16 September 1810 (declared); 27 September 1821 (recognized by Spain)
9 July 1816 (from Spain)
Religions
Roman Catholic 76.5%, Protestant 6.3% (Pentecostal 1.4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.1%, other 3.8%), other 0.3%, unspecified 13.8%, none 3.1% (2000 census)
nominally Roman Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4%
Languages
Spanish only 92.7%, Spanish and indigenous languages 5.7%, indigenous only 0.8%, unspecified 0.8%; note - indigenous languages include various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional languages (2005)
Spanish (official), Italian, English, German, French
soybeans and derivatives, petroleum and gas, vehicles, corn, wheat
External Debt
$210,800,000,000 $
$136,800,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Mexican pesos (MXN) per US dollar - 11.016 (2008 est.), 10.8 (2007), 10.899 (2006), 10.898 (2005), 11.286 (2004)
Argentine pesos (ARS) per US dollar - 3.1636 (2008 est.), 3.1105 (2007), 3.0543 (2006), 2.9037 (2005), 2.9233 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.500%
0.800%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
3
6
Location
Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the US
Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay
Area
1,964,375 km sq
2,780,400 km sq
Coastline
9,330 km
4,989 km
Climate
varies from tropical to desert
mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest
