World Atlas 2010 (4th edition)

274

Mexico

NORTH & CENTRAL AMERICA

FACTFILE

OFFICIAL NAME: United Mexican States

DATE OF FORMATION: 1836

CAPITAL: Mexico City

POPULATION: 110 million

TOTAL AREA: 761,602 sq. miles

(1,972,550 sq. km

DENSITY: 149 people per sq. mile

LANGUAGES: Spanish*, Nahuatl, Mayan,

Zapotec, Mixtec, Otomi, Totonac, other

RELIGIONS: Roman Catholic 88%, other 7%,

Protestant 5%

ETHNIC MIX: Mestizo 60%, Amerindian 30%,

European 9%, other 1%

GOVERNMENT: Presidential system

CURRENCY: Mexican peso = 100 centavos

Mexico stretches from the US border southward into the

ancient Aztec and Mayan heartlands. Independence from Spain

came in 1836. One in five Mexicans lives in the sprawling capital.

GEOGRAPHY

Coastal plains along the Pacific and

Atlantic seaboards rise to a high arid

central plateau. To the east and west are

the Sierra Madre mountain ranges.

Limestone lowlands form the projecting

Yucatan peninsula.

CLIMATE

The plateau and high mountains are

warm for much of the year. Pacific coast

is tropical: storms occur mostly March–

December. Northwest is dry.

PEOPLE & SOCIETY

Most Mexicans are mestizos of

Spanish–Amerindian descent. Rural

Amerindians are largely segregated from

Hispanic society and most live in poverty,

though the state promotes their culture.

The Zapatista movement backs

indigenous rights. Few women in male-

dominated politics and business.

Narcotics-related violent crime is rising.

THE ECONOMY

One of the world's largest oil

producers. Corn, fruit, vegetables, sugar are

cash crops. NAFTA has boosted exports,

but exposes farmers to subsidized US

competition. Huge wealth disaprity. Swine

flu crippled economy in 2009.

INSIGHT: More people cross the

US–Mexican border each year –

illegally or legally – than any other

border in the world

500 km

500 miles

0

0

3000m/9843ft

2000m/6562ft

1000m/3281ft

500m/1640ft

200m/656ft

Sea Level

GUAT.

BEL.

UNITED STATES OF

AMERICA

Gulf of

Mexico

PACIFIC

OCEAN

Yucatan

Peninsula

Sierra Madre

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Guadalajara
Monterrey
Puebla
Acapulco
Mérida
Ciudad Juárez
León
San Luis Potosí
Tijuana
Chihuahua
MEXICO CITY