NUMBER OF STATES
31, plus a Federal District (D.F.)

CAPITAL
Mexico city (the Federal District or D.F.)

POPULATION
100,000 million (2000 estimate); 13th largest in the world. 1.6% annual growth rate.

LARGEST CITIES
Mexico City (the Federal District), Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla. 75% of population lives in urban areas.

ETHNIC MAKE-UP
Mexico is a nation of mostly mestizos, a mixture of Native American and European peoples (about 75% of the total population); Native Americans make up close to 15% European Caucasians make up the remaining 10%.

LANGUAGE
Spanish; over 50 Native American languages are spoken in certain regions of the country. English is widely spoken in resort areas.

RELIGION
Predominantly Roman Catholic.

POLITICAL SYSTEM
Mexico is a federal democratic republic. Although its constitution allows multiple parties, until recently Mexico was a single-party democracy. Serious political pluralism since the 1980’s has seen the rise of at least two additional political powers: the PAN and the PRD. These parties now compete for state and federal government positions with the once unchallenged PRI party.

BIODIVERSITY
With 30,000 plant species, nearly 1,000 bird species, and 1,500 mammals, reptiles, and amphibians, Mexico is among the world’s most biodiverse nations.

Mexico has at least as many plant species as the continental United States, and 15 percent more vertebrates. Scientists estimate that almost 15 percent of Mexico’s plant and animal species are found nowhere else on earth.