Demographics
for Mexico

The United Mexican States is in the southern part of the continent of North America. Its land borders are with USA to the north and Guatemala and Belize to the south, with coastline along the Pacific Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. It has the most Spanish speakers of any country in the world. The capital is Mexico City.
One of the ‘’cradles of civilisation’’, Mexico was home to many advanced societies, notably the Mayans and the Aztecs. In 1521, the Spanish conquered the region with the establishment of New Spain. Spanish colonisation imposed language and Catholicism on the region, whilst exploiting the indigenous peoples to mine the vast amounts of precious metals. This fusion of European and indigenous customs and traditions forged a real Mexican identity and pride, which resulted in war against and successful independence from Spain in 1821.
Mexico’s early days as a nation state were marked by years of upheaval with war and territory loss to the Americans. By the end of the nineteenth century, dictatorship resulted in a ten year civil war. Mexico is now run as a federation of states whose government is representative, democratic and republican. It is divided into 31 free and sovereign states, whose union exercises a degree of jurisdiction over Mexico City.
Its developing economy is led by the service sector, especially financial services and tourism. Producing the most cars in North America, Mexico’s industrial sector comprises automotive, oil and electronics. The contribution made by agriculture is very small.
Mexico is ethnically diverse. Heavily urbanised by 80% of the population, huge shanty towns ring the cities, while rural areas are neglected. Social equality, corruption and crime are the challenges faced by Mexico today, most infamously the conflict and violence caused by the drug-trafficking cartels.
The wealth of Mexican culture has extended across many areas, including architecture, sculpture, literature and music. Visual arts range from cave paintings to traditional art and pottery. It has more UNESCO World Heritage sites than any other country in the Americas. Soccer is the country’s most popular sport.
On the world stage, Mexico is a member of the United Nations, G20 and OECD.