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With an estimated 2005 population of about 106.5 million,
Mexico is the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the
world. Mexico is ethnically and culturally diverse.
According to the CIA World Factbook, about 60% of the
population is mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white), another
11.9% is Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian, and 9% is
white (or of European descent). The remaining 1% includes
Afro-Mexicans and others. Mexico is also home for many other
Latin American groups: mostly Argentines, but also
Brazilians, Nicaraguans, Cubans, and Colombians. 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.
According to the Comisión Nacional para el Desarrollo de
los Pueblos Indígenas ("The National Council for the
Development of Indigenous People]] the Amerindian population
in Mexico is approximately 12.7 million. However, the
Mexican government does not collect racial information
during censuses. In 2004, the National Institute of
Statistics, Geography and Informatic had estimated this
figure to be 12,089,094 of indigenous people of which, more
than one million do not speak Spanish and almost five
million are bilingual (INEGI, 2004).
Also See:
Mexican
Language
Mexican Religion
Mexican literature
Resources
Judging by the proportion of people speaking indigenous
languages the states with a higher proportion of indigenous
people are Yucatán (37.3%), Oaxaca (37.1%), Chiapas (24.6%)
and Quintana Roo (23%). The states of Aguascalientes (0.2%
), Coahuila (0.2%), Zacatecas (0.2%) and Nuevo León (0.5%)
have the lowest proportion of speakers of indigenous
languages ([INEGI, 2004]).
Mexico is the country where the greatest number of U.S
citizens live outside the United States. This may be due to
the growing economic and business interdependence of the two
countries under NAFTA, and also that Mexico is considered an
excellent choice for retirees. A clear example of the latter
phenomenon is provided by San Miguel de Allende and many
towns along the Baja California peninsula and around
Guadalajara, Jalisco. The official figures for foreign-born
citizens in Mexico are 493,000 (since 2004), with a majority
(86.9%) of these born in the US (with the exception of
Chiapas, where the majority of immigrants are from Central
America). The five states with more immigrants are Baja
California (12.1% of total immigrants), Federal District
(11.4%), Jalisco (9.9%), Chihuahua (9%) and Tamaulipas
(7.3). More than 54.6% of the immigrant population are 15
years old or younger, while 9% are 50 or older. 4.2% of male
immigrants and 3.8% of female immigrants did not have formal
education while 20.2% of male immigrants and 17.7% of female
immigrants had a college degree [INEGI, 2004.
Life expectancy in Mexico increased from 34.7 for men and
33 years for women in 1930 to 72.1 for men and 77.1 years
for women in 2002. The states with the highest life
expectancy are Baja California (75.9 years) and Nuevo Leon
(75.6 years). The Federal District has a life expectancy of
the same level as Baja California. The lowest levels are
found in Chiapas (72.9), Oaxaca (73.2) and Guerrero (73.2
years), although the first two have had the highest increase
(19.9 and 22.3% respectively).
The mortality rate in 1970 was 9.7/1000 people and by
2001 the rate had dropped to 4.9/1000 for men and 3.8/1000
for women. The most common reasons for death in 2001 where
heart problems (14.6% for men 17.6% for women) and Cancer
(11% for men and 15.8% for women).
Sources:
www.wikipedia.org
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