Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0241/02418.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 13KB | 264 lines

$Unique_ID{COW02418}
$Pretitle{279}
$Title{Mexico
Mexico In Figures}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Embassy of Mexico, Washington DC}
$Affiliation{Embassy of Mexico, Washington DC}
$Subject{population
inhabitants
federal
per
state
total
deputies
km^2
kms^2
main}
$Date{1990}
$Log{}
Country:     Mexico
Book:        Mexican Agenda
Author:      Embassy of Mexico, Washington DC
Affiliation: Embassy of Mexico, Washington DC
Date:        1990

Mexico In Figures

Geography.

     Mexico has a territorial extension of 1.96 million square kilometers,
ranking 13th in the world, and 5th in Latin America, after Canada, the United
States, Brazil and Argentina. It is crossed by great mountain formations the
most important being the Sierra Madre Oriental and the Sierra Madre
Occidental. The average altitude is of 1,200 meters above the sea level.

     52 percent of the total water recovery is concentrated by five large
rivers: Usumacinta, Grijalba, Papaloapan, Coatzacoalcos and Panuco. The Rio
Bravo, has an extension equivalent to 45% of that of river Nile and, together
with the Lerma-Santiago and the Balsas rivers, represents 24% of the basin of
the Mackenzie river in Canada. However, and in spite of the fact that Mexico
has more than 150 rivers, it does not have a sufficient water supply and, in
many places, the shortages are extremely serious.

     In order to rationally profit from water resources, the construction of
numerous dams has been required. Impressive examples of hydraulic works, are:
La Angostura, Netzahualcoyotl and Chicoasen over the Grijalba river in
Chiapas; el Infiernillo over the Balsas-Tepalcatepec river in Michoacan and
Guerrero; and Presidente Aleman over the Tonto river in Oaxaca.

Demography.

     As for population, Mexico ranks 11th in the world and 3rd in America,
after the United States and Brazil. There are about 40 inhabitants per square
kilometer, a density slightly higher than the world average which is 38
inhabitants per square kilometer. Nevertheless, the demographic challenge in
Mexico is determined, not by its present overall density , but by its growth
rate and its unequal distribution. From 1940 and onwards, parallel to the
industrialization and urbanization process, there was a drastic reduction in
mortality. This downward trend was combined with a high birth rate so that,
during the sixties, Mexico reached a growth rate of 3.5%. Between 1950 and
1970, the population almost doubled.

     By 1989, a population of 88 million was estimated and 2.2 million more
are expected by 1990, due to a 2.5% growth rate. Even though the mortality
rate has decreased and the hysterically high birth rate has diminished, the
rapid population growth of past years has also reduced the average age, so
that the country as a whole has become younger. Therefore, the challenge posed
by the dynamics of population, consists in providing health and education
services to the child population, as well as providing them with jobs, housing
and recreation.

Urban Development.

     Population growth in metropolitan areas has been tremendous: in 1940, 20%
of Mexicans lived in cities, today 60% are urban dwellers. The most
outstanding example has been Mexico City, grew by 7.5 times its size in this
period. By 1980, 17.5 million inhabitants lived in three main metropolitan
areas (Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey). On the other hand, in 98%
of the communities with less than 2,500 inhabitants, only 21 million Mexicans
lived.

     From 1980 to 1989 the cities which registered a higher growth rate were
those with an average population between 100,000 and one million inhabitants.
In 1980 there were 48 cities in that size range; now, there are more than 60.
Decentralizing is and will be, for many years to come, a national imperative.

Health and Social Security.

     As mentioned above, from 1940 onwards, the growing availability of health
services reduced the rate of mortality considerably: now, life expectancy is
of 65.7 years for men and 72.3 for women. Among other social assistance
institutions, the National Institute of Social Assistance (IMSS) attends more
than 35 million people and the Institute for Social Assistance for State
Workers (ISSSTE) attends nearly 8 million.

Education.

