Filed under the Americas and more precisely North America, Mexico is a sovereign state. The long form of the name is United Mexican States. Its capital, Mexico City, shares its name with the country itself — a giveaway that this is a city-state or something close to one.
Some 130.9 million people call it home, placing it 11th of 250 by population — between Ethiopia above it and Japan below. Measured only against its own subregion, it is 4th of 7 in size and 2nd in population.
Its territory runs to 1,964,375 km², which ranks it 15th of the 250 countries and territories in this dataset — just behind Saudi Arabia and just ahead of Indonesia. That makes it a little larger than Indonesia.
How Mexico sits on the globe
Plotted on a globe it falls at 23.0° north, 102.0° west, which puts it in the northern hemisphere, roughly 2,560 km from the equator, in what geographers would call tropical latitudes.
The Tropic of Cancer runs through or very close to it. Follow that same latitude east or west and you reach Saudi Arabia, Libya and Myanmar — places that share its distance from the equator but little else.
Its land neighbours number 3: Belize, Guatemala and the United States. The largest of them by area is the United States, which is also the most populous. Together those neighbours hold about 358.9 million people.
Unlike its landlocked neighbours it reaches the sea directly, while also sharing land frontiers.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
Population and languages of Mexico
Spread across 1,964,375 km², that works out at about 67 people per square kilometre, which makes it less crowded than the typical entry on this list. Half the entries in this dataset fall below roughly 90 per square kilometre.
Someone from Mexico is a Mexican.
Officially it is monolingual: Spanish. Spanish is one of the widely shared official languages here, listed by 23 other entries including Argentina, Belize, Bolivia and Chile.
Inside the Americas it places 3rd of 56 by population, and it accounts for 26% of everyone living in North America.
Money, internet and phone codes
The currency is the Mexican peso ($, MXN). No other entry in this dataset uses it, so the currency is specific to Mexico.
Its internet country code is .mx. Calls from overseas start with +52. Standard country codes: mx and MEX.
It holds a seat at the United Nations, one of 193 entries here that do. The other 57 entries are territories, dependencies or observers, which is why totals on this site run to 250 rather than the familiar 195.
Neighbouring countries
Mexico shares borders with 3 countries:
Fun facts about Mexico
- The Tropic of Cancer runs across or very near it.
- People from Mexico are known as Mexicans.
- The capital shares its name with the country itself.
- Websites based there use the .mx domain.
- Ranked by land area, Mexico is 15th out of the 250 countries and territories on this site.
- It is 11th of 250 by population, with about 130.9 million residents.
Mexico — frequently asked questions
- What is the capital of Mexico?
- The capital of Mexico is Mexico City. The city and the country share a name, which is typical of a city-state.
- What currency does Mexico use?
- Mexico uses the Mexican peso, written $ (currency code MXN). No other entry in this dataset uses it.
- How big is Mexico?
- Mexico covers 1,964,375 km², ranking 15th of 250 by land area. That makes it a little larger than Indonesia.
- Which countries border Mexico?
- Mexico borders 3 countries: Belize, Guatemala and the United States. The United States is the largest of them by area.
- What language is spoken in Mexico?
- The official language of Mexico is Spanish. It is also official in 23 other entries on this list.
- What is the population of Mexico?
- Mexico has a population of about 130.9 million, which makes it the 11th most populous of the 250 countries and territories listed on this site. Ethiopia sits just above it and Japan just below.
- Where is Mexico located?
- Mexico is in North America, part of the Americas. Its reference coordinates are 23.0° north and 102.0° west, roughly 2,560 km from the equator in tropical latitudes.
- Is Mexico a country?
- Yes. Mexico is a sovereign state and one of the 193 UN members listed on this site.
