Demographics of Mexico

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Image:Mexico-demography.png Mexico, with its estimated population of 106 million in 2005, is the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world, and the second-most populous country in Latin America after Portuguese-speaking Brazil. 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.

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Ethnic groups

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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 75% of Mexico's population. Other international organizations prefer a lower percentage, close to 60%, that allows for a categorization of 20% of predominantly Amerindians.

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Native Americans

Main article: Indigenous peoples of Mexico

Unmixed Native American peoples make up the second-largest group; official statistics put them at 13% (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 20% of predominantly Amerindians (like the CIA Factbook), given the fact that assimilated Amerindians (through the so-called the "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, [1]), Amerindians of Maya origin are majority in the state of Yucatan. Official statistics of the CDI (based on race, not on language) are:

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Europeans

Large amounts [~19%] of the population, mostly in Mexico City, Jalisco, Sonora, Sinaloa, Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo León and Chihuahua and other large metropolitan areas, is of unmixed white European descent. In addition to the Spanish colonists, French settlers arrived during the Mexican Empire (19th century) and Italians during the government of Porfirio Díaz; 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 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. Some believe that the British first brought Protestantism into Mexico. Greek immigration has been important as well, especially in the state of Sinaloa and its capital Culiacán.

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Middle Easterners & Asians

Mexicans of Lebanese and Turkish descent are present in large numbers, 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.

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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, due to higher birth-rates amongst the other groups as well as continued immigration from Europe.

Most of Mexico's blacks live in the states of Veracruz, Oaxaca, Guerrero, and Yucatán. Major populations also exist in Mexico's larger cities, such as Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Tijuana. 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.

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Other Latin Americans

Mexico is also the destination for many other Latin American groups: mostly Argentines, but also Brazilians, Cubans, Colombians, and Venezuelans. 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.

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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.

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Population growth and migration

Mexico's population doubled between 1970 and 2000. However, in recent years the rate of population growth has slowed. Fertility rates are still high in rural areas and among the indigenous population. Migration to the United States has also become significant, with the number of Mexican citizens resident abroad reaching as many as 9 million, mostly in the United States but also in Canada. Mexico City is by far the largest city in the country, with a population of about 21 million. Guadalajara, Jalisco, and Monterrey, Nuevo León, are the two next-largest metropolitan areas, followed by Puebla, Puebla, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Tijuana, Baja California, and León, Guanajuato.

Population growth rate: 1.17% (2005 est.)

Birth rate: 21.01 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate: 4.73 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate: -4.57 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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 (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 20.91 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.85 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 18.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 75.19 years
male: 72.42 years
female: 78.1 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.45 children born/woman (2005 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.)

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External links

da:Mexicos demografi es:Demografía de México fr:Démographie du Mexique pt:Demografia do México

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