geographic coordinates: 19 26 N, 99 08 W
time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard
Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in April; ends last
Sunday in October
note: Mexico is divided into three time zones
Administrative divisions:
31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district*
(distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California
Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Colima,
Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco,
Mexico, Michoacan de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca,
Puebla, Queretaro de Arteaga, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi,
Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz-Llave,
Yucatan, Zacatecas
Independence:
16 September 1810 (declared); 27 September 1821 (recognized by Spain)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 16 September (1810)
Constitution:
5 February 1917
Legal system:
mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial
review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with
reservations
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced)
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Felipe de Jesus CALDERON Hinojosa (since 1
December 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and
head of government
head of government: President Felipe de Jesus CALDERON Hinojosa
(since 1 December 2006)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of
attorney general requires consent of the Senate
elections: president elected by popular vote for a single six-year
term; election last held on 2 July 2006 (next to be held 1 July 2012)
election results: Felipe CALDERON elected president; percent of vote
- Felipe CALDERON 35.89%, Andres Manuel LOPEZ OBRADOR 35.31%,
Roberto MADRAZO 22.26%, other 6.54%
Legislative branch:
bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the
Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; 96 members are elected by
popular vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 seats are allocated on
the basis of each party's popular vote) and the Federal Chamber of
Deputies or Camara Federal de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members are
elected by popular vote; remaining 200 members are allocated on the
basis of each party's popular vote; to serve three-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 2 July 2006 for all of the seats (next
to be held 1 July 2012); Chamber of Deputies - last held 2 July 2006
(next to be held 5 July 2009)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by
party - PAN 52, PRI 33, PRD 26, PVEM 6, CD 5, PT 5, independent 1;
Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party
- PAN 207, PRD 127, PRI 106, PVEM 17, CD 17, PT 11, other 15
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court of Justice or Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nacion
(justices or ministros are appointed by the president with consent
of the Senate)
Political parties and leaders:
Convergence for Democracy or CD [Luis MALDONADO Venegas];
Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI [Beatriz PAREDES]; Labor
Party or PT [Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez]; Mexican Green Ecological
Party or PVEM [Jorge Emilio GONZALEZ Martinez]; National Action
Party (Partido Accion Nacional) or PAN [German MARTINEZ Cazares];
New Alliance Party (Partido Nueva Alianza) or PNA [Jorge Antonio
KAHWAGI Macari]; Party of the Democratic Revolution (Partido de la
Revolucion Democratica) or PRD [Leonel COTA Montano]; Social
Democratic and Peasant Alternative Party (Partido Alternativa
Socialdemocrata y Campesina) or Alternativa [Alberto BEGNE Guerra]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Broad Progressive Front or FAP; Businessmen's Coordinating Council
or CCE; Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic or
COPARMEX; Confederation of Industrial Chambers or CONCAMIN;
Confederation of Mexican Workers or CTM; Confederation of National
Chambers of Commerce or CONCANACO; Coordinator for Foreign Trade
Business Organizations or COECE; Federation of Unions Providing
Goods and Services or FESEBES; National Chamber of Transformation
Industries or CANACINTRA; National Peasant Confederation or CNC;
National Small Business Chamber or CANACOPE; National Syndicate of
Education Workers or SNTE; National Union of Workers or UNT; Popular
Assembly of the People of Oaxaca or APPO; Roman Catholic Church
International organization participation:
APEC, BCIE, BIS, CAN (observer), Caricom (observer), CDB, CE
(observer), CSN (observer), EBRD, FAO, G-3, G-15, G-24, IADB, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF,
IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES,
LAIA, MIGA, NAFTA, NAM (observer), NEA, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW,
PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU,
WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Arturo SARUKHAN Casamitjana
chancery: 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006
telephone: [1] (202) 728-1600
FAX: [1] (202) 728-1698
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas,
Denver, El Paso, Houston, Laredo (Texas), Los Angeles, Miami, New
Orleans, New York, Nogales (Arizona), Omaha, Orlando, Phoenix,
Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San
Juan (Puerto Rico)
consulate(s): Albuquerque, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico
(California), Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Douglas (Arizona), Eagle
Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), Indianapolis (Indiana), Kansas
City (Missouri), Laredo (Texas), Las Vegas, Little Rock (Arkansas),
McAllen (Texas), New Orleans, Omaha, Orlando, Oxnard (California),
Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), Presidio (Texas), Raleigh, Saint
Paul (Minnesota), Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, Santa Ana
(California), Seattle, Tucson, Yuma (Arizona)
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Antonio O. GARZA, Jr.
embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 06500 Mexico,
Distrito Federal
mailing address: P. O. Box 9000, Brownsville, TX 78520-9000
telephone: [52] (55) 5080-2000
FAX: [52] (55) 5511-9980
consulate(s) general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana
consulate(s): Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nogales, Nuevo Laredo
Flag description:
three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red;
the coat of arms (an eagle with a snake in its beak perched on a
cactus) is centered in the white band
Economy
Mexico
Economy - overview:
Mexico has a free market economy in the trillion dollar class. It
contains a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture,
increasingly dominated by the private sector. Recent administrations
have expanded competition in seaports, railroads,
telecommunications, electricity generation, natural gas
distribution, and airports. Per capita income is one-fourth that of
the US; income distribution remains highly unequal. Trade with the
US and Canada has tripled since the implementation of NAFTA in 1994.
Mexico has 12 free trade agreements with over 40 countries
including, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, the European Free Trade
Area, and Japan, putting more than 90% of trade under free trade
agreements. In 2007, during his first year in office, the Felipe
CALDERON administration was able to garner support from the
opposition to successfully pass a pension and a fiscal reform. The
administration continues to face many economic challenges including
the need to upgrade infrastructure, modernize labor laws, and allow
private investment in the energy sector. CALDERON has stated that
his top economic priorities remain reducing poverty and creating
jobs.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$1.353 trillion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$893.4 billion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
3.2% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$12,400 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 4%
industry: 26.6%
services: 69.5% (2007 est.)
Labor force:
44.71 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 18%
industry: 24%
services: 58% (2003)
Unemployment rate:
3.7% plus underemployment of perhaps 25% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line:
13.8% using food-based definition of poverty; asset based poverty
amounted to more than 40% (2006)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.2%
highest 10%: 37% (2006)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
50.9 (2005)
Investment (gross fixed):
20.8% of GDP (2007 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $227.5 billion
expenditures: $227.2 billion (2007 est.)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Public debt:
22.8% of GDP (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
4% (2007 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
NA
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
7.56% (31 December 2007)
Stock of money:
$103.5 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:
$168.4 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:
$349.1 billion (31 December 2007)
Agriculture - products:
corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes;
beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products
Industries:
food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum,
mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables,
tourism
Industrial production growth rate:
1.4% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production:
243.3 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - consumption:
202 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - exports:
1.278 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports:
484.2 million kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 78.7%
hydro: 14.2%
nuclear: 4.2%
other: 2.9% (2001)
Oil - production:
3.501 million bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - consumption:
2.119 million bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - exports:
2.204 million bbl/day (2005)
Oil - imports:
385,400 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - proved reserves:
11.65 billion bbl (1 January 2008 est.)
Natural gas - production:
55.98 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
68.29 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
2.973 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
11.69 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
392.2 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)
Current account balance:
-$5.525 billion (2007 est.)
Exports:
$271.9 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:
manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits,
vegetables, coffee, cotton
Exports - partners:
US 82.2%, Canada 2.4%, Germany 1.5% (2007)
Imports:
$281.9 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities:
metalworking machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery,
electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor
vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts
Imports - partners:
US 49.6%, China 10.5%, Japan 5.8%, South Korea 4.5% (2007)
Economic aid - recipient:
$189.4 million (2005)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$87.19 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external:
$179.8 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$260.9 billion (2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$39.01 billion (2007 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$348.3 billion (2006)
Currency (code):
Mexican peso (MXN)
Currency code:
MXN
Exchange rates:
Mexican pesos (MXN) per US dollar - 10.8 (2007), 10.899 (2006),
10.898 (2005), 11.286 (2004), 10.789 (2003)
Communications
Mexico
Telephones - main lines in use:
19.754 million (2007)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
68.254 million (2007)
Telephone system:
general assessment: adequate telephone service for business and
government, but the population is poorly served; mobile subscribers
