Study, Work or Volunteer in Mexico

Mexico, officially known as the United Mexican States, is a federal country located in North America. As of 2007, Mexico has a population of about 108 million, the 11th most populous nation in the world. Its capital and largest city is Mexico City. It has no official language but Spanish is used by almost 97% of its citizens together with 62 indigenous Amerindian languages. At least 95% of Mexicans considered themselves as Christian with 89% belong to the Roman Catholic Church. Mexican foods and beverages are considered to be some the world’s most famous such as maize, tacos, tortillas, tamales and of course tequila and mescal.

The type of government Mexico has is federal presidential republic with the president acting as head of the state and government. The current president is Felipe Calderon of the National Action Party (PAN) who assumed office in December 2006. It declared independence from Spain in September 16, 1810 and was officially recognized as a free nation in 1821 after a 300-year colonization period. Other civilizations that made great influences to Mexico include the Olmec, Teotihuacan, Maya, Toltec, and Mexica empires.

Mexico has the 12th largest economy in the world with an estimated $1.15 trillion GDP in 2006. Its capita per income based on purchasing power parity is $12.78, the highest in Latin America. As an upper middle-income nation, it is the only Latin American member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Mexico’s service sector accounts for almost 71% of its total GDP with tourism, financial operations and health as leading contributors. It signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1992.