Mexico | Facts & Information

Updated October 30, 2022 | Infoplease Staff

Infoplease has everything you need to know about Mexico. Check out our country profile, full of essential information about Mexico's geography, history, government, economy, population, culture, religion and languages. If that's not enough, click over to our collection of world maps and flags.

Facts & Figures

  • President: Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (2018)

    Land area: 750,561 sq mi (1,943,945 sq km); total area: 758,449 sq mi (1,964,375 sq km)

    Population (2022 est.): 129,150,971 (growth rate: 0.51%); birth rate: 13.55/1000; infant mortality rate: 11.86/1000; life expectancy: 72.32

    Capital and largest city (2022 est.): Mexico City, 22.085 million

    Other large cities: Other large cities: Guadalajara 5.340 million; Monterrey 5.037 million; Puebla 3.295 million; Tijuana 2.221 million; Toluca de Lerdo 2.576 million (2022)

    Monetary unit: Mexican peso

    Official name: Estados Unidos Mexicanos

    Current government officials

    Languages: Spanish only 93.8%, Spanish and indigenous languages 5.4%, indigenous only 0.6%, unspecified 0.2%; note - indigenous languages include various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional languages (2020 est.)

    Ethnicity/race: Mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 62%, predominantly Amerindian 21%, Amerindian 7%, other 10% (mostly European) (2012 est.)

    Religions: Roman Catholic 78%, Protestant/evangelical Christian 11.2%, other 0.002%, unaffiliated (includes atheism) 10.6% (2020 est.)

    National Holiday: Independence Day, September 16

    Literacy rate: 95.2% (2020 est.)

    Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2020 est.): $2,306,320,000,000; per capita $17,900. Real growth rate: -0.3%. Inflation: 3.6%. Unemployment: 3.49% plus underemployment of perhaps 25%. Arable land: 11.8%. Agriculture: corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products. Labor force: 50.914 million; agriculture 13.4%, industry 24.1%, services 61.9% (2020). Industries: food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism. Natural resources: petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber. Exports: $434.93 billion (2020 est.): manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton. Major trading partners (exports): United States 75% (2019). Imports: $410.66 billion (2020 est.): metalworking machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts. Major trading partners (imports): United States 54%, China 14% (2019).

    Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 24,500,456 (2020); mobile cellular: 122,898,392 (2020). Broadcast media: 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 Service Providers (ISPs): 16.233 million (2012). Internet users: 92,831,582 (2020).

    Transportation: Railways: total: 23,389 km (2017). Roadways: total: 704,884 km; paved: 175,526 km (2017) (includes 10,845 km of expressways); unpaved: 529,358 km (2017). Waterways: 2,900 km navigable rivers and coastal canals. major seaports: Altamira, Coatzacoalcos, Lazaro Cardenas, Manzanillo, Salina Cruz, Veracruz. Airports: 1,714 (2021).

    International disputes: 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; Belize and Mexico are working to solve minor border demarcation discrepancies arising from inaccuracies in the 1898 border treaty.

    Major sources and definitions

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