Country
Countries A-Z
Mexico
United Mexican States
Estados Unidos Mexicanos
Political Status: Independence originally proclaimed 1810; present federal constitution adopted February 5, 1917.
Area: 761,600 sq. mi. (1,972,544 sq. km).
Population: 117,812,936 (2012E—UN); 114,975,406 (2012E—U.S. Census).
Major Urban Centers (2005E): MEXICO CITY (Federal District, 8,795,000), Guadalajara (1,645,000), Tijuana (1,474,000), Ciudad Juárez (1,454,000), Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza (1,428,000), León (1,183,000), Monterrey (1,132,000), Chihuahua (743,000), Acapulco (682,000), Mexicali (616,000), Veracruz (481,000).
Official Language: Spanish.
Monetary Unit: New Peso (market rate November 5, 2012: 12.98 pesos = $1US).
President: Enrique PEÑA Nieto (Institutional Revolutionary Party); elected July 1, 2012, and sworn in for a six-year term, along with a new government, on December 1, succeeding Felipe CALDERÓN Hinojosa (National Action Party).
The Country
Extending southeastward from the U.S. border to the jungles of Yucatán and Guatemala, Mexico ranks third in size and ...