far outnumber fixed-line subscribers; domestic satellite system with
120 earth stations; extensive microwave radio relay network;
considerable use of fiber-optic cable and coaxial cable
domestic: low telephone density with about 18 fixed lines per 100
persons; privatized in December 1990; despite the opening to
competition in January 1997, Telmex remains dominant; legal
challenges to Telmex's alleged anti-competitive behavior in the
mobile and fixed-line markets culminated in a World Trade
Organization ruling in 2004 against Mexico prompting some
strengthening of the powers granted Mexico's telecom regulator;
mobile cellular teledensity approaching 65 per 100 persons
international: country code - 52; Columbus-2 fiber-optic submarine
cable with access to the US, Virgin Islands, Canary Islands, Spain,
and Italy; the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) and
the MAYA-1 submarine cable system together provide access to Central
America, parts of South America and the Caribbean, and the US;
satellite earth stations - 120 (32 Intelsat, 2 Solidaridad (giving
Mexico improved access to South America, Central America, and much
of the US as well as enhancing domestic communications), 1 Panamsat,
numerous Inmarsat mobile earth stations); linked to Central American
Microwave System of trunk connections (2007)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 850, FM 545, shortwave 15 (2003)
Radios:
31 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
236 (plus repeaters) (1997)
Televisions:
25.6 million (1997)
Internet country code:
.mx
Internet hosts:
10.653 million (2008)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
51 (2000)
Internet users:
22.812 million (2007)
Transportation
Mexico
Airports:
1,834 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 231
over 3,047 m: 12
2,438 to 3,047 m: 29
1,524 to 2,437 m: 84
914 to 1,523 m: 77
under 914 m: 29 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 1,603
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 63
914 to 1,523 m: 408
under 914 m: 1,131 (2007)
Heliports:
1 (2007)
Pipelines:
gas 22,705 km; liquid petroleum gas 1,875 km; oil 8,688 km;
oil/gas/water 228 km; refined products 6,520 km (2006)
Railways:
total: 17,665 km
standard gauge: 17,665 km 1.435-m gauge (2006)
Roadways:
total: 356,945 km
paved: 178,473 km (includes 6,279 km of expressways)
unpaved: 178,472 km (2006)
Waterways:
2,900 km (navigable rivers and coastal canals) (2007)
Merchant marine:
total: 55
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 7, chemical tanker 5, liquefied gas
4, passenger/cargo 11, petroleum tanker 23, roll on/roll off 3
foreign-owned: 4 (Denmark 2, Hong Kong 1, UAE 1)
registered in other countries: 20 (Brazil 1, Honduras 1, Liberia 2,
Marshall Islands 4, Panama 2, Portugal 1, Spain 3, Venezuela 5,
unknown 1) (2008)
Ports and terminals:
Altamira, Coatzacoalcos, Manzanillo, Morro Redondo, Salina Cruz,
Tampico, Veracruz
Military
Mexico
Military branches:
Secretariat of National Defense (Secretaria de Defensa Nacional,
Sedena): Army (Ejercito, includes Mexican Air Force (Fuerza Aerea
Mexicana, FAM)); Secretariat of the Navy (Secretaria de Marina,
Semar): Mexican Navy (Armada de Mexico, ARM, includes Naval Air
Force (FAN) and naval infantry) (2008)
Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for compulsory military service, conscript service
obligation - 12 months; 16 years of age with consent for voluntary
enlistment; conscripts serve only in the Army; Navy and Air Force
service is all voluntary; women are eligible for voluntary military
service (2007)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 27,774,688
females age 16-49: 29,376,791 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 22,188,284
females age 16-49: 24,884,614 (2008 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 1,110,544
female: 1,073,223 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures:
0.5% of GDP (2006 est.)
Transnational Issues
Mexico
Disputes - international:
abundant rainfall in recent years along much of the Mexico-US border
region has ameliorated periodically strained water-sharing
arrangements; the US has intensified security measures to monitor
and control legal and illegal personnel, transport, and commodities
across its border with Mexico; Mexico must deal with thousands of
impoverished Guatemalans and other Central Americans who cross the
porous border looking for work in Mexico and the United States
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
IDPs: 5,500-10,000 (government's quashing of Zapatista uprising in
1994 in eastern Chiapas Region) (2007)
Illicit drugs:
major drug-producing nation; cultivation of opium poppy in 2007 rose
to 6,900 hectares yielding a potential production of 18 metric tons
of pure heroin, or 50 metric tons of "black tar" heroin, the
dominant form of Mexican heroin in the western United States;
marijuana cultivation increased to 8,900 hectares in 2007 and
yielded a potential production of 15,800 metric tons; government
conducts the largest independent illicit-crop eradication program in
the world; continues as the primary transshipment country for
US-bound cocaine from South America, with an estimated 90% of annual
cocaine movements toward the US stopping in Mexico; major drug
syndicates control the majority of drug trafficking throughout the
country; producer and distributor of ecstasy; significant
money-laundering center; major supplier of heroin and largest
foreign supplier of marijuana and methamphetamine to the US market
(2007)
This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008
======================================================================
@Micronesia, Federated States of
Introduction
Micronesia, Federated States of
Background:
In 1979 the Federated States of Micronesia, a UN Trust Territory
under US administration, adopted a constitution. In 1986
independence was attained under a Compact of Free Association with
the US, which was amended and renewed in 2004. Present concerns
include large-scale unemployment, overfishing, and overdependence on
US aid.
Geography
Micronesia, Federated States of
Location:
Oceania, island group in the North Pacific Ocean, about
three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Indonesia
Geographic coordinates:
6 55 N, 158 15 E
Map references:
Oceania
Area:
total: 702 sq km
land: 702 sq km
water: 0 sq km (fresh water only)
note: includes Pohnpei (Ponape), Chuuk (Truk) Islands, Yap Islands,
and Kosrae (Kosaie)
Area - comparative:
four times the size of Washington, DC (land area only)
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
6,112 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate:
tropical; heavy year-round rainfall, especially in the eastern
islands; located on southern edge of the typhoon belt with
occasionally severe damage
Terrain:
islands vary geologically from high mountainous islands to low,
coral atolls; volcanic outcroppings on Pohnpei, Kosrae, and Chuuk
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Dolohmwar (Totolom) 791 m
Natural resources:
forests, marine products, deep-seabed minerals, phosphate
Land use:
arable land: 5.71%
permanent crops: 45.71%
other: 48.58% (2005)
Irrigated land:
NA
Natural hazards:
typhoons (June to December)
Environment - current issues:
overfishing, climate change, pollution
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone
Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
four major island groups totaling 607 islands
People
Micronesia, Federated States of
Population:
107,665 (July 2008 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 35.3% (male 19,344/female 18,687)
15-64 years: 61.8% (male 33,142/female 33,389)
65 years and over: 2.9% (male 1,320/female 1,783) (2008 est.)
Median age:
total: 21.6 years
male: 21.1 years
female: 22.1 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
-0.191% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
23.66 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate:
4.53 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
-21.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Sex ratio:
NA
Infant mortality rate:
total: 27.03 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 29.8 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 24.13 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 70.65 years
male: 68.79 years
female: 72.61 years (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.98 children born/woman (2008 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA
Nationality:
noun: Micronesian(s)
adjective: Micronesian; Chuukese, Kosraen(s), Pohnpeian(s), Yapese
Ethnic groups:
Chuukese 48.8%, Pohnpeian 24.2%, Kosraean 6.2%, Yapese 5.2%, Yap
outer islands 4.5%, Asian 1.8%, Polynesian 1.5%, other 6.4%, unknown
1.4% (2000 census)
Religions:
Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 47%, other 3%
Languages:
English (official and common language), Chuukese, Kosrean,
Pohnpeian, Yapese, Ulithian, Woleaian, Nukuoro, Kapingamarangi
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 89%
male: 91%
female: 88% (1980 est.)
Education expenditures:
7.3% of GDP (2000)
Government
Micronesia, Federated States of
Country name:
conventional long form: Federated States of Micronesia
conventional short form: none
local long form: Federated States of Micronesia
local short form: none
former: Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Ponape, Truk, and
Yap Districts
abbreviation: FSM
Government type:
constitutional government in free association with the US; the
Compact of Free Association entered into force 3 November 1986 and
the Amended Compact entered into force May 2004
Capital:
name: Palikir
geographic coordinates: 6 55 N, 158 09 E
time difference: UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
4 states; Chuuk (Truk), Kosrae (Kosaie), Pohnpei (Ponape), Yap
Independence:
3 November 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship)
National holiday:
Constitution Day, 10 May (1979)
Constitution:
10 May 1979
Legal system:
based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature,
municipal, common, and customary laws; has not accepted compulsory
ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Emanuel MORI (since 11 May 2007); Vice
President Alik L. ALIK (since 11 May 2007); note - the president is
both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Emanuel MORI (since 11 May 2007); Vice
President Alik L. ALIK (since 11 May 2007)
cabinet: Cabinet includes the vice president and the heads of the
eight executive departments
elections: president and vice president elected by Congress from
among the four senators at large for a four-year term (eligible for
a second term); election last held 11 May 2007 (next to be held May
2011); note - a proposed constitutional amendment to establish
popular elections for president and vice president failed
election results: Emanuel MORI elected president; percent of
Congress vote - NA; Alik L. ALIK elected vice president; percent of
Congress vote - NA
Legislative branch:
unicameral Congress (14 seats; 4 - one elected from each state to
serve four-year terms and 10 - elected from single-member districts
delineated by population to serve two-year terms; members elected by
popular vote)
elections: last held 6 March 2007 (next to be held in March 2009)
election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 14
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:
no formal parties
Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA
International organization participation:
ACP, ADB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IOC,
ITSO, ITU, MIGA, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO,
WMO
Diplomatic representation in the US: