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Official name: United Mexican States Geography Mexico is located on the North American continent, along with Canada and the United States of America, west of the Greenwich Meridian. As to geographical coordinates, the national territory is located between meridians 118º 27’ 24 W, from the Baja California coasts in the Pacific Ocean on the West to 86º 42’ 36 W at the most eastern point, touching Islas de las Mujeres in the Caribbean Sea; and between parallels 32º 43’ 06 N to the north, bordering the United States of America, and 14º 32’ 27 N to the south, at the mouth of Suchiate River, bordering Guatemala. Borders: Mexico has to the north a 3,152 km border with the United States of America, and to the Southeast a joint border stretching 1,149 km with Guatemala and Belize. The length of its continental coasts is 11,122 km, second to Canada in North America. Due to its geographical position, shape, weather, orography and geology, the Mexican Republic has a wide variety of ecological conditions unique in the world. These conditions have resulted in rich soil and diversity in vegetation involving practically all known species. Mexico also has land areas in which vegetation is hardly found, as in the driest areas of the desserts or in areas of perpetual snow. In contrast, there are abundant forests with trees as high as 40 mts with annual rainfall exceeding 4,000 mm. Among these extremes, there is a wide variety of areas with extensive and diverse underbrush, pasture, conifer and oak trees in almost every mountain system, palm groves, forests with different foliage, extensive wetlands in the South and on both coasts, and pioneering vegetable communities in the coastal dunes, among many others. Government: Federal Democratic Representative Republic. Head of State and Government: Lic. Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, President of the Republic Administrative Division: 32 States, including the Federal District. Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Coahuila, Colima, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, México, Michoacán, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Yucatán and Zacatecas. Capital City: Mexico City, Federal District. Territorial Expanse: Mexico has a territorial extension of 1,964,375 square kilometers; 5,127 square kilometers are islands. Its Exclusive Economic Zone of territorial sea is 3,149,920 square kilometers. The total surface of the country is 5,114,295 square kilometers. Population: Mexico is the Eleventh most populated country with 106.7 million inhabitants. (IMF/CONAPO 2009) Languages: Due to its history, Spanish and some indigenous languages are valid throughout the country. Besides Spanish, more than fifty indigenous languages are spoken of which the main ones are: Náhuatl, spoken by more than one million people, Maya by almost 777 thousand people, Zapoteco by more than 415 thousand people and Mixteco by almost 390 thousand people. Religion: The Constitution guarantees religious freedom. A majority of the population is Catholic. Currency: Mexican Peso (N$) is divided into 100 cents, with denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 pesos. Exchange Rate: Purchase: N$13.54 for US$1 (Bank of Mexico, December 2009) Independence Day: September 15, 1810 Weather: Mexico’s geographical situation, latitude, altitude, and relation to the land and sea, provide the country with great weather diversity which is even more marked owing to the special topographical characteristics of the national territory. Thus, instead of two types of weather (temperate or torrid), there are five types of thermal regimens: warm, semi- warm, mild, semi-cold and cold. Economy: Mexico is the Thirteenth economi in the world and the second in Latin America. (IMF, 2009) Gross Internal Product (GIP): During 2008, Mexican economy grew 1.3%, besides the intensification of the international financial crisis of 2008. Thess figures were below of those for 2007. (Source: Bank of Mexico) GIP 2008: 1,088 mmd. (Source: Bank of Mexico) Per capita GIP 2008: USD$10,235. (Source: IMF, 2009) Inflation for 2009: Accumulated rate of 3,57% (Source: Bank of Mexico) Remmitances: From January to November 2009, remmitances reached 19,621 million dollars, 1.6% less than 2008. The Bank of Mexico estimates that remmitances are decreasing due to more labor and migratory controsl in the United States of America, as well as for the economic recession. (Source: Bank of Mexico) Commerce: Mexico plays an important role in global commerce. In 2008 it was the eleventh exporting country and the eighth import country with 2.4% and 2.6% global exports and imports respectively. (Source: World Commerce Report, WCO, 2009) Reserves: At the end of 2008, Mexican reserves reached USD$85,441 million dollars. Economic projections: The survey on the expectations of the specialists in economy of the private sector from the Bank of Mexico, emphasizes that the factors that could restrict the economic growth of Mexico in the short term are: the lack of advance in the implantation of structural reforms in the country, weakness in the external demand and the world-wide economy; and, in smaller degree, the weakness in the internal market. |
