Country Code
Top-Level-Domain |
 Mexico Location:
19°03'N, 99°22'W
Mexico Geography:
Mexico is situated in the mid-latitudes of the Americas. Its territory comprises much of southern North America,[12][13] or also within Middle America.[14][15] Physiographically, the lands east of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec including the Yucatán Peninsula (which together comprise around 12% of the country's area) lie within the region of Central America; geologically, the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt delimits the region on the north.[16] Geopolitically, however, Mexico is commonly not considered a Central American country.
Mexico's total area is 1,972,550 km2, including approximately 6,000 km2 of islands in the Pacific Ocean (including the remote Guadalupe Island and the Islas Revillagigedo), Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of California. On its north, Mexico shares a 3,141 km border with the United States. The meandering Río Bravo del Norte (known as the Rio Grande in the United States) defines the border from Ciudad Juárez east to the Gulf of Mexico. A series of natural and artificial markers delineate the United States-Mexican border west from Ciudad Juárez to the Pacific Ocean. On its south, Mexico shares an 871 km border with Guatemala and a 251 km border with Belize.
Mexico People:
Population
- 2007 estimate 108,700,891 (11th)
- 2005 census 103,263,388
- Density 55 /km2 (142nd)
142 /sq mi
Mexico Government:
Government Presidential Federal republic
- President Felipe Calderón
( PAN)
Mexico Economy:
Mexico has a free market economy, and is firmly established as an upper middle-income country,[29] and it is the 12th largest economy in the world as measured in Gross Domestic Product in purchasing power parity.[30] After the 1994 economic debacle, Mexico has made an impressive recovery, building a modern and diversified economy.[31] Recent administrations have also improved infrastructure and opened competition in seaports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity generation, natural gas distribution and airports. Oil is Mexico's largest source of foreign income.
According to the director for Colombia and Mexico of the World Bank, the population in extreme poverty has decreased from 24.2% to 17.6% in the general population and from 42% to 27.9% in rural areas from 2000-2004.[32] Nonetheless, income inequality remains a problem, and huge gaps remain not only between rich and poor but also between the north and the south, the urban and the rural areas. Sharp contrasts in income and Human Development are also a grave problem in Mexico. The 2004 United Nations Human Development Index report for Mexico states that, Benito Juárez, one of the districts in the Distrito Federal and San Pedro Garza García, in the State of Nuevo León, would have a similar level of economic, educational and life expectancy development to that of Germany or New Zealand and Metlatonoc in the state of Guerrero, would have an HDI similar to that of Malawi.[33][34]
Many of the positive effects in poverty reduction and the increase in purchasing power of the middle class are attributed to the macroeconomic stability pursued by the last two administrations. GDP annual average growth for the period of 1995–2002 was 5.1%.[35] The economic downturn in the United States also caused a similar pattern in Mexico, of which it rapidly recovered to grow 4.1% in 2005 and 3% in 2005. Inflation has reached a record low of 3.3% in 2005, and interest rates are low, which have spurred credit-consumption in the middle class. The Fox administration also provided monetary stability: budget deficit was further reduced and foreign debt was decreased to less than 20% of GDP.[35] Mexico shares, with Chile the highest rating of long-term sovereign credit in Latin America. Poverty in Mexico is further reduced by remmitances from Mexican citizens working in the United States of America, which reaches US$20 billion dollars per year and is the second largest source of foreign income after oil exports [36].
Being one of the most open countries in the world, almost 90% of Mexican trade has been put under free trade agreements with over 40 countries, of which the North American Free Trade Agreement remains the most influential: close to 90% of Mexican exports go to the United States and Canada, and close to 55% from its imports come from these two countries. Other major trade agreements have been signed with the European Union, Japan, Israel and many countries in Central and South America.
Tourism in Mexico is a large industry, the third in importance. The most notable tourist draws are the ancient Meso-American ruins, and popular beach resorts. The coastal climate and unique culture – a fusion of the European (particularly Spanish) and the Meso-American – also make Mexico attractive. The peak tourist seasons in Mexico are during December and during July and August, with brief surges during the week before Easter and surges during spring break at many of the beach resort sites which are popular with vacationing college students from the United States.
Ongoing economic concerns include the commercial and financial dependence on the US,[37] low real wages, underemployment for a large segment of the population, inequitable income distribution (top 20% of income earners account for 55% of income), and few advancement opportunities for the largely Amerindian population in the impoverished southern states. Lack of structural reform is further exacerbated by an ever increasing outflow of the population into the United States, decreasing domestic pressure for reform.
Mexico More Information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico  |
