esh 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,
Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping,
Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified -
Desertification

Note: strategic location on southern border of US

@Mexico:People

Population: 93,985,848 (July 1995 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 37% (female 17,028,091; male 17,631,110)
15-64 years: 59% (female 28,429,663; male 26,866,886)
65 years and over: 4% (female 2,184,998; male 1,845,100) (July 1995
est.)

Population growth rate: 1.9% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 26.64 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 4.64 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: -3.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 26 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 73.34 years
male: 69.74 years
female: 77.11 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.09 children born/woman (1995 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 (1990)
total population: 88%
male: 90%
female: 85%

Labor force: 26.2 million (1990)
by occupation: services 31.7%, agriculture, forestry, hunting, and
fishing 28%, commerce 14.6%, manufacturing 11.1%, construction 8.4%,
transportation 4.7%, mining and quarrying 1.5%

@Mexico:Government

Names:
conventional long form: United Mexican States
conventional short form: Mexico
local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos
local short form: Mexico

Digraph: MX

Type: federal republic operating under a centralized government

Cap