaysia 17%, Hong Kong 8%, Japan 7%, Taiwan 5%, Thailand 4%, UK 4%, Netherlands 3.8%, China 3%, South Korea 3%, Germany 3% (1999) | US 82.7%, Canada 5.4%, Japan 1.1% (2002) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; near the hoist side of the red band, there is a vertical, white crescent (closed portion is toward the hoist side) partially enclosing five white five-pointed stars arranged in a circle | 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 | purchasing power parity - $109.8 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $924.4 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NEGL% industry: 30% services: 70% |
agriculture: 5%
industry: 26% services: 69% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $26,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,900 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 10.1% (2000 est.) | 0.7% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 22 N, 103 48 E | 23 00 N, 102 00 W |
Geography - note | focal point for Southeast Asian sea routes | 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 (2000 est.) | 2 (2002) |
Highways | total:
3,150 km paved: 3,066 km (including 150 km of expressways) unpaved: 84 km (2000) |
total: 329,532 km
paved: 108,087 km (including 6,429 km of expressways) unpaved: 221,445 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 41.1% (2001) |
Illicit drugs | as a transportation and financial services hub, Singapore is vulnerable, despite strict laws and enforcement, to use as a transit point for Golden Triangle heroin and as a venue for money laundering | 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 | $127 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | 374,700 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs | metalworking machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts |
Imports - partners | US 17%, Japan 17%, Malaysia 16%, Thailand 5%, China 5%, Taiwan 4%, Germany 3%, Saudi Arabia 3% (1999) | US 70.6%, Germany 3.5%, Japan 2.7% (2002) |
Independence | 9 August 1965 (from Malaysia) | 16 September 1810 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 14% (2000 est.) | 4.9% (2002 est.) |
Industries | electronics, chemicals, financial services, oil drilling equipment, petroleum refining, rubber processing and rubber products, processed food and beverages, ship repair, entrepot trade, biotechnology | food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 3.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 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.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.4% (2000) | 6.4% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, Australia Group (observer), BIS, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNTAET, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 9 (2000) | 51 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 65,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the president with the advice of the prime minister, other judges are appointed by the president with the advice of the chief justice); Court of Appeals | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are appointed by the president with consent of the Senate) |
Labor force | 2.1 million (2000) | 39.8 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | financial, business, and other services 35%, manufacturing 21%, construction 13%, transportation and communication 9% | agriculture 20%, industry 24%, services 56% (1998) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 4,353 km
border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,141 km |
Land use | arable land:
2% permanent crops: 6% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 5% other: 87% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 13.2%
permanent crops: 1.1% other: 85.7% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Chinese (official), Malay (official and national), Tamil (official), English (official) | Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages |
Legal system | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament (83 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 2 January 1997 (next to be held by 26 August 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - PAP 65% (in contested constituencies), other 35%; seats by party - PAP 81, WP 1, SPP 1; note - subsequent to the election, there was a change in the distribution of seats, the new distribution is as follows: PAP 80, WP 1, SPP 1, vacant 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 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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
80.17 years male: 77.22 years female: 83.35 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 72.3 years
male: 69.26 years female: 75.49 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 93.5% male: 97% female: 89.8% (1999) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.2% male: 94% female: 90.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia | 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 | Southeast Asia | North America |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone:
within and beyond territorial sea, as defined in treaties and practice territorial sea: 3 NM |
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 |
Merchant marine | total:
879 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 20,849,168 GRT/33,215,317 DWT ships by type: bulk 134, cargo 111, chemical tanker 63, combination bulk 10, combination ore/oil 6, container 167, liquefied gas 28, livestock carrier 2, multi-functional large-load carrier 4, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 295, refrigerated cargo 7, roll on/roll off 7, short-sea passenger 1, specialized tanker 10, vehicle carrier 33 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 1, Bermuda 12, Belgium 6, China 9, Denmark 29, Germany 8, Greece 1, Hong Kong 20, Indonesia 9, Japan 32, South Korea 3, Netherlands 2, Norway 9, Russia 1, Sweden 22, Thailand 22, Taiwan 17, UK 3, US 10 (2000 est.) |
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.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, People's Defense Force, Police Force | National Defense Secretariat (SEDENA) (including Army and Air Force), Navy Secretariat (including Naval Air and Marines) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $5 billion (FY00/01 est.) | $4 billion (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.5% (FY00/01 est.) | 1% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,316,815 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 27,751,539 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
959,636 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 20,123,970 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age
note: starting in 2000, females were allowed to volunteer for military service (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 1,093,752 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 9 August (1965) | Independence Day, 16 September (1810) |
Nationality | noun:
Singaporean(s) adjective: Singapore |
noun: Mexican(s)
adjective: Mexican |
Natural hazards | NA | 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 | 26.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -2.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 28,200 km; petroleum products 10,150 km; natural gas 13,254 km; petrochemical 1,400 km |
Political parties and leaders | People's Action Party or PAP [GOH Chok Tong, secretary general] - the governing party; Singapore Democratic Party or SDP [CHEE Soon Juan]; Singapore People's Party or SPP [CHIAM See Tong]; Workers' Party or WP [J. B. JEYARETNAM] | 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] |
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 | 4,300,419 (July 2001 est.) | 104,907,991 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 40% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.5% (2001 est.) | 1.43% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Singapore | Acapulco, Altamira, Coatzacoalcos, Ensenada, Guaymas, La Paz, Lazaro Cardenas, Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Progreso, Salina Cruz, Tampico, Topolobampo, Tuxpan, Veracruz |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 16, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 851, FM 598, shortwave 16 (2000) |
Radios | 2.6 million (2000) | - |
Railways | total:
38.6 km narrow gauge: 38.6 km 1.000-m gauge note: there is a 83 km mass transit system with 48 stations |
total: 19,510 km
standard gauge: 19,510 km 1.435-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Buddhist (Chinese), Muslim (Malays), Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Taoist, Confucianist | nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%, other 5% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.08 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
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.) |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced) |
Telephone system | general assessment:
major consideration given to serving business interests; excellent international service domestic: excellent domestic facilities international: submarine cables to Malaysia (Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia), Indonesia, and the Philippines; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean), and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific Ocean region) |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.928 million (November 2000) | 12.332 million (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2.333 million (November 2000) | 2.02 million (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (2000) | 236 (plus repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | lowland; gently undulating central plateau contains water catchment area and nature preserve | high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert |
Total fertility rate | 1.22 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.53 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 3% (2000 est.) | urban - 3% plus considerable underemployment (2002) |
Waterways | none | 2,900 km
note: navigable rivers and coastal canals |