MEXICO - THE COUNTRY
Back to Mexico Information

AREA
761,603 SQUARE MILES

NUMBER OF STATES
31, plus a Federal District (D.F.)

CAPITAL
Mexico city (the Federal District or D.F.)

POPULATION
100,000 million (2000 estimate); 13th largest in the world. 1.6% annual growth rate.

LARGEST CITIES
Mexico City (the Federal District), Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla. 75% of population lives in urban areas.

ETHNIC MAKE-UP
Mexico is a nation of mostly mestizos, a mixture of Native American and European peoples (about 75% of the total population); Native Americans make up close to 15% European Caucasians make up the remaining 10%.

LANGUAGE
Spanish; over 50 Native American languages are spoken in certain regions of the country. English is widely spoken in resort areas.

RELIGION
Predominantly Roman Catholic.

POLITICAL SYSTEM
Mexico is a federal democratic republic. Although its constitution allows multiple parties, until recently Mexico was a single-party democracy. Serious political pluralism since the 1980’s has seen the rise of at least two additional political powers: the PAN and the PRD. These parties now compete for state and federal government positions with the once unchallenged PRI party.

BIODIVERSITY
With 30,000 plant species, nearly 1,000 bird species, and 1,500 mammals, reptiles, and amphibians, Mexico is among the world’s most biodiverse nations.

Mexico has at least as many plant species as the continental United States, and 15 percent more vertebrates. Scientists estimate that almost 15 percent of Mexico’s plant and animal species are found nowhere else on earth.

STATE . ABBREV SIZE-sq MI. POPULATION '00 CAPITAL CITY
AGUASCALIENTES Ags. 2,212 862,335 Aguascalientes
BAJA CALIFORNIA B.C. 26,996 2,108,118 Mexicali
BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR B.C.S. 28,369 375,450 La Paz
CAMPECHE Camp. 19,619 642,082 Campeche
CHIAPAS Chis. 28,653 3,606,828 Tuxtla-gutiérrez
CHIHUAHUA Chih. 94,571 2,792,989 Chihuahua
COAHUILA Coah. 57,908 2,172,136 Saltillo
COLIMA Col. 2,004 487,324 Colima
DISTRITO FEDERAL D.F. 571 8,483,623 Mexico City
DURANGO Dgo. 47,560 1,430,964 Durango
GUANAJUATO Gto. 11,946 4,393,160 Guanajuato
GUERRERO Gro. 24,819 2,915,497 Chilpancingo
HIDALGO Hgo. 8,038 2,111,782 Pachuca
JALISCO Jal. 31,211 5,990,054 Guadalajara
MEXICO Mex. 8,245 11,704,934 Toluca
MICHOACAN Mich. 23,138 3,869,133 Morelia
MORELOS Mor. 1,911 1,442,587 Cuernavaca
NAYARIT Nay. 10,417 895,975 Tepic
NUEVO LEON N.L. 25,067 3,549,273 Monterrey
OAXACA Oax. 36,275 3,224,270 Oaxaca
PUEBLA Pue. 13.090 4,624,239 Puebla
QUERETARO Qro. 4,420 1,248,844 Querétaro
QUINTANA ROO Q.R. 19,387 703,422 Chetumal
SAN LUIS POTOSI S.L.P. 24,351 2,191,712 San Luis Potosi
SINALOA Sin. 23,520 2,424,745 Culiacán
SONORA Son. 70,290 2,083,630 Hermosillo
TABASCO Tab. 9,756 1,748,664 Villahermosa
TAMAULIPAS Tamps. 30,650 2,526,387 Ciudad Victoria
TLAXCALA Tlax. 1,551 883,630 Tlaxcala
VERACRUZ Ver. 27,683 6,734,545 Veracruz
YUCATÁN Yuc. 14,827 1,555,733 Mérida
ZACATECAS Zac. 28,238 1,336,348 Zacatecas