Mexico in Facts and Figures

Last Updated: January 2010

Geographic and Demographic Data

Land Area:

1,972,000 square kilometers; 769,000 square miles.

Location:

Borders immediately south of the United States, in-between the USA and Central America. Mexico is classed as a member of Latin American nations and is part of the North American Continent (not Central America as often thought and sometimes quoted).

Population:

107 Million in 2008 (Source: INEGI, derived from 2005 census data)

Capital City:

Mexico City, with an estimated population and catchment area of over 20 million people.

Language:

Spanish is the official language, but around 50 different languages are also spoken by the indigenous peoples of Mexico, including Nahuatl, Zapotec, Otomi and (in the Yucatan region) various Maya languages.

Religion:

c. 90% Roman Catholic.

Government:

Federal Republic, democratically elected President, bicameral Congress. Also see Mexico Government Structure

President:

Felipe Calderon Hinojosa; Sworn in Dec. 1, 2006 for a non-renewable six-year term.

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Economic Data and Indicators

Currency:

Mexican Peso (100 centavos = 1 Peso). For Exchange Rates and other useful information see Money in Mexico here on Mexperience.

GDP:

GDP in 2008 was US$877 billion; an increase of 1.3% from 2007.

Oil and Natural Gas, Remittances to Mexico from Mexicans working in the USA and Tourism are (in that order) currently Mexico's three biggest sources of foreign income.

GDP Annual Growth/Decline:

Gross domestic product contracted 6.5% in 2009, affected by the U.S. recession and the impact of measures taken in response to the outbreak of swine flu in Mexico in April and May. Despite the contraction, gains in the peso against the US dollar meant that in dollar terms GDP rose slightly to $900 billion. The central bank estimates GDP will expand between 4% and 5% in 2010.

Inflation:

Inflation in 2009 was 3.6%, down from 6.5% in 2008. Inflation is expected to be between 4.8% and 5.3% in 2010. The Bank of Mexico's target is 3%.

Mexico's Current Sales Tax Rate

Sales tax in Mexico is known as IVA (Impuesto al Valor Agregado). Mexico has two sales tax rates: 11% in the border zones and 16% everywhere else. The current rate of sales tax on all goods and services classed for the application of IVA is 16% unless the transaction takes place inside the 'border zone' in which case the lower rate of 11% will apply.

Minimum Daily Wage:

The official daily minimum wage in Mexico for 2010 rose by 4.85%.

The minimum salary in "Geographical Area A" is MX$57.46 pesos per day; "Geographical Area B" MX$55.84 pesos a day; and "Geographical Area C" MX$54.47 pesos. [currency converter].

Area A: The states of: Baja California, Baja California Sur, Mexico City; some municipalities of the states of: Mexico, Sonora, Tamaulipas Veracruz and Chihuahua.

Area B: The states of: Jalisco, Nuevo León and some municipalities of the States of: Sonora, Tamaulipas y Veracruz (not covered by A, above).

Area C: The states of: Aguascalientes, Guerrero, Quintana Roo, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Tabasco, Tlaxcala, Yucatán, Zacatecas, Morelos, Michoacán, Hidalgo, Guanajuato, Durango, Chiapas, Coahuila, Campeche, and some munipalities of Veracruz, Nuevo León, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Jalisco, and Chihuahua (not covered by A and B, above).

Economic Activities:

Oil and gas, tourism, mining, chemicals, iron and steel, motor vehicles, agriculture (coffee, sugar, tomatoes, avocados, tobacco) food and beverages, consumer durables.

Major Trading Partners:

USA, Canada, UK, China, Japan.

NAFTA

Mexico is a member of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement).

Other Free Trade Agreements

Besides NAFTA, Mexico has FTA's with over 40 countries world-wide including The European Union and Japan.

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