Demographics of Mexico

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With a population of 103,263,388 in 2005, Mexico is the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world, and the second-most populous country in Latin America after Portuguese-speaking Brazil. Mexico's population is characterized by rapid growth, with a large cohort of youths. The most populous city in the country is the capital city, Mexico City, with a population of 8.7 million (2005), and its metropolitan area is also the most populous in the country with 19.2 million (2005), and the second in the world. This agglomeration is home of almost 18% of the country's population.

The population of Mexico is ethnically and culturally diverse. Mexico has defined itself, in the second article of its constitution, as a "pluricultural" nation, in recognition of the diverse ethnic groups that constitute it, and in which the indigenous peoples are its foundation. Recent changes in legislation have allowed for a greater recognition of the indigenous culture and language (creating the concept of "national languages") as well as greater cultural, social, economical and political autonomy.

Contents 1 Demographic dynamics 2 Ethnography 2.1 Mestizos 2.2 Native Amerindians 2.3 Europeans 2.4 Middle Easterners & Asians 2.5 Africans 2.6 Attitudes toward race 3 Foreigners in Mexico 4 Languages 5 Demographic statistics according to the CIA 6 External links 7 References

[edit] Demographic dynamics

During the period of economic and social prosperity that has been dubbed by economists as the "Mexican Miracle" Mexico reduced its infant mortality rate and increased its life expectancy which jointly led to an intense demographic increase between 1930 and 1970. Since then, the population's annual growh rate has been reduced from a 3.5% peak (1965) to 0.99% (2005). Through a decentralization policy, though weak and mostly focused to reduce pollution in the Valley of Mexico, from 2000-2005 the net migration rate of the Federal District was negative, whereas the least-populated states (and the last states to be admitted to the Union) have been experiencing the highest growth and migration rates: Quintana Roo, Baja California and Baja California Sur. Annual growth rate of Greater Mexico City (0.8%) was the lowest of the five largest metro areas (Guadalajara 1.8%, Monterrey 1.9%, Puebla 2.0% and Toluca 1.8%). While the annual growth rate is still positive, the national net migration rate is negative, given the intense flow of immigrants to the United States; an estimated 5.3 million undocumented Mexicans lived in the United States in 2004^[1] (equivalent to 5% of the nation's total population), and 18.2 million American citizens in the 2000 Census declared having Mexican ancestry ^[2]. Mexico itself constitutes the second country of total number of immigrants to the United States from 1830 to 2000, after Germany.

Metropolitan areas in Mexico
Metro area	Pop. (2005)
Greater Mexico City (D.F - Méx - Hgo)	19.231.829
Greater Guadalajara (Jal)	4.095.853
Greater Monterrey (NL)	3.664.331
Greater Puebla (Pue-Tlax)	2.109.049
Greater Toluca (Méx)	1.610.786
Tijuana (BC)	1.410.700
Greater León (Gto)	1.325.210
Ciudad Juárez (Chih)	1.313.338
Comarca Lagunera (Coah-Dgo)	1.210.890
Greater San Luis Potosí (SLP)	1.075.000
Source: INEGI [3]

The states and the Federal District that conform the Mexican federation are called "federal entities" in Mexico. The five most populated federal entities are the State of Mexico (14.4 million), the Federal District (8.7 million), Veracruz (7.1 million), Jalisco (6.7 million) and Puebla (5.4 million) which collectively contain 40.7% of the national population. Mexico City, being coextensive with the Federal District, is the most populated city in the country.

The five most populated municipalities are Ecatepec de Morelos (1.660 million), Guadalajara (1.601 million), Puebla (1.486 million), Tijuana (1.410 million) and León (1.254 million).^[4] Ecatepec de Morelos is part the conurbation around Mexico City (the Greater Mexico City, more properly called the Metropolitan Area of the Valley of Mexico), which also includes the seventh most populated municipality, Nezahualcóyotl (1.140 million). Greater Mexico City had a total population of 19.25 in 2005. Municipalities in Central Mexico are usually coextensive with the cities (as is the case of Guadalajara, Puebla and León), whereas municipalities in Northern and South-Eastern Mexico are much larger and usually contain more than one city or town that may not necessarily conform a single urban agglomeration (as is the case of Tijuana).

