EdNC. Essential education news. Important stories. Your voice.

Search ednc.org
Flash Cards

From Mexico to North Carolina

by Mebane Rash |
  1. Mexico Overview
  2. The People
  3. The Government
  4. The Economy
  5. The Education System
  6. Sources

Mexico Overview

Population – 125,959,205 people, roughly a quarter of the population lives in and around Mexico City

Population in urban regions – 80.2% of total population

Total Area – 1,964,375 sq km, 15th largest in the world, a little less than 3 times the size of Texas

 

The People

Ethnic breakdown – mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 62%, predominantly Amerindian 21%, Amerindian 7%, other 10% (mostly European)

Languages – Spanish only 92.7%, Spanish and indigenous languages 5.7%, indigenous only 0.8%, unspecified 0.8%, indigenous languages include various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional languages

Religions – Roman Catholic 82.7%, Pentecostal 1.6%, Jehovah’s Witness 1.4%, other Evangelical Churches 5%, other 1.9%, none 4.7%, unspecified 2.7

Median age – 28.6 years

Life Expectancy – male: 73.5 years, female: 79.2 years

Birth Rate – 18.1 births/1,000 population, 93rd highest in the world

Infant Mortality – 11.3 deaths/1,000 live births, 125th highest in the world

The Government

Form of government – Federal presidential republic

President – President Andres Manuel LOPEZ OBRADOR (since 1 December 2018), won 53.2% of the vote

Parliament composition – Citizen’s Movement (7%), Institutional Revolutionary Party (14%), Labor Party (7%), Mexican Green Ecological Party (5%), Movement for National Regeneration (58%), National Action Party (22%), Party of the Democratic Revolution (9%)

Next election – senate (on 1 July 2024), chamber of deputies (on 1 July 2021), presidential (on July 2024)

Colonization – Mexico was first conquered and colonized by Spain in 16th century, and achieved independence early in the 19th century

Transition of power – the elections held in 2000 marked the first time since the 1910 Mexican Revolution that an opposition candidate defeated the party in government

 

The Economy

GDP – $2.4 trillion economy, 11th largest in the world, per capita GDP is $19,900 (90th in the world)

Main sector – became oriented toward manufacturing since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) entered into force in 1994

Biggest industries – services: 64.5%, manufacturing industry: 31.9%, agriculture: 3.6%

Currency – Mexican pesos (MXN) per US dollar -18.26 (2017 est.)

Gross national savings rate – 21.4% of GDP (85th in the world)

Labor Force – 54.51 million (12th in the world)

The Education System

Education system percentage of national budget – 5.2% of GDP (59th in the world)

Number of students – over 36 million

Number of teachers – 2 million

Number of schools – 260,000 institutions (including primary to tertiary) 

Major policy – Mexico made upper secondary education compulsory in 2012 and enrollment rates have increased. At the same time, the large increase in the demand for low-skilled labor generated by the boost in manufacturing activities and informal employment has decreased the opportunity cost of leaving education, contributing to low graduation rates from secondary education