Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, bordering the United States of America to the north and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast, while having maritime boundaries with the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Caribbean Sea to the southeast, and the Gulf of Mexico to the east. Mexico covers 1,972,550 km2 (761,610 sq mi), and is the thirteenth-largest country in the world by land area. With a population around 131 million as of 2025, Mexico is the tenth-most populous country in the world and is home to the largest number of native Spanish speakers. Mexico City is the capital and largest city in Mexico, which ranks among the most populous metropolitan areas in the world.
Human presence in Mexico dates back to at least 11,500 BC, although dates as old as 28,000 BC have been proposed for less securely dated sites. Mesoamerica, considered a cradle of civilization, was home to numerous advanced societies, including the Olmecs, Maya, Zapotecs, Teotihuacan civilization, and Purépecha. Spanish colonization began in 1521 with an indigenous alliance that defeated the Aztec Empire, establishing the colony of New Spain with its capital at Tenochtitlan, now Mexico City. New Spain became a major center of the transoceanic economy during the Age of Discovery, fueled by silver mining and its position as a hub between Europe and Asia. This gave rise to one of the largest multiracial populations in the world. The Peninsular War led to the 1810–1821 Mexican War of Independence, which ended Peninsular rule and led to the creation of the First Mexican Empire, which quickly collapsed into the short-lived First Mexican Republic. In 1848, Mexico lost nearly half its territory in the Mexican–American War. Liberal reforms set in the Constitution of 1857 led to civil war and French intervention, culminating in the establishment of the Second Mexican Empire under Emperor Maximilian I of Habsburg, who was overthrown by Republican forces led by Benito Juárez. The late 19th century saw the long dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz, whose modernization policies came at the cost of severe social unrest. The 1910–1920 Mexican Revolution led to the overthrow of Díaz and the adoption of the 1917 Constitution. Mexico experienced rapid industrialization and economic growth in the 1940s–1970s, amidst electoral fraud, the Tlatelolco massacre, and economic crises. The late 20th century saw a shift towards neoliberalism, marked by the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994, amidst unrest in Chiapas.
Mexico is a federal republic with a presidential system of government, characterized by a democratic framework and the separation of powers into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The federal legislature consists of the bicameral Congress of the Union, comprising the Chamber of Deputies, which represents the population, and the Senate, which provides equal representation for each state. The Constitution establishes three levels of government: the federal Union, the state governments, and the municipal governments. Mexico's federal structure grants autonomy to its 32 states, and its political system is deeply influenced by indigenous traditions and European Enlightenment ideals.
Mexico is a newly industrialized and developing country, with the world's 13th-largest economy by nominal GDP and the 13th-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). It ranks first in the Americas and seventh in the world by the number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. UNESCO World Heritage sites, accessed 9 May 2022 It is one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries, ranking fifth in natural biodiversity. It is a major tourist destination: as of 2022, it is the sixth most-visited country in the world, with 42.2 million international arrivals. Mexico's large economy and population, global cultural influence, and steady democratization make it a regional and middle power, increasingly identifying as an emerging power. As with much of Latin America, poverty, systemic corruption, and crime remain widespread. Since 2006, approximately 127,000 deaths have been caused by ongoing conflict between drug trafficking syndicates.
Mexico is a member of United Nations, the G20, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Coffee Club, the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, the Organization of American States (OAS), the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI), and has an observer status at the Council of Europe.
Etymology
The precise origin of the name is unknown and is heavily debated. is the Nahuatl term for the heartland of the Aztec Empire, namely the Valley of Mexico and surrounding territories, with its people being known as the Mexica. It is generally believed that the toponym for the valley was the origin of the primary ethnonym for the Aztec Triple Alliance, but it may have been the other way around. In the colonial era (1521–1821) when Mexico was known as New Spain, this central region became the Intendency of Mexico. After New Spain achieved independence from the Spanish Empire in 1821 and became a sovereign state, the Intendency came to be known as the State of Mexico, with the new country being named after its capital, Mexico City.
The country's official name has changed as the form of government has changed. The declaration of independence signed on 6 November 1813 by the deputies of the Congress of Anáhuac called the territory (Northern America). The 1821 Plan of Iguala also used . On two occasions (1821–1823 and 1863–1867), the country was known as the Mexican Empire). All three federal constitutions (1824, 1857, and 1917, the current constitution) used the name —or the variant , all of which have been translated as "United Mexican States".
The phrase , "Mexican Republic", was used in the 1836 Constitutional Laws. In the Nahuatl version of the current constitution, the official name is Mexika Sentik Wexteyowalko, and in its Yucatec Maya version, U Múuchꞌ Péetluꞌumiloꞌob México. By virtue of the legal equality of Spanish with the 68 indigenous languages of the country, all have their own translation of the official name.
