2.  Capital Mexico city
 Official language
Spanish
 Ethnic groups
 - Mestizo 70%
- White 15%
- Indigenous 9.8%
- Other 1%

3.  Government
Federal
presidential
 constitutional
republic
 - President Felipe
Calderón (PAN)
 - Secretary of the
Interior Alejandro
Poiré
 - Supreme Court
President Juan
Silva Meza

4. LegislatureCongress
- Upper house
Senate
- Lower house
Chamber of
Deputies
Population -
2010 census
112,322,757
(11th) -
Density57/km2 (
142nd)
142/sq mi
CurrencyPeso (MX
N)

5. Mexica
is a federal constitutional
republic in North
America. It is bordered on
the north by the United
States; on the south and
west by the Pacific Ocean;
on the southeast by
Guatemala, Belize, and
the Caribbean Sea; and
on the east by the Gulf of
Mexico.

6.  Covering almost two million
square kilometres (over 760,000
sq mi),Mexico is the fifth largest
country in the Americas by total
area and the thirteenth largest
independent nation in the world.
With an estimated population of
over 112 million, it is the
eleventh most populous country
and the most populous Spanish-
speaking country. Mexico is a
federation comprising thirty-one
states and a Federal District, the
capital city.

7. The Tropic of Cancer effectively divides the
country into temperate and tropical zones. Land
north of the twenty-fourth parallel experiences
cooler temperatures during the winter months.
South of the twenty-fourth parallel, temperatures
are fairly constant year round and vary solely as a
function of elevation. This gives Mexico one of the
world's most diverse weather systems.
Areas south of the twenty-fourth parallel with
elevations up to 1,000 m (3,281 ft) (the southern
parts of both coastal plains as well as the Yucatán
Peninsula), have a yearly median temperature
between 24 to 28 °C (75.2 to 82.4 °F).
Temperatures here remain high throughout the year,
with only a 5 °C (9 °F) difference between winter
and summer median temperatures. Both Mexican
coasts, except for the south coast of the Bay of
Campeche and northern Baja, are also vulnerable to
serious hurricanes during the summer and fall.
Although low-lying areas north of the twentieth-
fourth parallel are hot and humid during the
summer, they generally have lower yearly
temperature averages (from 20 to 24 °C or 68 to
75.2 °F) because of more moderate conditions
during the winter.
Climate

8. Many large cities in Mexico are
located in the Valley of Mexico or
in adjacent valleys with altitudes
generally above 2,000 m (6,562 ft).
This gives them a year-round
temperate climate with yearly
temperature averages (from 16 to
18 °C or 60.8 to 64.4 °F) and cool
nighttime temperatures throughout
the year.
Many parts of Mexico, particularly the
north, have a dry climate with
sporadic rainfall while parts of the
tropical lowlands in the south
average more than 2,000 mm (78.7
in) of annual precipitation. For
example, many cities in the north
like Monterrey, Hermosillo, and
Mexicali experience temperatures
of 40 °C (104 °F) or more in
summer. In the Sonoran Desert
temperatures reach 50 °C (122 °F)
or more.

9. Biodiversity
The jaguar, a native mammal of Mexico
 Mexico is one of the 18 megadiverse countries of
the world. With over 200,000 different species,
Mexico is home of 10–12% of the world's
biodiversity. Mexico ranks first in biodiversity in
reptiles with 707 known species, second in
mammals with 438 species, fourth in amphibians
with 290 species, and fourth in flora, with 26,000
different species. Mexico is also considered the
second country in the world in ecosystems and
fourth in overall species. Approximately 2,500
species are protected by Mexican legislations.
 As of 2002, Mexico had the second fastest rate of
deforestation in the world, second only to Brazil.
The government has taken another initiative in
the late 1990s to expand the people's knowledge,
interest and use of the country's esteemed
biodiversity, through the Comisión Nacional para
el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad.

