- Country name
- conventional long form: United Mexican States
conventional short form: Mexico
local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos
local short form: Mexico
former: Mexican Republic, Mexican Empire
etymology: name may derive from one of the Nahuatl (Aztec) names for the capital city, Metztlixihtlico, which probably meant "the center of the moon;" alternatively, it may come from Mexica, the original name of the Aztec people - Government type
- federal presidential republic
- Capital
- name: Mexico City (Ciudad de Mexico)
geographic coordinates: 19 26 N, 99 08 W
time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: DST was permanently removed in October 2022
time zone note: Mexico has four time zones
etymology: name may derive from one of the Nahuatl (Aztec) names for the capital city, Metztlixihtlico, which probably meant "the center of the moon;" alternatively, it may come from Mexica, the original name of the Aztec people - Administrative divisions
- 32 states (estados, singular - estado); Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Colima, Cuidad de Mexico, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacán, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Yucatan, Zacatecas
- Legal system
- civil law system with US constitutional law influence; judicial review of legislative acts
- Constitution
- history: several previous; latest approved 5 February 1917
amendment process: proposed by the Congress of the Union; passage requires approval by at least two thirds of the members present and approval by a majority of the state legislatures - International law organization participation
- accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
- Citizenship
- citizenship by birth: yes
citizenship by descent only: yes
dual citizenship recognized: not specified
residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years - Suffrage
- 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
- Executive branch
- chief of state: President Claudia SHEINBAUM Pardo (since 1 October 2024)
head of government: President Claudia SHEINBAUM Pardo (since 1 October 2024)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
election/appointment process: president directly elected by simple-majority popular vote for a single 6-year term
most recent election date: 2 June 2024
election results: 2024: Claudia SHEINBAUM Pardo elected president; percent of vote - Claudia SHEINBAUM Pardo (MORENA) 59.4%, Xóchitl GÁLVEZ Ruiz (PAN) 27.9%, Jorge Álvarez MÁYNEZ (MC) 10.4%, other 2.3%2018: Andrés Manuel LÓPEZ OBRADOR elected president; percent of vote - Andrés Manuel LÓPEZ OBRADOR (MORENA) 53.2%, Ricardo ANAYA Cortés (PAN) 22.3%, José Antonio MEADE Kuribreña (PRI) 16.4%, Jaime RODRÍGUEZ Calderón (independent) 5.2%, other 2.9%2012: Enrique PEÑA NIETO elected president; percent of vote - Enrique PEÑA NIETO (PRI) 38.2%, Andrés Manuel LÓPEZ OBRADOR (PRD) 31.6%, Josefina Eugenia VÁZQUEZ Mota (PAN) 25.4%, other 4.8%
expected date of next election: 2030 - Legislative branch
- legislature name: Congress of the Union (Congreso de la Unión)
legislative structure: bicameral - Legislative branch - lower chamber
- chamber name: Chamber of Deputies (Cámara de Diputados)
number of seats: 500 (all directly elected)
electoral system: mixed system
scope of elections: full renewal
term in office: 3 years
most recent election date: 6/2/2024
parties elected and seats per party: National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) (236); Ecologist Green Party of Mexico (PVEM) (77); National Action Party (PAN) (72); Labour Party (PT) (51); Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) (35); Citizens' Movement (MC) (27); Other (2)
percentage of women in chamber: 50.2%
expected date of next election: June 2027 - Legislative branch - upper chamber
- chamber name: Senate (Cámara de Senadores)
number of seats: 128 (all directly elected)
electoral system: mixed system
scope of elections: full renewal
term in office: 6 years
most recent election date: 6/2/2024
parties elected and seats per party: National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) (60); National Action Party (PAN) (22); Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) (16); Ecologist Green Party of Mexico (PVEM) (14); Labour Party (PT) (9); Other (7)
percentage of women in chamber: 50%
expected date of next election: June 2030 - Judicial branch
- highest court(s): Supreme Court of Justice or Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (consists of the chief justice and 11 justices and organized into civil, criminal, administrative, and labor panels) and the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary (organized into the superior court, with 7 judges including the court president, and 5 regional courts, each with 3 judges)
judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court justices nominated by the president of the republic and approved by two-thirds vote of the members present in the Senate; justices serve 15-year terms; Electoral Tribunal superior and regional court judges nominated by the Supreme Court and elected by two-thirds vote of members present in the Senate; superior court president elected from among its members to hold office for a 4-year term; other judges of the superior and regional courts serve staggered, 9-year terms
subordinate courts: federal level includes circuit, collegiate, and unitary courts; state and district level courts - Political parties
- Citizen's Movement (Movimiento Ciudadano) or MCInstitutional Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario Institucional) or PRILabor Party (Partido del Trabajo) or PTMexican Green Ecological Party (Partido Verde Ecologista de México) or PVEMMovement for National Regeneration (Movimiento Regeneración Nacional) or MORENANational Action Party (Partido Acción Nacional) or PANParty of the Democratic Revolution (Partido de la Revolución Democrática) or PRD
- Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission: Ambassador Esteban MOCTEZUMA Barragán (since 20 April 2021)
chancery: 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006
telephone: [1] (202) 728-1600
FAX: [1] (202) 728-1698
email address and website: mexembusa@sre.gob.mxhttps://embamex.sre.gob.mx/eua/index.php/en/
consulate(s) general: Atlanta (GA), Austin (TX), Boston (MA), Chicago (IL), Dallas (TX), Denver (GA), El Paso (TX), Houston (TX), Laredo (TX), Miami (FL), New York (NY), Nogales (AZ), Phoenix (AZ), Raleigh (NC), Sacramento (CA), San Antonio (TX), San Diego (CA), San Francisco (CA), San Jose (CA), San Juan (Puerto Rico)
consulate(s): Albuquerque (NM), Boise (ID), Brownsville (TX), Calexico (CA), Del Rio (TX), Detroit (MI), Douglas (AZ), Eagle Pass (TX), Fresno (CA), Indianapolis (IN), Kansas City (MO), Las Vegas (NV), Little Rock (AR), Los Angeles (CA), McAllen (TX), Milwaukee (WI), New Orleans (LA), Oklahoma City (OK), Omaha (NE), Orlando (FL), Oxnard (CA), Philadelphia (PA), Portland (OR), Presidio (TX), Salt Lake City (UT), San Bernardino (CA), Santa Ana (CA), Seattle (WA), St. Paul (MN), Tucson (AZ), Yuma (AZ) - Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission: Ambassador Ronald D. JOHNSON (since 19 May 2025)
embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtémoc, 06500 Mexico, CDMX
mailing address: 8700 Mexico City Place, Washington DC 20521-8700
telephone: (011) [52]-55-5080-2000
FAX: (011) 52-55-5080-2005
email address and website: ACSMexicoCity@state.govhttps://mx.usembassy.gov/
consulate(s) general: Ciudad Juárez, Guadalajara, Hermosillo, Matamoros, Mérida, Monterrey, Nogales, Nuevo Laredo, Tijuana - International organization participation
- ACS, APEC, Australia Group, BCIE, BIS, CABEI, CAN (observer), Caricom (observer), CD, CDB, CE (observer), CELAC, CSN (observer), EBRD, FAO, FATF, G-3, G-15, G-20, G-24, G-5, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAES, LAIA, MIGA, NAFTA, NAM (observer), NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW, Pacific Alliance, Paris Club (associate), PCA, SICA (observer), UN, UNASUR (observer), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina (observer), UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, USMCA, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
- Independence
- 16 September 1810 (declared independence from Spain); 27 September 1821 (recognized by Spain)
- National holiday
- Independence Day, 16 September (1810)
- Flag
- description: three equal vertical bands of green (left side), white, and red; Mexico's coat of arms (an eagle with a snake in its beak, perched on a cactus) is centered in the white bandmeaning: green stands for hope, joy, and love; white for peace and honesty; red for hardiness, bravery, strength, and valor
- National symbol(s)
- golden eagle, dahlia
- National color(s)
- green, white, red
- National coat of arms
- Adopted in 1968, Mexico’s coat of arms is also used as the Seal of the United Mexican States. The Mexican Golden Eagle, a national symbol, is perched on a prickly pear cactus and eats a snake. Beneath the eagle, oak and laurel leaves are joined by a ribbon in the national colors. The image symbolizes the triumph of good over evil.
- National anthem(s)
- title: "Himno Nacional Mexicano" (National Anthem of Mexico)
lyrics/music: Francisco Gonzalez BOCANEGRA/Jaime Nuno ROCA
history: adopted 1943 - National heritage
- total World Heritage Sites: 36 (28 cultural, 6 natural, 2 mixed)
selected World Heritage Site locales: Historic Mexico City (c); Earliest 16th-Century Monasteries on the Slopes of Popocatepetl (c); Teotihuacan (c); Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino (n); Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (n); Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley (m); Historic Puebla (c); El Tajin (c); Historic Tlacotalpan (c); Historic Oaxaca and Monte Albán (c); Palenque (c); Chichen-Itza (c); Uxmal (c); Wixárika Route through Sacred Sites to Wirikuta (Tatehuarí Huajuyé) (c)