16 September 1810 (declared); 27 September 1821 (recognized by Spain)
1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies)
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)
Catholic 26.4%, Anglican 20.5%, other Christian 20.5%, Buddhist 1.9%, Muslim 1.5%, other 1.2%, unspecified 12.7%, none 15.3% (2001 Census)
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)
English 79.1%, Chinese 2.1%, Italian 1.9%, other 11.1%, unspecified 5.8% (2001 Census)
coal, iron ore, gold, meat, wool, alumina, wheat, machinery and transport equipment
External Debt
$125,700,000,000 $
$1,466,000,000,000 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)
Australian dollars (AUD) per US dollar - 1.2059 (2008 est.), 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.500%
3.000%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
3
46
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
Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean
Area
1,964,375 km sq
7,741,220 km sq
Coastline
9,330 km
25,760 km
Climate
varies from tropical to desert
generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north