10. Economy
 Mexico has the 13th largest nominal GDP and the 11th
largest by purchasing power parity. GDP annual average
growth for the period of 1995–2002 was 5.1%. Foreign
debt decreased to less than 20% of GDP From 2000 to
2004, the population in poverty has decreased from 24.2%
to 17.6% in the general population and from 42% to 27.9%
in rural areas. Since the late 1990s, the majority of the
population has been part of the growing middle class. The
Mexican economy is expected to nearly triple by 2020.
According to Goldman Sachs, by 2050 Mexico will have
the 5th largest economy in the world.

11. Tourism
Mexico is the twenty-third highest tourism
spender in the world, and the highest in Latin
America. The vast majority of tourists come
to Mexico from the United States and
Canada. Many other visitors come from
Europe and Asia. A small number of tourists
also come from other Latin American
countries. In the 2008 Travel and Tourism
Competitiveness Index, fifth among Latin
American countries, and the ninth in the
Americas.
Mexico City is most popular with tourists as an
ancient Mesoamerican city and the site of
many popular tourist attractions such as the
Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the
Moon. The city is also home to the Plaza
México and to the Mexican National Palace,
built on the site of Montezuma's palace, and
the huge Metropolitan Cathedral, the largest
in the Western Hemisphere, built over the
even greater Temple of Teocalli.

12.  Guadalajara, Jalisco, the second-largest city by population in the
Republic, is home of some of Mexico's best known traditions, such
as tequila, mariachi music and charros, or Mexican cowboys. Its
similitude with western European countries mixed with modern
architecture and infrastructure makes Guadalajara very attractive to
tourists.
 Along with Mexico City and beach destinations (Cancún, Acapulco,
etc.), Guadalajara is one of the most visited cities in Mexico.
Cultural tourism is the main attraction, the city being home to a
large number of museums, art galleries and theatres.
 Monterrey, was founded in the late 16th century. The downtown
district is the oldest section in the city, surrounded by newer
neighbourhoods. The Museo de Historia Mexicana (Museum of
Mexican History), MARCO (Monterrey Museum of Contemporary
Art), Metropolitan Museum of Monterrey and the Museum of the
Palacio de Gobierno, or State House, are some of the better known
museums in the city, as well as nationally. The Santa Lucía
Riverwalk is a popular tourist site, connecting the Fundidora Park
with the Macroplaza, one of the largest plazas in the world.

13. Culture
 After four decades of civil unrest and
war, Mexico saw the development of
philosophy and the arts, promoted by
President Díaz himself. Since that time,
as accentuated during the Mexican
Revolution, cultural identity has had its
foundation in the mestizaje, of which the
indigenous (i.e. Amerindian) element is
the core. In light of the various ethnicities
that formed the Mexican people, José
Vasconcelos in his publication La Raza
Cósmica (The Cosmic Race) (1925)
defined Mexico to be the melting pot of
all races (thus extending the definition of
the mestizo) not only biologically but
culturally as well. This exalting of
mestizaje was a revolutionary idea that
sharply contrasted with the idea of a
superior pure race prevalent in Europe at
the time

14. Visual arts
 Post-revolutionary art in Mexico had its
expression in the works of renowned artists such
as Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, José Clemente
Orozco, Rufino Tamayo, Federico Cantú Garza,
David Alfaro Siqueiros and Juan O'Gorman.
Diego Rivera, the most well-known figure of
Mexican muralism, painted the Man at the
Crossroads at the Rockefeller Center in New
York City, a huge mural that was destroyed the
next year due to the inclusion of a portrait of
Russian communist leader Lenin. Some of
Rivera's murals are displayed at the Mexican
National Palace and the Palace of Fine Arts.
 Mesoamerican architecture is mostly noted for
its pyramids which are the largest such structures
outside of Ancient Egypt.[citation needed]
Spanish Colonial architecture is marked by the
contrast between the simple, solid construction
demanded by the new environment and the
Baroque ornamentation exported from
Spain.[citation needed] Mexico, as the center of
New Spain has some of the most renowned
buildings built in this style.

