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The site of several advanced Amerindian civilizations - including the Olmec, Toltec, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Maya, and Aztec - Mexico was conquered and colonized by Spain 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 the 1910 Mexican Revolution 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 PENA NIETO regained the presidency for the PRI in 2012. The global financial crisis in late 2008 caused a massive economic downturn in Mexico the following year, although growth returned quickly in 2010. Ongoing economic and social concerns include low real wages, high underemployment, inequitable income distribution, and few advancement opportunities for the largely indigenous population in the impoverished southern states. Since 2007, Mexico's powerful drug-trafficking organizations have engaged in bloody feuding, resulting in tens of thousands of drug-related homicides.

Location

North America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the United States and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the United States

Natural Resources

petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber

Population - distribution

most of the population is found in the middle of the country between the states of Jalisco and Veracruz; approximately a quarter of the population lives in and around Mexico City

112468855
Spanish only 92.7%, Spanish and indigenous languages 5.7%, indigenous only 0.8%, unspecified 0.8%
MEXICO CITY (capital) 20.999 million; Guadalajara 4.843 million; Monterrey 4.513 million; Puebla 2.984 million; Toluca de Lerdo 2.164 million; Tijuana 1.987 million (2015)
Conventional long form
United Mexican States
Conventional short form
Mexico
Local long form
Estados Unidos Mexicanos
Local short form
Mexico
federal presidential republic
Name
Mexico City
Geographic coordinates
19 26 N, 99 08 W
Time difference
UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time
+1hr, begins first Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in October
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Mexico's $2.2 trillion economy has become increasingly oriented toward manufacturing since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) entered into force in 1994. Per capita income is roughly one-third that of the US; income distribution remains highly unequal.
Inflation
2.821%
External debt stocks
US$ 426,334,055,000
Total tax rate (% of commercial profits)
52.0%
Real Interest Rate
0.102%
Manufacturing, value added (% of GDP)
19.037%
Current Account Balance
US$ -27,858,125,962
Labor Force, Total
57,879,064
Employment in Agriculture
13.01%
Employment in Industry
25.31%
Employment in Services
61.15%
Unemployment Rate
4.02%
Imports of goods and services
US$ 418,275,991,985
Exports of goods and services
US$ 399,126,460,638
Total Merchandise Trade
73.75%
FDI, net inflows
US$ 26,738,609,737
Commercial Service Exports
US$ 24,097,318,071
corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products
food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism
Commodities
manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton
Partners
US 81.2% (2015)
Commodities
metalworking machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, automobile parts for assembly and repair, aircraft, aircraft parts
Partners
US 47.3%, China 17.7%, Japan 4.4% (2015)
Country Risk Rating
B
Political and economic uncertainties and an occasionally difficult business environment can affect corporate payment behavior. Corporate default probability is appreciable.
Business Climate Rating
A4
The business environment is acceptable. Corporate financial information is sometimes neither readily available nor sufficiently reliable. Debt collection is not always efficient and the institutional framework has shortcomings. Intercompany transactions may thus run into appreciable difficulties in the acceptable but occasionally unstable environments rated A4.
  • Geographic proximity to the North American economy
  • Membership of NAFTA, OECD, the G20, and the Pacific Alliance
  • Renewal of flexible credit line by the IMF until January 2017
  • Substantial industry base
  • World class in cement, beer, and telephone sectors
  • Dependence on the United States economy
  • Low oil and gas dominated government revenues
  • Infrastructure and education weaknesses
  • High crime rate

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