{ "Introduction": { "Background": { "text": "
Mexico was the site of several advanced Amerindian civilizations -- including the Olmec, Toltec, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Maya, and Aztec -- until Spain conquered and colonized the area in the early 16th century. Administered as the Viceroyalty of New Spain for three centuries, it achieved independence early in the 19th century. Elections held in 2000 marked the first time since Mexican Revolution in 1910 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, but Enrique PEÑA NIETO regained the presidency for the PRI in 2012. Left-leaning anti-establishment politician and former mayor of Mexico City (2000-05) Andrés Manuel LÓPEZ OBRADOR, from the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), became president in 2018.
The US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA, or T-MEC by its Spanish acronym) entered into force in 2020 and replaced its predecessor, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Mexico amended its constitution in 2019 to facilitate the implementation of the labor components of USMCA.
Mexico is currently the US's second-largest goods trading partner, after Canada. Ongoing economic and social concerns include low real wages, high underemployment, inequitable income distribution, and few advancement opportunities, particularly for the largely indigenous population in the impoverished southern states. Since 2007, Mexico's powerful transnational criminal organizations have engaged in a struggle to control criminal markets, resulting in tens of thousands of drug-related homicides and forced disappearances.
" } }, "Geography": { "Location": { "text": "North America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of America, between Belize and the United States and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the United States" }, "Geographic coordinates": { "text": "23 00 N, 102 00 W" }, "Map references": { "text": "North America" }, "Area": { "total ": { "text": "1,964,375 sq km" }, "land": { "text": "1,943,945 sq km" }, "water": { "text": "20,430 sq km" } }, "Area - comparative": { "text": "slightly less than three times the size of Texas" }, "Land boundaries": { "total": { "text": "4,389 km" }, "border countries": { "text": "Belize 276 km; Guatemala 958 km; US 3,155 km" } }, "Coastline": { "text": "9,330 km" }, "Maritime claims": { "territorial sea": { "text": "12 nm" }, "contiguous zone": { "text": "24 nm" }, "exclusive economic zone": { "text": "200 nm" }, "continental shelf": { "text": "200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin" } }, "Climate": { "text": "varies from tropical to desert" }, "Terrain": { "text": "high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert" }, "Elevation": { "highest point": { "text": "Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,636 m" }, "lowest point": { "text": "Laguna Salada -10 m" }, "mean elevation": { "text": "1,111 m" } }, "Natural resources": { "text": "petroleum, silver, antimony, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber" }, "Land use": { "agricultural land": { "text": "54.9% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: arable land": { "text": "arable land: 11.8% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent crops": { "text": "permanent crops: 1.4% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent pasture": { "text": "permanent pasture: 41.7% (2018 est.)" }, "forest": { "text": "33.3% (2018 est.)" }, "other": { "text": "11.8% (2018 est.)" } }, "Irrigated land": { "text": "60,620 sq km (2020)" }, "Major lakes (area sq km)": { "fresh water lake(s)": { "text": "Laguna de Chapala - 1,140 sq km" }, "salt water lake(s)": { "text": "Laguna de Terminos - 1,550 sq km" } }, "Major rivers (by length in km)": { "text": "Rio Grande river mouth (shared with US [s]) - 3,057 km; Colorado river mouth (shared with US [s]) - 2,333 kmtsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Pacific, Gulf of America, and Caribbean coasts
volcanism: volcanic activity in the central-southern part of the country; the volcanoes in Baja California are mostly dormant; Colima (3,850 m), which erupted in 2010, is Mexico's most active volcano and is responsible for causing periodic evacuations of nearby villagers; it has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; Popocatepetl (5,426 m) poses a threat to Mexico City; other historically active volcanoes include Barcena, Ceboruco, El Chichon, Michoacan-Guanajuato, Pico de Orizaba, San Martin, Socorro, and Tacana; see note 2 under \"Geography - note\"
" }, "Geography - note": { "text": "note 1: strategic location on southern border of the US; Mexico is one of the countries along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; up to 90% of the world's earthquakes and some 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire
note 2: some of the world's most important food crops were first domesticated in Mexico; the \"Three Sisters\" companion plants -- winter squash, maize (corn), and climbing beans -- served as the main agricultural crops for various North American Indian groups; all three apparently originated in Mexico but then were widely disseminated through much of North America; avocado, amaranth, and chili peppers also emanate from Mexico, as does vanilla, the world's most popular aroma and flavor spice; although cherry tomatoes originated in Ecuador, their domestication in Mexico transformed them into the larger modern tomato
note 3: the Sac Actun cave system at 348 km (216 mi) is the longest underwater cave in the world and the second longest cave worldwide, after Mammoth Cave in the United States (see \"Geography - note\" under United States)
note 4: the prominent Yucatán Peninsula that divides the Gulf of America from the Caribbean Sea is shared by Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize; just on the northern coast of Yucatan, near the town of Chicxulub (pronounce cheek-sha-loob), lie the remnants of a massive crater (some 150 km in diameter and extending well out into the Gulf of America); formed by an asteroid or comet when it struck the earth 66 million years ago, the impact is now widely accepted as initiating a worldwide climate disruption that caused a mass extinction of 75% of all the earth's plant and animal species -- including the non-avian dinosaurs
Citizen's Movement (Movimiento Ciudadano) or MC
Institutional Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario Institucional) or PRI
Labor Party (Partido del Trabajo) or PT
Mexican Green Ecological Party (Partido Verde Ecologista de México) or PVEM
Movement for National Regeneration (Movimiento Regeneración Nacional) or MORENA
National Action Party (Partido Acción Nacional) or PAN
Party of the Democratic Revolution (Partido de la Revolución Democrática) or PRD
This Is For Mexico (Va Por México) (alliance that includes PAN, PRI, and PRD)
Together We Make History (Juntos Hacemos Historia) (alliance that included MORENA, PT, PVEM) (dissolved 23 December 2020)
upper-middle income economy; highly integrated with US via trade and nearshore manufacturing; low unemployment; inflation gradually decreasing amid tight monetary policy; state intervention in energy sector and public infrastructure projects; challenges from income inequality, corruption, and cartel-based violence
" }, "Real GDP (purchasing power parity)": { "Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2023": { "text": "$2.873 trillion (2023 est.)" }, "Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2022": { "text": "$2.784 trillion (2022 est.)" }, "Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2021": { "text": "$2.685 trillion (2021 est.)" }, "note": "note: data in 2021 dollars" }, "Real GDP growth rate": { "Real GDP growth rate 2023": { "text": "3.2% (2023 est.)" }, "Real GDP growth rate 2022": { "text": "3.69% (2022 est.)" }, "Real GDP growth rate 2021": { "text": "5.74% (2021 est.)" }, "note": "note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency" }, "Real GDP per capita": { "Real GDP per capita 2023": { "text": "$22,100 (2023 est.)" }, "Real GDP per capita 2022": { "text": "$21,600 (2022 est.)" }, "Real GDP per capita 2021": { "text": "$21,000 (2021 est.)" }, "note": "note: data in 2021 dollars" }, "GDP (official exchange rate)": { "text": "$1.789 trillion (2023 est.)", "note": "note: data in current dollars at official exchange rate" }, "Inflation rate (consumer prices)": { "Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2023": { "text": "5.53% (2023 est.)" }, "Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2022": { "text": "7.9% (2022 est.)" }, "Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2021": { "text": "5.69% (2021 est.)" }, "note": "note: annual % change based on consumer prices" }, "Credit ratings": { "Fitch rating": { "text": "BBB- (2020)" }, "Moody's rating": { "text": "Baa1 (2020)" }, "Standard & Poors rating": { "text": "BBB (2020)" }, "note": "note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained." }, "GDP - composition, by sector of origin": { "agriculture": { "text": "3.8% (2023 est.)" }, "industry": { "text": "31.6% (2023 est.)" }, "services": { "text": "58.6% (2023 est.)" }, "note": "note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data" }, "GDP - composition, by end use": { "household consumption": { "text": "70.3% (2023 est.)" }, "government consumption": { "text": "11.1% (2023 est.)" }, "investment in fixed capital": { "text": "24.3% (2023 est.)" }, "investment in inventories": { "text": "0.3% (2023 est.)" }, "exports of goods and services": { "text": "36% (2023 est.)" }, "imports of goods and services": { "text": "-37.2% (2023 est.)" }, "note": "note: figures may not total 100% due to rounding or gaps in data collection" }, "Agricultural products": { "text": "sugarcane, maize, milk, oranges, sorghum, tomatoes, chicken, wheat, chilies/peppers, lemons/limes (2022)", "note": "note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage" }, "Industries": { "text": "food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism" }, "Industrial production growth rate": { "text": "3.51% (2023 est.)", "note": "note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency" }, "Labor force": { "text": "59.925 million (2023 est.)", "note": "note: number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work" }, "Unemployment rate": { "Unemployment rate 2023": { "text": "2.81% (2023 est.)" }, "Unemployment rate 2022": { "text": "3.26% (2022 est.)" }, "Unemployment rate 2021": { "text": "4.02% (2021 est.)" }, "note": "note: % of labor force seeking employment" }, "Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)": { "total": { "text": "6.1% (2023 est.)" }, "male": { "text": "5.8% (2023 est.)" }, "female": { "text": "6.7% (2023 est.)" }, "note": "note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment" }, "Population below poverty line": { "text": "36.3% (2022 est.)", "note": "note: % of population with income below national poverty line" }, "Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income": { "Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income 2022": { "text": "43.5 (2022 est.)" }, "note": "note: index (0-100) of income distribution; higher values represent greater inequality" }, "Average household expenditures": { "on food": { "text": "25.7% of household expenditures (2023 est.)" }, "on alcohol and tobacco": { "text": "2.3% of household expenditures (2023 est.)" } }, "Household income or consumption by percentage share": { "lowest 10%": { "text": "2.1% (2022 est.)" }, "highest 10%": { "text": "34.4% (2022 est.)" }, "note": "note: % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population" }, "Remittances": { "Remittances 2023": { "text": "3.7% of GDP (2023 est.)" }, "Remittances 2022": { "text": "4.2% of GDP (2022 est.)" }, "Remittances 2021": { "text": "4.18% of GDP (2021 est.)" }, "note": "note: personal transfers and compensation between resident and non-resident individuals/households/entities" }, "Budget": { "revenues": { "text": "$282.751 billion (2022 est.)" }, "expenditures": { "text": "$327.211 billion (2022 est.)" }, "note": "note: central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenses converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated" }, "Public debt": { "Public debt 2023": { "text": "45.26% of GDP (2023 est.)" }, "note": "note: central government debt as a % of GDP" }, "Taxes and other revenues": { "text": "14.27% (of GDP) (2023 est.)", "note": "note: central government tax revenue as a % of GDP" }, "Current account balance": { "Current account balance 2023": { "text": "-$5.477 billion (2023 est.)" }, "Current account balance 2022": { "text": "-$17.599 billion (2022 est.)" }, "Current account balance 2021": { "text": "-$4.494 billion (2021 est.)" }, "note": "note: balance of payments - net trade and primary/secondary income in current dollars" }, "Exports": { "Exports 2023": { "text": "$649.729 billion (2023 est.)" }, "Exports 2022": { "text": "$630.347 billion (2022 est.)" }, "Exports 2021": { "text": "$537.714 billion (2021 est.)" }, "note": "note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars" }, "Exports - partners": { "text": "US 77%, Canada 4%, China 2%, Taiwan 1%, South Korea 1% (2022)", "note": "note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports" }, "Exports - commodities": { "text": "cars, computers, vehicle parts/accessories, crude petroleum, trucks (2022)", "note": "note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars" }, "Imports": { "Imports 2023": { "text": "$674.695 billion (2023 est.)" }, "Imports 2022": { "text": "$672.914 billion (2022 est.)" }, "Imports 2021": { "text": "$560.842 billion (2021 est.)" }, "note": "note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars" }, "Imports - partners": { "text": "US 56%, China 17%, Germany 3%, South Korea 3%, Japan 2% (2022)", "note": "note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports" }, "Imports - commodities": { "text": "refined petroleum, vehicle parts/accessories, machine parts, integrated circuits, natural gas (2022)", "note": "note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars" }, "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": { "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2023": { "text": "$214.317 billion (2023 