Mexico

Mexico - Location, scenery and population

Mexico, officially "Estados Unidos Mexicanos" (The United Mexican States), is a democratic, representative and federal republic conformed by 31 federative states and 1 federal district and is located in the southern part of North America.

It borders to the north on the United States of America; to the east, with the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean sea; to the southeast, with Belize and Guatemala, and on the west with the Pacific Ocean. The Mexican territory occupies an extension of 1,972,550 km² and is the fourteenth largest country in the world, with a population of more than 107 million inhabitants.

The scenery of Mexicos is mostly covered up by mountains and volcanic activity. The Mexican territory is crossed from north to south by the "Sierra Madre Oriental" and "Sierra Madre Occidental", two mountain ranges that are a prolongation of the Rocky Mountains.

The climate of Mexico is mainly dry with sporadic rainfalls, specially the north of the country. In the southern areas, the coastal plains and the Yucatán Peninsula, the climate is steady throughout the year with average temperatures from 24ºC and 28 ºC. The coolest temperatures are registered in locations in the Valley of Mexico with an average temperature ranging from 16 ºC to 18 ºC throughout the year.

The official language is Spanish which is spoken by the majority of the population. But besides Spanish numerous indigenous languages are officially recognized by the Mexican State.

Mexico is ethnically diverse and a multicultural nation founded on indigenous people.

Although there is no official statistics for the ethnic identity of the country, it is believed that about 75 % of the population is mixed European and Amerindian "Mestizos" and 12 % is pure Amerindian. Whites comprise about 9 % of the population, mostly descendants of Spanish, French, Italians, Germans and Jews, living 80 % of this ethnic in Mexico City. Afro-Mexican comprise about 4 % and live in the coastal areas.