Country · Americas
Mexico
United Mexican States
Mexico is a country in North America. About 126.2 million people live there, in an area of 1 964 375 square kilometres. Its capital city is Mexico City.
Picture credit: ArturoSebastianGonzalez (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Juan Carlos Fonseca Mata (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Diego Delso (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Gobierno CDMX (CC0) · Carlos Valenzuela (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Mexico?
Mexico lies in North America, on the continent of Americas.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 2 560 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 9 330 km long.
It shares a border with 3 countries: Belize, Guatemala and the United States.
How big is Mexico?
Mexico covers 1 964 375 square kilometres.
That is about 5.5 times the size of Germany.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 13th largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 64.2 people on every square kilometre.
That is close to the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Mexico?
About 126.2 million people live in Mexico.
That is the 11th biggest population in the world.
People here speak Spanish.
They pay with the Mexican peso ($).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 72 years.
The land of Mexico
The land of Mexico sits on average 1 111 metres above sea level — high enough that much of it counts as mountain country.
Its coast runs for about 9 330 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 467 days.
It lies inside the tropics, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Mexico different?
Dishes the country is known for: Tacos, Mole poblano and Chiles en nogada.
Websites from here often end in .mx.
Mexico and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 17 live in Mexico.
It takes up about 1.5 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Americas the country ranks 5th of 35 by size, and 3rd by population.
Mexico and its neighbours
The United States, its largest neighbour, is about 4.8 times bigger.
The United States has more people: 326.7 million against 126.2 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 50 live wild in Mexico: Jaguar, Nine-banded armadillo, Raccoon, Scarlet macaw, Ruby-throated hummingbird, Blue whale and more. The highest mountain in the country is Pico de Orizaba, at 5 636 metres. The longest river in the country is the Rio Grande. The largest lake in the country is Lake Chapala. And one of the wonders of the world stands here: Chichen Itza.
Jaguar
Nine-banded armadillo
Raccoon
Scarlet macaw
Ruby-throated hummingbird
Blue whale
Humpback whale
Manatee
Great white shark
Whale shark
Great hammerhead shark
Giant oceanic manta ray
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is Mexico compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 4.8 times as big as Mexico: 9 372 610 km² against 1 964 375 km². See both on one map
- Mexico is about 8.1 times as big as the United Kingdom: 1 964 375 km² against 242 900 km². See both on one map
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Mexico?
The capital of Mexico is Mexico City. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Mexico?
About 126.2 million people live in Mexico, which makes it the 11th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Mexico?
Mexico borders Belize, Guatemala and the United States — 3 neighbours in total.
How big is Mexico?
Mexico covers 1 964 375 square kilometres, making it the 13th largest country in the world. That is about 5.5 times the size of Germany.
What is the highest mountain in Mexico?
The highest mountain in Mexico is Pico de Orizaba, 5 636 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Mexico?
The longest river in Mexico is the Rio Grande. Of its 3 108 kilometres, about 2 034 run through the country.
What is the largest lake in Mexico?
The largest lake in Mexico is Lake Chapala. It covers about 1 100 km².
Which continent is Mexico in?
Mexico is in Americas, in the part called North America.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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