ively. Geographically speaking, sharing a common border throughout its northern extent with the United States, the country is bounded on the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, to the east by the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, and on the southeast by Guatemala and Belize. Roughly triangular in shape, Mexico covers an area ofMexico (also spelled M?jico) is a country of North America that is officially called United Mexican States, Spanish M?xico, or Estados Unidos Mexicanos. The country's capital is Mexico City. Mexico gained independence on September 16, 1810. The monetary unit of the country is Mexican pesso and the official language is Spanish. Mexico is a Federal republic with two legislative houses (Senate with 128 members and the Chamber of Deputies comprising of 500 members). The President heads the state and government. The ethnic composition is as follows - Mestizo 60%, Amerindian 30%, European 9% and others 1%. The population is approximately 100,976,511 (ranking 11th in the world) with a density of 133.1 persons per square mile. The birth and death rates are 24.6 and 5.1 per 1000 population, respectively. Life expectancy for male and female is 68.5 and 74.7 respectively.

The GNP (in millions nominal US$) is 428,877 and an external debt of 81,550 million US$. The total value of exports is 79,488.6 million US$ and that of imports is 73,993 million US$. The literacy rate is about 89.6% and the daily available calories per capita are 3,136. Total road length is 188,886 miles and the annual military expenditure is 2700 million US$. Cellular phone subscriptions and Internet users per 1000 population are 202.3 and 35.2 respectively. Geographically speaking, sharing a common border throughout its northern extent with the United States, the country is bounded on the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, to the east by the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, and on the southeast by Guatemala and Belize. Roughly triangular in shape, Mexico covers an area of

o is a Federal republic with two legislative houses (Senate with 128 members and the Chamber of Deputies comprising of 500 members). The President heads the state and government. The ethnic composition is as follows - Mestizo 60%, Amerindian 30%, European 9% and others 1%. The population is approximately 100,976,511 (ranking 11th in the world) with a density of 133.1 persons per square mile. The birth and death rates are 24.6 and 5.1 per 1000 population, respectively. Life expectancy for male and female is 68.5 and 74.7 respectively.

The GNP (in millions nominal US$) is 428,877 and an external debt of 81,550 million US$. The total value of exports is 79,488.6 million US$ and that of imports is 73,993 million US$. The literacy rate is about 89.6% and the daily available calories per capita are 3,136. Total road length is 188,886 miles and the annual military expenditure is 2700 million US$. Cellular phone subscriptions and Internet users per 1000 population are 202.3 and 35.2 respectively. Geographically speaking, sharing a common border throughout its northern extent with the United States, the country is bounded on the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, to the east by the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, and on the southeast by Guatemala and Belize. Roughly triangular in shape, Mexico covers an area of

the world) with a density of 133.1 persons per square mile. The birth and death rates are 24.6 and 5.1 per 1000 population, respectively. Life expectancy for male and female is 68.5 and 74.7 respectively.

The GNP (in millions nominal US$) is 428,877 and an external debt of 81,550 million US$. The total value of exports is 79,488.6 million US$ and that of imports is 73,993 million US$. The literacy rate is about 89.6% and the daily available calories per capita are 3,136. Total road length is 188,886 miles and the annual military expenditure is 2700 million US$. Cellular phone subscriptions and Internet users per 1000 population are 202.3 and 35.2 respectively. Geographically speaking, sharing a common border throughout its northern extent with the United States, the country is bounded on the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, to the east by the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, and on the southeast by Guatemala and Belize. Roughly triangular in shape, Mexico covers an area of

88.6 million US$ and that of imports is 73,993 million US$. The literacy rate is about 89.6% and the daily available calories per capita are 3,136. Total road length is 188,886 miles and the annual military expenditure is 2700 million US$. Cellular phone subscriptions and Internet users per 1000 population are 202.3 and 35.2 respectively. Geographically speaking, sharing a common border throughout its northern extent with the United States, the country is bounded on the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, to the east by the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, and on the southeast by Guatemala and Belize. Roughly triangular in shape, Mexico covers an area ofively. Geographically speaking, sharing a common border throughout its northern extent with the United States, the country is bounded on the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, to the east by the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, and on the southeast by Guatemala and Belize. Roughly triangular in shape, Mexico covers an area of about 756,066 square miles. While it is more than 1,850 miles across the country from northwest to southeast, the width varies from less than 135 miles at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec to more than 1,200 miles in the north.

Mexico has a vast wealth of mineral resources, a limited amount of agricultural land, and rapidly growing population. More than half of the people live in the central core, while vast areas of the arid north and tropical south are sparsely settled. The long-held stereotype of Mexico as a country where life is slow-paced and the population mainly consists of subsistence farmers has little truth. Petroleum and tourism have come to dominate the economy, and industrialization is increasing tremendously. Internal migration has caused urban centers to grow dramatically, and more than two-thirds of Mexicans now live in cities; in population, Mexico City, the capital, is the largest city in the world (though the Mexico City metropolitan area ranks third in population when compared to other metropolitan areas). Despite impressive social and economic gains made during the 1960s and '70s, most Mexicans however, continue to remain poor.

It would not be wrong to say that the growing pains of modernization are in sharp counterpoint to the traditional life-styles that prevail in the more isolated rural