Mexico

 

Country name	United Mexican States
Capital	Mexico City (Distrito Federal)
Independence	16 September 1810 (declared); 27 September 1821 (recognized by Spain)
National holiday	Independence Day, 16 September (1810)
Population	114,975,406 (July 2012 est.)
Sex ratio	1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2011 est.)
Nationality	Mexican(s)
Religions	Roman Catholic 82.7%, Protestant 1.6%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.4%, other Evangelical Churches 5%, other 1.9%, none 4.7%, unspecified 2.7% (2000 census)
Languages	Spanish only 92.7%, Spanish and indigenous languages 5.7%, indigenous only 0.8%, unspecified 0.8%
Literacy	age 15 and over can read and write Total population: 86.1% Male: 86.9% Female: 85.3% (2005 Census)
Location	North America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the United States and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the United States
Geographic coordinates	23 00 N, 102 00 W
Map references	North America
Area	total: 1,964,375 sq km land: 1,943,945 sq km water: 20,430 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly less than three times the size of Texas
Land boundaries	total: 4,353 km border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,141 km
Coastline	9,330 km
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Climate	varies from tropical to desert
Terrain	high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m
Natural resources	petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber
Land use	arable land: 12.66% permanent crops: 1.28% other: 86.06% (2005)
Irrigated land	63,000 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	457.2 cu km (2000)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	total: 78.22 cu km/yr (17%/5%/77%) per capita: 731 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards	tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean coasts volcanism: volcanic activity in the central-southern part of the country; the volcanoes in Baja California are mostly dormant; Colima (elev. 3,850 m), which erupted in 2010, is Mexico's most active volcano and is responsible for causing periodic evacuations of nearby villagers; it has been deemed a "Decade Volcano" by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; Popocatepetl (elev. 5,426 m) poses a threat to Mexico City; other historically active volcanoes include Barcena, Ceboruco, El Chichon, Michoacan-Guanajuato, Pico de Orizaba, San Martin, Socorro, and Tacana
Environment - current issues	scarcity of hazardous waste disposal facilities; rural to urban migration; natural freshwater resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in urban areas; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification; deteriorating agricultural lands; serious air and water pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border; land subsidence in Valley of Mexico caused by groundwater depletion note: the government considers the lack of clean water and deforestation national security issues
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note	strategic location on southern border of US; corn (maize), one of the world's major grain crops, is thought to have originated in Mexico