15. Music
 Mexican society enjoys a vast array of music
genres, showing the diversity of Mexican
culture. Traditional music includes Mariachi,
Banda, Norteño, Ranchera and Corridos; on an
every-day basis most Mexicans listen to
contemporary music such as pop, rock, etc. in
both English and Spanish. Mexico has the
largest media industry in Latin America,
producing Mexican artists who are famous in
Central and South America and parts of Europe,
especially Spain. Some well-known Mexican
singers are Thalía, Luis Miguel, Alejandro
Fernández, Julieta Venegas and Paulina Rubio.
Mexican singers of traditional music are: Lila
Downs, Susana Harp, Jaramar, GEO Meneses
and Alejandra Robles. Popular groups are Café
Tacuba, Molotov and Maná, among others.
Since the early years of 2000s (decade),
Mexican rock has seen widespread growth both
domesticly and internationally.

16. Education
 Mexico has one of the highest student-to-
teaching staff ratio in the world with 26
students per teacher nationwide, when all
levels from pre-kindergarten through post
secondary education are included. In 2004,
the literacy rate was at 97% for youth under
the age of 14 and 91% for people over
15,placing Mexico at the 24th place in the
world rank accordingly to UNESCO.
 The National Autonomous University of
Mexico ranks 15th place in the Top 200
World University Ranking published by
The Times Higher Education Supplement
in 2008.One of the most prestigious private
universities is Monterrey Institute of
Technology and Higher Education
(ITESM). It was ranked by the Wall Street
Journal as the 7th top International School
worldwide.

17. Energy
 Energy production in Mexico is managed by
state-owned companies: the Federal
Commission of Electricity and Pemex.
 Pemex, the public company in charge of
exploration, extraction, transportation and
marketing of crude oil and natural gas, as well
as the refining and distribution of petroleum
products and petrochemicals, is one of the
largest companies in the world by revenue,
making US $86 billion in sales a year. Mexico
is the sixth-largest oil producer in the world,
with 3.7 million barrels per day. In 1980 oil
exports accounted for 61.6% of total exports;
by 2000 it was only 7.3%.
 The largest hydro plant in Mexico is the 2,400
MW Manuel Moreno Torres Dam in
Chicoasén, Chiapas, in the Grijalva River. This
is the world's fourth most productive
hydroelectric plant.

18. Maya civilization
 The Maya is a Mesoamerican
civilization, noted for the only
known fully developed written
language of the pre-Columbian
Americas, as well as for its art,
architecture, and mathematical
and astronomical systems.
Initially established during the
Pre-Classic period (c. 2000 BC to
250 AD), according to the
Mesoamerican chronology, many
Maya cities reached their highest
state of development during the
Classic period (c. 250 to 900 AD),
and continued throughout the
Post-Classic period until the
arrival of the Spanish.

19.  The Maya civilization shares many features
with other Mesoamerican civilizations due to
the high degree of interaction and cultural
diffusion that characterized the region.
Advances such as writing, epigraphy, and the
calendar did not originate with the Maya;
however, their civilization fully developed
them. Maya influence can be detected from
Honduras, Guatemala, Northern El Salvador
and to as far as central Mexico, more than 1,000
km (620 mi) from the Maya area. Many outside
influences are found in Maya art and
architecture, which are thought to result from
trade and cultural exchange rather than direct
external conquest.

20.  The Maya peoples never disappeared, neither at the
time of the Classic period decline nor with the arrival of
the Spanish conquistadores and the subsequent Spanish
colonization of the Americas. Today, the Maya and their
descendants form sizable populations throughout the
Maya area and maintain a distinctive set of traditions
and beliefs that are the result of the merger of pre-
Columbian and post-Conquest ideas and cultures. Many
Mayan languages continue to be spoken as primary
languages today; the Rabinal Achí, a play written in the
Achi language, was declared a Masterpiece of the Oral
and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in
2005.