The five most populous metropolitan areas in Mexico are: Greater Mexico City, Greater Guadalajara, Greater Monterrey, Greater Puebla and Greater Toluca, whose added population is equivalent to 30% of the nation's population.

[edit] Ethnography

[edit] Mestizos

Since its independence, Mexico has defined itself as a mestizo nation, redefining the Spanish Conquest of the Amerindian population as the "painful birth of the Mexican people". As such, the "mestizo" concept has become the identity and culture of the independent country. As an ethnic group, mestizos constitute officially 65-75% of Mexico's population. Other international organizations prefer a lower percentage, close to 60%, that allows for a categorization of 30% of predominantly Amerindians.

[edit] Native Amerindians

Main article: Indigenous peoples of Mexico

According to official statistics, Native Amerindian peoples make up 12% (a little more than 12 million, as of 2000) of the population, though only half of them (6% of the population) still speak an indigenous language, (as reported by the Commission for the Development of the Indigenous Peoples or CDI). While it has been a common misconception, the government does not define race on the basis of language, though it puts a strong emphasis on culture. Other organizations prefer to report a 30% of predominantly Amerindians (like the CIA World Factbook), given the fact that assimilated Amerindians (through the so-called "Hispanization" of the indigenous peoples) might have been considered mestizos. Therefore, there is no precise statistic on the mestizo population, which varies from 60% to 75%, depending on which source and which definition (pure or predominant) is used.

According to the CDI, Amerindians of Maya origin are majority in the state of Yucatán. Official statistics of the CDI are ^[5]:

• Yucatán, 59% of the state's population is of Amerindian origin
• Oaxaca, 48%
• Quintana Roo, 39%
• Chiapas, 28%
• Campeche, 27%
• Hidalgo, 24%
• Puebla, 19%
• Guerrero, 17%
• San Luis Potosí, 15%
• Veracruz, 15%

[edit] Europeans

Between 9%^[6] to 15%^[7] of the population, primarily located in Mexico City, Jalisco, Sonora, Sinaloa, Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Durango, Nuevo León, Zacatecas and Chihuahua and other large metropolitan areas, would be classified as White. Most of these are criollos, the relatively unmixed descendants of Spanish colonists; however, other settlers arrived during the Mexican Empire period in the 19th century, including mostly French, then Italians during the government of Porfirio Díaz; White Americans, Yugoslavs and Germans arrived in Mexico after World War I. During the 1930s many Spanish refugees fleeing the Spanish Civil War arrived, mostly in Mexico City. Polish, Romanian and Russian (Guadalupe, Baja California) refugees, Ashkenazic Jews among them, also settled during the war. The European Jewish immigrants joined the Sephardic community that had lived in Mexico since the Spanish Inquisition.

Also of note are colonies of Mormons, Mennonites and Molokans, mainly in the northern states of Chihuahua and Durango. British and Irish immigrants also settled, mainly in mining areas, as well as French settlers in Santa Rosalía, Baja California Sur. Greek immigration has been important as well, especially in the state of Sinaloa and its capital Culiacán, where thousands still live.

[edit] Middle Easterners & Asians

Mexicans of Lebanese and Turkish descent are present in large numbers (Tampico has one of the highest concentration of Lebanese Mexicans), some Chinese and Filipinos arrived from the Philippines in colonial times. During the period of Asian Exclusion from the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many Chinese, Japanese, and Korean immigrants settled in northern and western Mexico, especially Baja California. Mexicali is known for its relatively prominent concentration of people of Chinese descent. There are also Jewish Mexicans of Lebanese, Turkish or other Mediterranean descent, with common ancestral roots in Spain, and speak Ladino, which is closely related to Spanish. Also in the last couple of years there have been hundreds of chinese immgrating to the state of Sinaloa for its great agriculture.

[edit] Africans

Since colonial times, when thousands of Africans were brought as slaves, Mexico has had a significant number of people of black-African descent. Today Afro-Mexicans of relatively unmixed black-African ancestry, as well as Zambos and mulattos, represent only about 0.5% of the population ^{[citation needed]}, due to higher birth-rates amongst the other groups as well as their continued absorption into the general population ^{[citation needed]}.

