GEOGRAPHY

Mexico is bordered by the United States to the north and Belize and Guatemala to the southeast. Mexico is about one-fifth the size of the United States. Baja California in the west is an 800-mile (1,287-km) peninsula and forms the Gulf of California. In the east are the Gulf of Mexico and the Bay of Campeche, which is formed by Mexico's other peninsula, the Yucatán. The center of Mexico is a great, high plateau, open to the north, with mountain chains on the east and west and with ocean-front lowlands lying outside them.

United Mexican States
Official name: Estados Unidos Mexicanos

President: Felipe Calderón (2006) Land area: 742,485 sq mi (1,923,039 sq km); total area: 761,606 sq mi (1,972,550 sq km) Population (2006 est.): 107,449,525 (growth rate: 1.2%); birth rate: 20.7/1000; infant mortality rate: 20.3/1000; life expectancy: 75.4; density per sq mi: 145 Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Mexico City, 19,013,000 (metro. area), 8,591,309 (city proper)

Other large cities: Ecatepec, 1,731,900 (part of Mexico City metro. area); Guadalajara, 1,665,800; Puebla, 1,345,500; Nezahualcóyotl, 1,250,700 (part of Mexico City metro. area); Monterrey, 1,135,000

Monetary unit: Mexican peso

Languages: Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages

Ethnicity/race: mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1%


Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $1.068 trillion; per capita $10,100. Real growth rate: 3%.
Inflation: 3.3%.
Unemployment: 3.6% plus underemployment of perhaps 25%.

Arable land: 13%. Agriculture: corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products.

Labor force: 43.4 million; agriculture 18%, industry 24%, services 58% (2003).

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: $213.7 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton.
Imports: $223.7 billion f.o.b. (2005 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: U.S., Canada, Spain, China, Japan (2004).