President: Francois Hollande Prime minister: Jean-Marc Ayrault
Population
114,975,406
65,630,692
Life Expectancy
76.660 years
81.460 years
Capital City
Mexico (Distrito Federal)
Paris
Largest city
Mexico City (population: 11,285,700)
Paris (population: 2,138,550)
Human Development Index
0.842
0.955
GDP per capita
$14,800 US
$35,600 US
Literacy Rate
91%
99%
Corruption Perception Index
3.6
6.9
Percentage of Women in Parliament
22.1%
19.6%
Wealthiest Citizens
Carlos Slim Helu & family ($35.0bn US)
Bernard Arnault ($16.5bn US)
Unemployment Rate
5.200%
9.300%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished
Political System
federal republic
republic
Independence date
16 September 1810 (declared); 27 September 1821 (recognized by Spain)
486 (Frankish tribes unified); 843 (Western Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire)
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)
Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4% overseas departments: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, pagan
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)
French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish) overseas departments: French, Creole patois
machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages
External Debt
$210,800,000,000 $
$5,633,000,000,000 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)
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6799 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.500%
2.600%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
3
40
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
Western Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay and English Channel, between Belgium and Spain, southeast of the UK; bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and Spain
