People

Population

In 2005 Mexico had an estimated population of 106.2 million. The population growth rate has been falling since the 1970s, declining from an average of 3.4 percent annually during the 1960s to 1.8 percent annually in the 1990s. The decrease is largely attributable to declining fertility. Emigration to the United States has increased significantly since the 1970s. The number of Mexican-born residents in the United States grew from an estimated 760,000 in 1970 to 8.5 million in 2000 (8.7 percent of Mexico’s population in the 2000 census). Immigration has not been a significant factor in population growth since the 1920s. Nationwide, population density was 52 residents per square kilometer according to the 2000 census. Density varied widely among the 31 states and Federal District from a high of 5,975 residents per square kilometer in the Federal District to a low of 12 residents per square kilometer in Baja California Sur. Mexico experienced heavy urbanization during the latter half of the twentieth century. In 1950 less than half the population (42.6 percent) lived in communities of 2,500 or more inhabitants. By 2005 more than three-quarters (76.2 percent) of Mexicans lived in such communities. The national population is heavily concentrated in central Mexico along a roughlynorthwest to southeast axis from Guadalajara to Veracruz. This area includes the heavily populated contiguous states of Jalisco, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Hidalgo, México, Distrito Federal, Morelos, Puebla, and Veracruz-Llave—which together are home to about half the national population. Major urban agglomerations are also found in the north centered on the cities of Ciudad Juárez, Tijuana, and Monterrey—with just over 1 million residents each. In the south, the largely Amerindian populations in the states of Chiapas and Oaxaca live mainly in small- to medium-sized towns and villages.

Demography

Mexico’s birthrate has been declining since the 1960s. During the 1990s, the rate of natural increase was 1.6 percent, half the rate observed during the 1960s (3.1 percent). In 2004 there were 18.8 live births and 4.5 deaths per 1,000 population. In 2005 life expectancy at birth was estimated at 75 years (72 years for men and 77 years for women). The total fertility rate (children born per woman) was 2.4 in 2005. Infant mortality stood at 21 per 1,000 live births versus 79.3 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1970. The 2005 age structure of the population was as follows: 0–14 years, 31 percent; 15–29 years, 28 percent; 30–49 years, 26 percent; 50–64 years, 10 percent; 65 years and older, 6 percent. The median age was 25.3 years, and females slightly outnumbered males by a ratio of 1.05:1. As a result of declining fertility and rising life expectancy, by 2025 Mexico’s population is predicted to age overall; the share of the youngest cohort (0–14) will decline to 24 percent and that of the oldest will rise to 10 percent.

Ethnic Groups

The two main ethnic categories of mestizo and Indian/Amerindian are defined broadly along cultural rather than racial lines. The term “mestizo” describes persons with a solely European background, those with a mixed European-indigenous ancestry, and indigenous people who have adopted the dominant Hispanic societal values. According to anthropologists, the terms “Indian” or “indigenous” describe persons who identify themselves as such, use an indigenous language in daily speech, remain actively involved in indigenous communal affairs, or participate in religious ceremonies rooted in native American traditions. Approximately 60 percent of the population is mestizo, 30 percent Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian, 9 percent white or European, and 1 percent “other.”

Languages

Spanish is the dominant language for both the mestizo and Indian populations. Approximately 6 million Mexicans spoke an indigenous language as a first language in 2000. The number of indigenous language speakers rose slightly in absolute terms from 1990 to 2000 but declined slightly as a percentage of the total Mexican population (7.2 percent in 2000 versus 7.8 percent in 1990). Indigenous speakers are highly concentrated in the southern states of Guerrero, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, Chiapas, and Yucatán. Among indigenous language speakers, 83 percent also speak Spanish, while about 1 million are monolingual. Linguistically isolated communities are most prevalent in the states of Chiapas and Guerrero. Specialists have identified 12 distinct Mexican indigenous linguistic families, more than 40 subgroups, and at least 90 individual languages. According to the 2000 census, nearly 24 percent of all native speakers spoke Náhuatl, the language of the Aztec people and the most geographically dispersed native language. Other major indigenous languages include Maya, Zapotec, Mixtec, Otomí, Tzeltal, and Tzotzil.

Religion

Roman Catholicism is the main religion; 88 percent of the population five years of age and older identified themselves as Roman Catholic in the 2000 census. Protestants andEvangelicals were the second largest religious group, accounting for approximately 5 percent of the population. The rapid growth in Protestant and Evangelical membership slowed during the 1990s, averaging a 3.7 percent annual rise from 1990 to 2000 (versus 10 percent during the 1970s and 5 percent during the 1980s).

Education and Literacy

During the past several decades, Mexico has made significant advances in literacy and the provision of public education. In 2001 the adult literacy rate stood at 91.4 percent (93.5 percent among men and 89.5 percent among women). Mexican law mandates universal primary and secondary education. Nine years of education are compulsory, but in practice this legal requirement is largely ignored. In 2002 Mexico had 25.6 million students in primary, secondary, and postsecondary educational institutions—an increase of 11 percent since 1995. In 2002 the share of public spending invested in education was 24 percent—the highest among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries and almost twice as high as the OECD average level (12.9 percent). Most current spending at the primary and secondary levels goes to the compensation of staff, leaving few resources for infrastructure and training. Despite recent increases in funding, spending per primary student in Mexico is still very low, approximately one-quarter of the OECD average of US$5,313. The same holds true for lower secondary education. Enrollment rates in primary education are high; however, many students—especially those from poor families—do not complete high school, opting instead to enter the workforce. The performance of Mexican secondary school students in math, reading, and science is the lowest of all OECD countries and ranks well below the OECD average.

Health

Aggregate health statistics have improved greatly since the 1970s. However, Mexico lags well behind other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries in health status and health care availability. Total health care spending accounted for 6.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2003; per capita spending on health care was US$583 (adjusted for purchasing power parity)—about a quarter of the OECD average. During 2003, 46.4 percent of health spending was paid from public sources—comparable to the share of public spending in the United States but significantly below the OECD average. Private financing in Mexico is almost entirely in the form of out-of-pocket payments, as only 3.1 percent of total expenditures on health are funded through private health insurance. In 2003 Mexico had 1.5 doctors and 2.1 nurses per 1,000 population, a significant increase in health care personnel over the previous decade but again below the OECD averages for these indicators. The mortality rate for children younger than five years was 28 per 1,000 live births in 2004. Ninety-one percent of the population had direct access to potable water and 77 percent to sanitation. In 2003 the incidence of HIV/AIDS among persons aged 15 to 49 was 0.3 percent.

Welfare

Mexico has made progress in reducing poverty since the late 1990s, performing above the Latin American average. However, nearly half of the population continues to live in poverty; about 15 percent of the total population subsists in extreme poverty with limited access to food and basic services. Residents of southern Mexico consistently trail the rest of the country in quality-of-life indicators. Urban workers in the informal sector of the economy do not have access to the same level of health care as their counterparts in the formal sector, nor do they qualify for retirement or pension benefits. About half the workforce is registered with the Mexican Social Security Institute.

Source: Library of Congress – Federal Research Division Country Profile