est.)" }, "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2022": { "text": "$201.119 billion (2022 est.)" }, "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2021": { "text": "$207.799 billion (2021 est.)" }, "note": "note: holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars" }, "Debt - external": { "Debt - external 2023": { "text": "$313.204 billion (2023 est.)" }, "note": "note: present value of external debt in current US dollars" }, "Exchange rates": { "Currency": { "text": "Mexican pesos (MXN) per US dollar -" }, "Exchange rates 2023": { "text": "17.759 (2023 est.)" }, "Exchange rates 2022": { "text": "20.127 (2022 est.)" }, "Exchange rates 2021": { "text": "20.272 (2021 est.)" }, "Exchange rates 2020": { "text": "21.486 (2020 est.)" }, "Exchange rates 2019": { "text": "19.264 (2019 est.)" } } }, "Energy": { "Electricity access": { "electrification - total population": { "text": "100% (2022 est.)" }, "electrification - urban areas": { "text": "99.8%" }, "electrification - rural areas": { "text": "100%" } }, "Electricity": { "installed generating capacity": { "text": "104.318 million kW (2022 est.)" }, "consumption": { "text": "296.969 billion kWh (2022 est.)" }, "exports": { "text": "1.447 billion kWh (2022 est.)" }, "imports": { "text": "4.551 billion kWh (2022 est.)" }, "transmission/distribution losses": { "text": "39.275 billion kWh (2022 est.)" } }, "Electricity generation sources": { "fossil fuels": { "text": "75% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)" }, "nuclear": { "text": "3.2% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)" }, "solar": { "text": "3.5% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)" }, "wind": { "text": "6.1% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)" }, "hydroelectricity": { "text": "10.2% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)" }, "geothermal": { "text": "1.5% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)" }, "biomass and waste": { "text": "0.6% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)" } }, "Nuclear energy": { "Number of operational nuclear reactors": { "text": "2 (2023)" }, "Net capacity of operational nuclear reactors": { "text": "1.55GW (2023 est.)" }, "Percent of total electricity production": { "text": "4.9% (2023 est.)" } }, "Coal": { "production": { "text": "7.453 million metric tons (2022 est.)" }, "consumption": { "text": "18.423 million metric tons (2022 est.)" }, "exports": { "text": "2,000 metric tons (2022 est.)" }, "imports": { "text": "9.917 million metric tons (2022 est.)" }, "proven reserves": { "text": "1.211 billion metric tons (2022 est.)" } }, "Petroleum": { "total petroleum production": { "text": "2.101 million bbl/day (2023 est.)" }, "refined petroleum consumption": { "text": "1.737 million bbl/day (2023 est.)" }, "crude oil estimated reserves": { "text": "5.786 billion barrels (2021 est.)" } }, "Natural gas": { "production": { "text": "31.422 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)" }, "consumption": { "text": "90.566 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)" }, "exports": { "text": "30.129 million cubic meters (2022 est.)" }, "imports": { "text": "59.436 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)" }, "proven reserves": { "text": "180.322 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)" } }, "Carbon dioxide emissions": { "total emissions": { "text": "453.6 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)" }, "from coal and metallurgical coke": { "text": "38.781 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)" }, "from petroleum and other liquids": { "text": "246.324 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)" }, "from consumed natural gas": { "text": "168.494 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)" } }, "Energy consumption per capita": { "Total energy consumption per capita 2022": { "text": "59.319 million Btu/person (2022 est.)" } } }, "Communications": { "Telephones - fixed lines": { "total subscriptions": { "text": "25.637 million (2023 est.)" }, "subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": { "text": "20 (2023 est.)" } }, "Telephones - mobile cellular": { "total subscriptions": { "text": "140 million (2023 est.)" }, "subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": { "text": "100 (2022 est.)" } }, "Telecommunication systems": { "general assessment": { "text": "with a large population and relatively low broadband and mobile penetration, (86 lines for mobile broadband for every 100 habitants in June 2021) Mexico’s telecom sector has potential for growth; adequate telephone service for business and government; improving quality and increasing mobile cellular availability, with mobile subscribers far outnumbering fixed-line subscribers (24.6 million fixed line