Mexico Economy - 2005

Economy - overview:
Mexico has a free market economy that recently entered the trillion dollar class. It contains a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. Recent administrations have expanded competition in seaports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity generation, natural gas distribution, and airports. Per capita income is one-fourth that of the US; income distribution remains highly unequal. Trade with the US and Canada has tripled since the implementation of NAFTA in 1994. Mexico has 12 free trade agreements with over 40 countries including, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, the European Free Trade Area, and Japan, putting more than 90% of trade under free trade agreements. The government is cognizant of the need to upgrade infrastructure, modernize the tax system and labor laws, and provide incentives to invest in the energy sector, but progress is slow.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $1.006 trillion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
4.1% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $9,600 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 4%
industry: 27.2%
services: 68.9% (2004 est.)

Labor force:
34.73 million (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 18%, industry 24%, services 58% (2003)

Unemployment rate:
3.2% plus underemployment of perhaps 25% (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line:
40% (2003 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 35.6% (2002)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
53.1 (1998)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
5.4% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
19.4% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $160 billion
expenditures: $158 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)

Public debt:
23.5% of GDP (2004 est.)

Agriculture - products:
corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products

Industries:
food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism

Industrial production growth rate:
3.8% (2004 est.)

Electricity - production:
203.6 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - consumption:
189.7 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports:
98.65 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports:
367.7 million kWh (2002)

Oil - production:
3.46 million bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption:
1.752 million bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports:
1.863 million bbl/day (2004)

Oil - imports:
205,000 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - proved reserves:
18 billion bbl (2004 est.)

Natural gas - production:
47.3 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
55.1 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
7.85 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
420 billion cu m (2004)

Current account balance:
$-4.113 billion (2004 est.)

Exports:
$182.4 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:
manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton

Exports - partners:
US 81%, Canada 5.9%, Japan 1.1% (2004)

Imports:
$190.8 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:
metalworking machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts

Imports - partners:
US 65.8%, Germany 3.8%, China 3.7% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$60.67 billion (2004 est.)

Debt - external:
$149.9 billion (2004 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$1.166 billion (1995)

Currency (code):
Mexican peso (MXN)

Exchange rates:
Mexican pesos per US dollar - 11.286 (2004), 10.789 (2003), 9.656 (2002), 9.342 (2001), 9.456 (2000)