Mexico is a vast country that encompasses 1,972,550 square kilometers (761,601 square miles), and is roughly three times the size of Texas. The climate and landscape are extremely varied and encompass three distinct regions: the semi-desert and prairie filled north that is very similar to the southwestern United States, of which it is a geographic extension; the western and west-central parts of the country, which are dominated by mountain ranges with peaks as high as 3,000 meters; and rain forest and jungle regions that make up the eastern and southern parts of the country.
Mexico is the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world and the second most-populous country in Latin America after Portuguese-speaking Brazil. Highly developed cultures, including the Olmec, Maya, Toltec, and Aztec, existed long before Spain conquered Mexico in 1521. Mexico was a Spanish colony for 300 years until 1821 when it formally achieved independence.
For 70 years, Mexico’s national government was dominated by the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which won every presidential race until the July 2000 presidential election when Vicente Fox became the first president to come from the opposition. President Fox completed his term on Dec. 1, 2006, and Felipe Calderon succeeded him.
The Mexican economy is highly dependent on exports to the United States, which account for about 90 percent of its total exports. Mexico has undergone a profound economic transformation since the mid-1990s as a result of economic liberalization and its joining the North American Free Trade Agreement. There has been rapid and impressive progress in building a modern, diversified economy, improving infrastructure, and tackling poverty. Today, the country enjoys a more open economic and political system and is more integrated with the world economy.
Mexico’s economy was the second largest in Latin America, behind only that of Brazil. The nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of Mexico in 2008 was $1.088 trillion when calculated using official exchange rates, or $1.567 trillion based on purchasing power parity. Mexico’s GDP grew by 1.3% in 2008, and the inflation rate was 5.1%
The principal mineral-rich areas that produce copper, gold, silver, and zinc, although not exclusively, are located in the northern and the west-central parts of the country, and the main oil producing areas are located in the east and south. Mexico is endowed with substantial natural resources, and is a major oil producer and exporter.
GDP : $1.563 Trillion (2008)
GDP per capita : $14,932 (2009 est.)
GDP by sector : agriculture: 4%, industry: 26.6%, services: 69.5% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line : 4.8% using food-based definition of poverty; asset based poverty amounted at approximately 15% (December 2008)
Labour force : 45.38 million (2007 est.) by occupation agriculture: 13%, industry: 29%, services: 58% (2003)
Main industries : Food and Beverages, Aerospace, Electronics, Tobacco, chemicals, Iron and Steel, Petroleum, Biotechnology, Mining, Shipbuilding, Electricity, Defense Products, Textiles, Clothing, Motor vehicles, Computers, consumer durables, Information Technologies, Tourism and Ecotourism
Exports : $419.9 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
Revenues : 571.2 billion (2008)
Public debt : $92.7 billion (October 2008)
Expenses : $321.2 billion (2000 est.)
GDP : $1.482 trillion (2009 est.)country comparison to the world: 12
GDP - per capita (PPP) : $13,500 (2009 est.)
GDP - composition by sector : agriculture: 4.3%, industry: 32.9%, services: 62.8% (2009 est.)
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Area Total : 1,972,550 km2
Climate : Varies from tropical to desert.
Languages : Spanish and Various Mayan dialects
Currency : 1 new Mexican peso (Mex$) = 100 centavos
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