Most of African Mexicans live in the states of Veracruz, Oaxaca, Guerrero, Michoacan, and Yucatán. Major populations also exist in Mexico's larger cities, such as Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Tijuana; there are also concentrated populations of African Mexicans in towns such as Arenal (in Jalisco), etc. In addition to those present since the colonial era, many African-Americans seeking to escape racial discrimination in the United States during the early 20th century emigrated to Mexico ^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Attitudes toward race

While most non-indigenous Mexicans consider themselves mestizo, and while there are no longer rigid racial lines dividing the population, light skin and European features tend to be valued, at least in the mass media. Even today the great majority of upper-class Mexicans are either whites or lighter-skinned mestizos. Events in recent years involving the issue of human rights in Chiapas have increased awareness of issues such as racism and discrimination toward the indigenous communities of Mexico.

[edit] Foreigners in Mexico

During the 1970s and 1980s Mexico opened its doors to immigrants from Latin America, mainly political refugees from Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Brazil and Colombia, Venezuela and Central America. The PRI governments in power for most of the 20th century had a policy of granting asylum to fellow Latin Americans fleeing political persecution in their home countries. A second wave of immigrants has come to Mexico as a result of the economic crises experienced by some countries in the region. Today, Mexico is the country where the largest number of Argentines live abroad, estimated to be 150,000.^[8]

Mexico is also the country where the largest number of American citizens live abroad. The American Citizens Abroad Association has estimated that a little more than one million Americans live in Mexico (which represent 1% of the population in Mexico and 25% of all American citizens living abroad).^[9] This immigration phenomenon could well be explained by the interaction of both countries under NAFTA, but also by the fact that Mexico has become a popular destination for retirees, especially the small towns: just in the State of Guanajuato, in San Miguel de Allende and its environs, 200,000 Americans have their residence. ^[10]

[edit] Languages

Main indigenous languages of Mexico
Language	Speakers
Nahuatl (Mexicano, Mexicanero, Nahuat, Nahual)	1.659.029
Yukatek Maya (Maaya t'aan)	892.723
Mixtec (Tu'un sávi)	510.801
Zapotec (Binizaa)	505.992
Tzotzil Maya (Batsil k'op)	356.349
Tzeltal Maya (K'op o winik atel)	336.448
Source: CDI (2000) [5]

Main article: Languages of Mexico

The most important and de-facto official language in Mexico is Spanish. The Law of Linguistic Rights, published in 2001, declared the 62 indigenous languages spoken in Mexico as "national languages" with the "same validity" in the territories where they are spoken. The indigenous language with the greatest number of speakers is nahuatl (1,5% of the nation's population), followed by yucatec maya (0,8%). During the first half of the 20th century the government promoted a policy of castellanización, that is, promoting the use of Spanish as a way to integrate indigenous peoples into the Mexican society. However, this policy changed, and since the 1980s the government sponsors bilingual and intercultural education in all indigenous communities. This policy has mainly been successful in large communities with a significant amount of speakers while some languages, with less than 1,000 speakers are still facing extinction.

The second most spoken language in Mexico, however, is English used extensively at the border areas, tourist centers and large metropolitan areas, a phenomenon arguably caused by the economic integration of North American under NAFTA as well as the immigration phenomenon and the return of workers and their families form the United States.

From the languages brought my immigrants the Venet of Chipilo and plautdietsch are spoken in isolated communities. Other European languages spoken in Mexico are French and German. Even though some of these may have a greater number of speakers than the national languages, they are not recognized by the government.

[edit] Demographic statistics according to the CIA

Population growth rate: 1.16% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 20.69 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 4.74 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: -4.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 20.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.19 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 18.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 75.41 years
male: 72.63 years
female: 78.33 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.42 children born/woman (2006 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Mexican(s)
adjective: Mexican

Ethnic groups: Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1%

Religions: Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%, other 5%

Languages: Spanish (official), Nahuatl, various Maya, and other indigenous languages

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.2%
male: 94%
female: 90.5% (2003 est.)

[edit] External links

• UN: Fertility in Mexico: Trends and Forecasts
• (Spanish) Mexico population bureau CONAPO
• (Spanish) Mexican government fertility calculation since 1976
• (Spanish) The Amerindian population in Mexico is 12.7 million

[edit] References