subscribers and 125 million mobile line subscribers in June 2021); relatively low broadband and mobile penetration, potential for growth and international investment; extensive microwave radio relay network; considerable use of fiber-optic cable and coaxial cable; 5G development slow in part due to high costs (2021)" }, "domestic": { "text": "fixed-line teledensity 19 lines per every 100; mobile-cellular teledensity is 98 per 100 persons (2021)" }, "international": { "text": "country code - 52; Columbus-2 fiber-optic submarine cable with access to the US, Virgin Islands, Canary Islands, Spain, and Italy; the ARCOS-1 and the MAYA-1 submarine cable system together provide access to Central America, parts of South America and the Caribbean, and the U.S.; Pan-American Crossing (PAC) submarine cable system provides access to Panama, California, U.S., and Costa Rica; Lazaro Cardenas-Manzanillo Santiago submarines cable system (LCMSSCS) provides access to Michoacan, Guerrero, and Colima, Mexico; AMX-1 submarine cable system with access to Colombia, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Gulf of California Cable submarine cable systems that connects La Paz, Baja California Sur and Topolobambo, Sinaloa; and Aurora submarine cable system provides access to Guatemala, Panama, Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico, and the U.S. satellite earth stations - 124 (36 Intelsat, 1 Solidaridad (giving Mexico improved access to South America, Central America, and much of the US as well as enhancing domestic communications), 9 Panamsat, numerous Inmarsat mobile earth stations); linked to Central American Microwave System of trunk connections (2022)" } }, "Broadcast media": { "text": "telecom reform in 2013 enabled the creation of new broadcast television channels after decades of a quasi-monopoly; Mexico has 885 TV stations and 1,841 radio stations and most are privately owned; the Televisa group once had a virtual monopoly in TV broadcasting, but new broadcasting groups and foreign satellite and cable operators are now available; in 2016, Mexico became the first country in Latin America to complete the transition from analog to digital transmissions, allowing for better image and audio quality and a wider selection of programming from networks (2022)" }, "Internet country code": { "text": ".mx" }, "Internet users": { "percent of population": { "text": "81% (2023 est.)" } }, "Broadband - fixed subscriptions": { "total": { "text": "26.6 million (2023 est.)" }, "subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": { "text": "21 (2023 est.)" } } }, "Transportation": { "National air transport system": { "number of registered air carriers": { "text": "16 (2020)" }, "inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers": { "text": "370" }, "annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers": { "text": "64,569,640 (2018)" }, "annual freight traffic on registered air carriers": { "text": "1,090,380,000 (2018) mt-km" } }, "Civil aircraft registration country code prefix": { "text": "XA" }, "Airports": { "text": "1,485 (2024)" }, "Heliports": { "text": "460 (2024)" }, "Pipelines": { "text": "17,210 km natural gas (2022), 9,757 km oil (2017), 10,237 km refined products (2020)" }, "Railways": { "total": { "text": "23,389 km (2017)" }, "standard gauge": { "text": "23,389 km (2017) 1.435-m gauge (27 km electrified)" } }, "Roadways": { "total": { "text": "704,884 km" }, "paved": { "text": "175,526 km (includes 10,845 km of expressways)" }, "unpaved": { "text": "529,358 km (2017)" } }, "Waterways": { "text": "2,900 km (2012) (navigable rivers and coastal canals mostly connected with ports on the country's east coast)" }, "Merchant marine": { "total": { "text": "674 (2023)" }, "by type": { "text": "bulk carrier 4, general cargo 11, oil tanker 32, other 627" } }, "Ports": { "total ports": { "text": "35 (2024)" }, "large": { "text": "0" }, "medium": { "text": "7" }, "small": { "text": "10" }, "very small": { "text": "14" }, "size unknown": { "text": "4" }, "ports with oil terminals": { "text": "21" }, "key ports": { "text": "Acapulco, Ensenada, Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Tampico, Tuxpan, Veracruz" } } }, "Military and Security": { "Military and security forces": { "text": "the Mexican Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas de México) are divided between the Secretariat of National Defense and the Secretariat of the Navy:significant source and transit country for fentanyl, fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills, other synthetic opioids, cocaine from South America, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine destined for the United States; a destination for synthetic drug precursor chemicals from China, India, and other countries
" } } }