Data at glance of Mexico - average on period

History

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.

Environment

Area: 1,964,375 sq km km2

Climate: varies from tropical to desert

Natural resources: petroleum, silver, antimony, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber

Ethnic characteristics

Groups: Mestizo (Indigenous-Spanish) 62%, predominantly Indigenous 21%, Indigenous 7%, other 10% (mostly European) (2012 est.)

Languages: Spanish only 93.8%, Spanish and indigenous languages (including Mayan, Nahuatl, and others) 5.4%, indigenous only 0.6%, unspecified 0.2% (2020 est.)

Religions: Catholic 77.7%, no religion 10.6%, other Evangelical Churches 7.5%, Jehovah Witness 1.2%; less than 1 percent: Pentecostal, Seventh Day Adventist, Historics, not specified, Latter Day Saints, other religions  (2020 est.)

Government

Capital: Mexico City (Ciudad de Mexico)

Government type: federal presidential republic

Executive branch

Chief of state: President Claudia SHEINBAUM Pardo (since 1 October 2024)

Head of government: President Claudia SHEINBAUM Pardo (since 1 October 2024)

Legislative branch

Description: Congress of the Union (Congreso de la Unión) - bicameral

Industries

food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism

GDP by sector: Agriculture: 3.8% (2024 est.), Industry: 31.6% (2024 est.), Services: 58.2% (2024 est.)

Trade

Export partners: USA 76%, Canada 5%, China 2%, Germany 2%, Spain 1% (2023)

Export commodities: cars, vehicle parts/accessories, crude petroleum, trucks, computers (2023)

Import partners: USA 46%, China 20%, Germany 4%, Japan 3%, S. Korea 3% (2023)

Import commodities: vehicle parts/accessories, refined petroleum, integrated circuits, broadcasting equipment, cars (2023)

Geography

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

Defence

Military expenditure: 2024: 0.9% of GDP (2024 est.)