Access to THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1993 provided courtesy of The Libraries of the University of Missouri-St. Louis Match 160 DB Rec# - 55,907 Dataset-WOFACT Source :CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY Source key :CI Program :WORLD FACTBOOK Program key :CI WOFACT Update sched. :Annually ID number :CI WOFACT 159 Title :MEXICO Data type :TEXT End year :1994 Date of record:02/16/1994 Keywords 3 : | MEXICO Text : MEXICO GEOGRAPHY Location: Central America, between Guatemala and the US Map references: North America, Standard Time Zones of the World Area: total area: 1,972,550 km2 comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Texas Land boundaries: total 4,538 km, Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,326 km Coastline: 9,330 km contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or the natural prolongation of continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm International disputes: claims Clipperton Island (French possession) Climate: varies from tropical to desert Terrain: high, rugged mountains, low coastal plains, high plateaus, and desert Natural resources: petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber Land use: arable land: 12% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 39% forest and woodland: 24% other: 24% Irrigated land: 51,500 km2 (1989 est.) Environment: subject to tsunamis along the Pacific coast and destructive earthquakes in the center and south; natural water resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; deforestation; erosion widespread; desertification; serious air pollution in Mexico City and urban centers along US-Mexico border Note: strategic location on southern border of US PEOPLE Population: 90,419,606 (July 1993 est.) Population growth rate: 1.97% (1993 est.) Birth rate: 27.67 births/1,000 population (1993 est.) Death rate: 4.82 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.) Net migration rate: -3.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 72.55 years male: 68.99 years female: 76.3 years (1993 est.) Total fertility rate: 3.25 children born/woman (1993 est.) Nationality: noun: Mexican(s) adjective: Mexican Ethnic divisions: mestizo (Indian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, Caucasian or predominantly Caucasian 9%, other 1% Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6% Languages: Spanish, various Mayan dialects Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 87% male: 90% female: 85% Labor force: 26.2 million (1990) by occupation: services 31.7%, agriculture, forestry, hunting, and fishing 28%, commerce 14.6%, manufacturing 11.1%, construction 8.4%, transportation 4.7%, mining and quarrying 1.5% GOVERNMENT Names: conventional long form: United Mexican States conventional short form: Mexico local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos local short form: Mexico Digraph: MX Type: federal republic operating under a centralized government Capital: Mexico Administrative divisions: 31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Yucatan, Zacatecas Independence: 16 September 1810 (from Spain) Constitution: 5 February 1917 Legal system: mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations National holiday: Independence Day, 16 September (1810) Political parties and leaders: (recognized parties) Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Fernando Ortiz Arana; National Action Party (PAN), Carlos CASTILLO; Popular Socialist Party (PPS), Indalecio SAYAGO Herrera; Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), Roberto ROBLES Garnica; Cardenist Front for the National Reconstruction Party (PFCRN), Rafael AGUILAR Talamantes; Authentic Party of the Mexican Revolution (PARM), Carlos Enrique CANTU Rosas; Democratic Forum Party (PFD), Pablo Emilio MADERO; Mexican Ecologist Party (PEM), Jorge GONZALEZ Torres Other political or pressure groups: Roman Catholic Church; Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM); Confederation of Industrial Chambers (CONCAMIN); Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce (CONCANACO); National Peasant Confederation (CNC); Revolutionary Workers Party (PRT); Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants (CROC); Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers (CROM); Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic (COPARMEX); National Chamber of Transformation Industries (CANACINTRA); Coordinator for Foreign Trade Business Organizations (COECE); Federation of Unions Provding Goods and Services (FESEBES) Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced) Elections: President: last held on 6 July 1988 (next to be held August 1994); results - Carlos SALINAS de Gortari (PRI) 50.74%, Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (FDN) 31.06%, Manuel CLOUTHIER (PAN) 16.81%; other 1.39%; note - several of the smaller parties ran a common candidate under a coalition called the National Democratic Front (FDN) Senate: last held on 18 August 1991 (next to be held midyear 1994); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats in full Senate - (64 total) PRI 62, PRD 1, PAN 1 Chamber of Deputies: last held on 18 August 1991 (next to be held midyear 1994); results - PRI 53%, PAN 20%, PFCRN 10%, PPS 6%, PARM 7%, PMS (now part of PRD) 4%; seats - (500 total) PRI 320, PAN 89, PRD 41, PFCRN 23, PARM 15, PPS 12 Executive branch: president, Cabinet Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso de la Union) consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Camara de Senadores) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados) Leaders: Chief of State and Head of Government: President Carlos SALINAS de Gortari (since 1 December 1988) Member of: AG (observer), CARICOM (observer), CCC, CDB, CG, EBRD, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-6, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Jorge MONTANO Martinez chancery: 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: (202) 728-1600 consulates general: Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, San Juan (Puerto Rico) consulates: Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Corpus Christi, Detroit, Fresno (California), Miami, Nogales (Arizona), Philadelphia, Phoenix, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, Seattle US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador John D. NEGROPONTE, Jr. embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305, 06500 Mexico, D.F. mailing address: P. O. Box 3087, Laredo, TX 78044-3087 telephone: 52 (5) 211-0042 FAX: 52 (5) 511-9980, 208-3373 consulates general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana consulates: Hermosillo, Matamoros, Mazatlan, Merida, Nuevo Laredo Flag: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; the coat of arms (an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its beak) is centered in the white band ECONOMY Overview: Mexico's economy is a mixture of state-owned industrial facilities (notably oil), private manufacturing and services, and both large-scale and traditional agriculture. In the 1980s, Mexico experienced severe economic difficulties: the nation accumulated large external debts as world petroleum prices fell; rapid population growth outstripped the domestic food supply; and inflation, unemployment, and pressures to emigrate became more acute. Growth in national output, however, has recovered, rising from 1.4% in 1988 to 4% in 1990 and 3.6% in 1991 and coming in at 2.6% in 1992. The US is Mexico's major trading partner, accounting for almost three-quarters of its exports and imports. After petroleum, border assembly plants and tourism are the largest earners of foreign exchange. The government, in consultation than two-thirds of its state-owned companies (parastatals), including banks. In 1991-92 the government conducted negotiations with the US and Canada on a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which was still being discussed by the three countries in early 1993. In January 1993, Mexico replaced its old peso with a new peso, at the rate of 1,000 old to 1 new peso. Notwithstanding the palpable improvements in economic performance in the early 1990s, Mexico faces substantial problems for the remainder of the decade - e.g., rapid population growth, unemployment, and serious pollution, particularly in Mexico City. National product: GDP - exchange rate conversion - $328 billion (1992 est.) National product real growth rate: 2.6% (1992) National product per capita: $3,600 (1992 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 11.9% (1992) Unemployment rate: 14%-17% (1991 est.) Budget: revenues $58.9 billion; expenditures $48.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $6.5 billion (1991); figures do not include state-owned companies Exports: $27.5 billion (f.o.b., 1992 est.) commodities: crude oil, oil products, coffee, shrimp, engines, motor vehicles, cotton, consumer electronics partners: US 74%, Japan 8%, EC 4% (1992 est.) Imports: $48.1 billion (c.i.f., 1992 est.) commodities: metal-working machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts partners: US 74%, Japan, 11%, EC 6% (1992) External debt: $104 billion (1992 est.) Industrial production: growth rate 5.5% (1991 est.); accounts for 28% of GDP Electricity: 27,000,000 kW capacity; 120,725 million kWh produced, 1,300 kWh per capita (1992) Industries: food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism Agriculture: accounts for 9% of GDP and over 25% of work force; large number of small farms at subsistence level; major food crops - corn, wheat, rice, beans; cash crops - cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; fish catch of 1.4 million metric tons among top 20 nations (1987) Illicit drugs: illicit cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis continues in spite of active government eradication program; major supplier to the US Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $3.1 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $7.7 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $110 million Currency: 1 New Mexican peso (Mex$) = 100 centavos Exchange rates: market rate of Mexican pesos (Mex$) per US$1 - 3.100 (January 1993), 3,198 (November 1992), 3,018.4 (1991), 2,812.6 (1990), 2,461.3 (1989), 2,273.1 (1988); note - the new pesos replaced the old pesos on 1 January 1993; 1 new pesos = 1,000 old pesos Fiscal year: calendar year COMMUNICATIONS Railroads: 24,500 km total Highways: 212,000 km total; 65,000 km paved, 30,000 km semipaved or cobblestone, 62,000 km rural roads (improved earth) or roads under construction, 55,000 km unimproved earth roads Inland waterways: 2,900 km navigable rivers and coastal canals Pipelines: crude oil 28,200 km; petroleum products 10,150 km; natural gas 13,254 km; petrochemical 1,400 km Ports: Acapulco, Altamira, Coatzacoalcos, Ensenada, Guaymas, Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Progreso, Puerto Vallarta, Salina Cruz, Tampico, Tuxpan, Veracruz Merchant marine: 58 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 858,162 GRT/1,278,488 DWT; includes 4 short-sea passenger, 2 cargo, 2 refrigerated cargo, 2 roll-on/roll-off, 31 oil tanker, 4 chemical tanker, 7 liquefied gas, 1 bulk, 5 container Airports: total: 1,841 usable: 1,478 with permanent-surface runways: 200 with runways over 3,659 m: 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 35 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 273 Telecommunications: highly developed system with extensive microwave radio relay links; privatized in December 1990; connected into Central America Microwave System; 6,410,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 679 AM, no FM, 238 TV, 22 shortwave; 120 domestic satellite terminals; earth stations - 4 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT Defense forces Branches: National Defense (including Army and Air Force), Navy (including Marines) Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP -------------------------------------------------------------------------- This section of THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1993 produced by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was derived from the US Dept. of Commerce Economics and Statistics Division's NATIONAL TRADE DATA BANK CD-ROM, July, 1994, SuDoc No. C 1.88:994/7/v.1-2 / R. 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