old, lead, zinc,
natural gas, timber

Land use:
arable land: 12%
permanent crops: 1%
meadows and pastures: 39%
forest and woodland: 24%
other: 24%

Irrigated land: 51,500 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
current issues: natural fresh water resources scarce and polluted in
north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme
southeast; raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in
urban areas; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification;
serious air pollution in the national capital and urban centers
along US-Mexico border
natural hazards: tsunamis along the Pacific coast, destructive
earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Gulf and
Caribbean coasts
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

Geographic note: strategic location on southern border of US

People
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Population: 95,772,462 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 36% (male 17,732,725; female 17,125,562)
15-64 years: 59% (male 27,562,285; female 29,165,138)
65 years and over: 5% (male 1,911,968; female 2,274,784) (July 1996
est.)

Population growth rate: 1.87% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 26.24 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 4.58 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -2.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 25 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 73.67 years
male: 70.07 years
female: 77.45 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.03 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Mexican(s)
adjective: Mexican

Ethnic divisions: mestizo (Indian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or
predominantly Amerindian 30%, Caucasian or predominantly Caucasian
9%, other 1%

Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%

Languages: Spanish, various Mayan dialects

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
total population: 89.6%
male: 91.8%
female: 87.4%

Government
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