The United Mexican States (commonly known as Mexico) is a federal constitutional republic comprised of 31 states and one federal district. Mexico is considered to be a Middle America country, bounded by the United States to the north; Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea to the southeast; the Pacific Ocean to the west; and the Gulf of Mexico to the east. With a total land mass of nearly 2 million square kilometers (approximately three times the size of Texas), Mexico ranks as the 5th largest country in the Americas and 14th largest country in the world. The current president of Mexico is Felipe Calderon, elected by popular vote in 2006 to a six year term of office.
As of 2007, the population of Mexico was approximately 109 million, making it the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world. The country’s capital, Mexico City, also ranks as one of the most populous metropolitan cities in the world. The majority of Mexico’s population (60%) is of Mestizo/Amerindian-Spanish descent, with the remainder of the population consisting of pure Amerindians (30%) and those who report themselves as being White or other (10%). The United State’s Central Intelligence Agency lists Mexico’s annual growth rate as 1.153%, with a 2007 birth rate of 20.4 births/1,000 population, and a death rate of 4.8 deaths/1,000 population. Infant mortality rates are approximately 19.6 deaths/l,000 live births, placing Mexico 99th out of 206 world countries on this critical measure of health and human development. Seventy-five percent of the population reports themselves as being Roman Catholic, with 6.3% reported to be Protestant, and 17.2% reporting as none, other, or unspecified.
While poverty has historically been a problem for the nation, the current World Bank director for Mexico states that, between 2000 and 2004, the proportion of the general population living in extreme poverty decreased from 24.2% to 17.6%, and from 42% to 27.9% in rural areas. Significant gaps still remain, however, between the income levels of urban and rural populations, and between those in the northern versus southern states. Nonetheless, overall reductions in poverty and sharp increases in the purchasing parity of Mexico’s growing middle class have been achieved by the two most recent presidential administrations, which have worked to increase the country’s economic stability. The current federal government is focused on upgrading the country’s infrastructure (particularly in the remaining underdeveloped areas), to modernize the country’s tax system and labor laws, and to reduce levels of income inequality throughout the populace. Recent administrations have also worked to expand competition in ports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity generation, natural gas distribution, and airports. |
