Country name:

conventional long form: United Mexican States

conventional short form: Mexico

local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos

local short form: Mexico

Location: Middle 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

Area: total: 1,964,375 sq km country comparison to the world: 15 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: 63,200 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: Mexico experiences volcanic activity in the central-southern part of the country; the volcanoes in Baja California are mostly dormant; Colima (elev. 3,850 m, 12,631 ft), 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, 17,802 ft) 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.

Population: 112,468,855 (July 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 11

Age structure: 0-14 years: 29.1% (male 16,544,223/female 15,861,141) 15-64 years: 64.6% (male 34,734,571/female 37,129,793) 65 years and over: 6.2% (male 3,130,518/female 3,811,543) (2010 est.)

Median age: total: 26.7 years male: 25.6 years female: 27.7 years (2010 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.118% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 112

Languages: Spanish only 92.7%, Spanish and indigenous languages 5.7%, indigenous only 0.8%, unspecified 0.8%; note - indigenous languages include various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional languages (2005)

Government type: federal republic

Capital: name: Mexico City (Distrito Federal)

Administrative divisions: 31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro de Arteaga, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz-Llave, Yucatan, Zacatecas

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