     65% of the Mexicans between 5 and 24 years old go to school, and there
are more than one million teachers. The coverage provided by the elementary
schools reaches 98% of the children between 6 to 14 years of age. Even though
the terminal efficiency has risen during the last years, it is still low:
55% of those who enter the school system finish sixth grade; 84% continue into
seventh grade; and 58% enter tenth grade. At the university level, only 45%
finishes the undergraduate courses. The average school level of the population
older than 15 has reached 6.3 years and illiteracy is reasonably low: less
than 3.5%.

Employment.

     Without any doubt, the most pressing challenge for the future is the
creation of job opportunities. Right now, there are 60.8 million inhabitants
older than 12 years. During this decade, almost 1.2 million jobs a year will
have to be created each year. At the moment, surveys show a rate of urban
unemployment of approximately 4%, not including sub-employment or employment
in informal activities.

A FIRST APPROACH MEXICO'S FEDERAL ORGANIZATION

     The United States of Mexico is the official name of our Republic. It has
31 states and a Federal District --where Mexico City is located. The following
chapter contains basic information about each one of them, and the capital
of each state is italized.

     The maps on the left hand side represent the geographical boundaries of
each state, and the right hand side maps highlight their relative position
inside the Republic.

     Governor: Miguel Angel Barberena; Federal deputies: 2; State surface:
5,471 kms^2; Municipalities: 9; Total population: 703,300; Inhabitants per
km^2: 129; Main city: Aguascalientes (425,100);

     Governor: Ernesto Ruffo Appel; Federal deputies: 6; State surface: 69,921
kms^2; Municipalities: 4; Total population: 1,418,100; Inhabitants per km^2:
20; Main cities: Tijuana (602,300), Mexicali (417,400), Ensenada (169,100);

     Governor: Victor Liceaga Ruibal; Federal deputies: 2; State surface:
73,475 kms^2; Municipalities: 4; Total population: 328,300; Inhabitants per
km^2: 4; Main city: La Paz (155,500);

     Governor: Abelardo Carillo Zavala; Federal deputies: 2; State surface:
50,812 kms^2; Municipalities: 8; Total population: 614,800; Inhabitants per
km^2: 12; Main cities: Campeche (206,400), Cd. del Carmen (128,200);

     Governor: Eliseo Mendoza Berrueto; Federal deputies: 7; State surface:
149,982 kms^2; Municipalities: 38; Total population: 1,941,700; Inhabitants
per km^2: 13; Main cities: Torreon (804,400), Saltillo (442,700);

     Governor: Elias Zamora Verduzco; Federal deputies: 2; State surface:
5,191 kms^2; Municipalities: 10; Total population: 427,800; Inhabitants per
km^2: 82; Main city: Colima (116,000);

     Governor: Patrocinio Gonzalez Garrido; Federal deputies: 9; State
surface: 74,211 kms^2; Municipalities: 110; Total population: 2,555,900;
Inhabitants per km^2: 34; Main cities: Tuxtla Gutierrez (220,600), Tapachula
(112,200);

     Governor: Fernando Baeza Melendez; Federal deputies: 10; State surface:
244,938 kms^2; Municipalities: 67; Total population: 2,265,400; Inhabitants
per km^2: 9; Main cities: Cd. Juarez (681,400), Chihuahua (551,900);

     Governor: Jose Ramirez Gamero; Federal deputies: 6; State surface:
123,181 kms^2; Municipalities: 39; Total population: 1,399,400; Inhabitants
per km^2: 11; Main city: Durango (391,000);

     Mayor: Manuel Camacho Solis; Federal deputies: 40; District surface:
1,479 kms^2; Number of Political Districts: 16; Total population 10,432,600
(including de metropolitan area) 19,479,000; Inhabitants per km^2: 7,504;

     Governor: Rafael Corrales Ayala; Federal deputies: 13; State surface:
30,491 kms^2; Municipalities: 46; Total populatio