Mexico — map and facts

About Mexico

Mexico is a country in the southern part of North America, bordering the United States to the north and Guatemala and Belize to the south. With a population of approximately 130 million, it is the tenth most populous country in the world and the most populous Spanish-speaking country. Mexico is a federal presidential republic, comprising thirty-one states and the autonomous Mexico City Federal Entity. Mexico City — one of the world's largest urban agglomerations — serves as the capital and economic, cultural, and political heart of the nation. Spanish is the de facto official language, though Mexico is home to 68 recognised indigenous languages including Nahuatl, Maya, and Zapotec. Mexico is a major emerging economy, a member of the OECD and G20, and the second largest economy in Latin America. The country is renowned for its extraordinarily rich cultural heritage — a fusion of pre-Columbian indigenous civilisations and Spanish colonial influence — manifested in its cuisine, art, architecture, music, and festivals. Roman Catholicism, while not the state religion, is practised by the vast majority of the population.

Geography and Landscape

Mexico covers approximately 1.96 million square kilometres and encompasses extraordinary geographical diversity. The Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre Oriental mountain ranges flank a high central plateau, the Mesa Central, where Mexico City sits at over 2,200 metres above sea level. The Sierra Madre del Sur extends along the Pacific coast. The Baja California Peninsula stretches over 1,200 kilometres southward from the US border along the Pacific. The Yucatán Peninsula in the south-east is a low-lying limestone platform featuring the famous cenotes — natural sinkholes — and extensive cave systems. Mexico has two major coastlines: the Pacific coast in the west, and the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean coast in the east. The country contains several active and dormant volcanoes; Pico de Orizaba at 5,636 metres is the highest peak and the third highest in North America. Mexico's diverse climate zones range from arid desert in the north to humid tropical rainforest in the south.

History

Mexico has been inhabited since at least 8000 BCE. A succession of major Mesoamerican civilisations arose, including the Olmec, Teotihuacán, Maya, Toltec, and Aztec (Mexica) cultures. The Aztec Empire, centred at Tenochtitlan — the site of present-day Mexico City — was one of the most powerful states in the pre-Columbian Americas at the time of Spanish arrival. Hernán Cortés led the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire between 1519 and 1521, leading to nearly three centuries of colonial rule as the Viceroyalty of New Spain. The colonial period saw the blending of Spanish and indigenous cultures, widespread conversion to Catholicism, and the exploitation of indigenous labour in silver mines. The War of Independence, sparked by Miguel Hidalgo's Grito de Dolores in 1810, concluded with independence in 1821. The nineteenth century was turbulent: Mexico lost roughly half its territory to the United States following the Mexican-American War (1846–1848), experienced French intervention, and saw the long authoritarian rule of Porfirio Díaz. The Mexican Revolution (1910–1920) led to a new constitution in 1917. The PRI party dominated Mexican politics for most of the twentieth century until democratic alternation in 2000.