History
Indigenous civilizations before European contact (pre-1519)
The earliest human artifacts in what is now Mexico are chips of stone tools found in the Valley of Mexico, dated to circa 10,000 years ago. Mexico is the site of the domestication of maize, tomato, and beans, which produced an agricultural surplus. This enabled the transition from paleo-Indian hunter-gatherers to sedentary agricultural villages beginning around 5000 BC. The formative period of Mesoamerica is one of the six independent cradles of civilization, this era saw the origin of distinct cultural traits such as religious and symbolic traditions, maize cultivation, artistic and architectural complexes as well as a vigesimal (base 20) numeric system that spread from Mexican cultures to the rest of Mesoamerica. Villages became more densely populated, socially stratified with an artisan class, and developed into chiefdoms. The most powerful rulers had religious and political power, organizing the construction of ceremonial centers.
The earliest complex civilization was the Olmec culture, which flourished on the Gulf Coast from around 1500 BC. Olmec cultural traits diffused through Mexico into other formative-era cultures in Chiapas, Oaxaca, and the Valley of Mexico. In the pre-classical period, the Maya and Zapotec civilizations developed complex centers. The first true Mesoamerican writing systems were developed in the Epi-Olmec and Zapotec cultures. The Mesoamerican writing tradition reached its height in the Classic Maya Hieroglyphic script, the earliest written histories date from then. The tradition of writing was important after Spanish conquest in 1521, with indigenous scribes learning to write their languages in alphabetic letters, while continuing to create pictorial texts.Restall, Matthew, "A History of the New Philology and the New Philology in History", Latin American Research Review – Volume 38, Number 1, 2003, pp.113–134
In Central Mexico, the height of the classic period saw the ascendancy of Teotihuacán, which formed a military and commercial empire. Teotihuacan, with a population of more than 150,000, had some of the largest pyramidal structures in the pre-Columbian Americas. After the collapse of Teotihuacán around 600 AD, competition ensued between political centers in such as Xochicalco and Cholula. During the Epi-Classic, Nahua peoples began moving south into Mesoamerica, and became politically and culturally dominant in central Mexico. During 1000–1519 AD, central Mexico was dominated by the Toltec culture, Oaxaca by the Mixtec, and the lowland Maya area had centers at Chichén Itzá and Mayapán. Toward the end of the post-Classic period, the Aztecs established dominance, establishing a political and economic empire based in Tenochtitlan (modern Mexico City), extending from central Mexico to Guatemala.
Spanish conquest and colonial era (1519–1821)
Although the Spanish Empire established colonies in the Caribbean in 1493, it first learned of Mexico during the Juan de Grijalva expedition of 1518. The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire began in 1519 when Hernán Cortés founded Veracruz. The 1521 capture of Tenochtitlan and posterior founding of Mexico City on its ruins, was the beginning of a 300-year colonial era, during which Mexico was known as (New Spain). Two factors made Mexico a jewel in the Empire: the existence of large, hierarchically organized Mesoamerican populations that rendered tribute and performed obligatory labor, and discovery of silver deposits in north Mexico.Lockhart, James and Stuart B. Schwartz. Early Latin America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1983, 59
The Kingdom of New Spain was created from the remnants of the Aztec empire. The two pillars of Spanish rule were the State and Church, both under the authority of the Spanish crown. In 1493 the pope granted sweeping powers to the Spanish monarchy for its overseas empire, with the proviso it spread Christianity. In 1524, King Charles I created the Council of the Indies based in Spain to oversee State power in its colonies. The crown established a high court in Mexico City, the ('royal audience').Chuchiak, John F. IV, "Inquisition" in Encyclopedia of Mexico. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn 1997, pp. 704–708
In 1535, the crown appointed the first Viceroy of New Spain, the highest official of the State. The Diocese of Mexico, created in 1530, was elevated to the Archdiocese of Mexico in 1546, with an archbishop as its head. Castilian Spanish was the language of the rulers. Catholic faith was the only one permitted, with non-Catholics and Catholics, excluding Indians, holding unorthodox views subject to the Mexican Inquisition.Chuchiak, John F. IV, "Inquisition" in Encyclopedia of Mexico. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn 1997, pp. 704–708
Spanish military forces, sometimes accompanied by native allies, led expeditions to conquer territory or quell rebellions. Notable Amerindian revolts include the Chichimeca War (1576–1606), the Tepehuán Revolt (1616–20), and Pueblo Revolt (1680). Most rebellions were small-scale, posing no major threat to the elites. To protect Mexico from the attacks of English, French, and Dutch pirates and the Crown's monopoly of revenue, only two ports were open to foreign trade—Veracruz on the Atlantic, connecting to Spain, and Acapulco on the Pacific, connecting to the Philippines. Pirate attacks included the 1663 Sack of Campeche and 1683 Attack on Veracruz.