Country Resource - Mexico
- Population........................................................................129,875,529 (2023 est.)
- Population growth rate ..............................................................0.61% (2023 est.)
- Birth rate...................................................13.95 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
- Death rate...................................................7.07 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
- Net migration rate...............................-0.77 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
- Ethnic groups*.................................Mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 62%, predominantly Amerindian 21%, Amerindian 7%, other 10% (mostly European) (2012 est.)
* Mexico does not collect census data on ethnicity
CIA World Factbook
Fundamental demographic, economic, and educational changes have set Mexico on a new path, significantly altering its migration-related priorities and concerns vis-a-vis the United States and Central America. This article examines new migration trends, Mexico's role as a country of transit and increasingly of destination, the 2011 migration law, remittances, government policies on the Mexican diaspora, and more.
Recent Activity
Fundamental demographic, economic, and educational changes have set Mexico on a new path, significantly altering its migration-related priorities and concerns vis-a-vis the United States and Central America. This article examines new migration trends, Mexico's role as a country of transit and increasingly of destination, the 2011 migration law, remittances, government policies on the Mexican diaspora, and more.
Immigration has contributed to many of the economic, social, and political processes that are foundational to the United States as a nation since the first newcomers arrived over 400 years ago. After brushes with immigration reform that began in 2001 and continued in 2006 and 2007, the United States seems to be on the threshold of overhauling the legal immigration system in the most substantive way since 1965. This article provides a comprehensive overview of major legislation and events affecting U.S. immigration throughout history, legal and illegal immigration flows, postrecession immigration trends, and more.
Over the past five decades, Mexicans have constituted the single largest group of immigrants to the United States originating from Latin America. In 2011, 11.7 million Mexican immigrants resided in the United States, representing 29 percent of the U.S. immigrant population and close to 4 percent of the overall U.S. population. This article examines the latest data on Mexican immigrants in the United States, including population size, geographic distribution, admission categories, and demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.
Migration flows that were stalled for a period by the pronounced recession that began in 2008 have resumed to a number of OECD countries, including the United States where there appears to be a slight increase in Mexican migration for the first time in several years. More migrants seem to be choosing emerging economies, including Brazil, China, and South Africa, over traditional destinations.
After decades of pressure, the Mexican government passed a law in 2005 allowing Mexicans living outside the country to vote in presidential elections in Mexico. The upcoming election scheduled for July 1, 2012 will be the second time voting-eligible Mexican expatriates throughout the world will exercise their vote-from-abroad privilege. This Spotlight discusses the history and process of external voting in Mexico, voter participation rates inside and outside of Mexico, and several key characteristics of voting-age Mexicans in the United States.
An estimated 7 percent of people in Mexico were not registered with the government at birth and thus lack official record of their name, age, parentage, and citizenship. Without a birth certificate, unregistered Mexican children lack access to education, health care, and basic social services, while unregistered adults face significant economic and civic-integration challenges. Both groups are more vulnerable to being trafficked, exploited, or recruited into criminal groups. This article provides a primer on this important issue, with insight into the experiences of unregistered, unauthorized Mexican immigrants in the United States.
Migration to and through Mexico has been a critical policy issue for the Mexican government since the 1980s, as large numbers of Central Americans have flowed in through the country's porous southern border, first in flight during times of civil war and humanitarian crises and later in pursuit of greater economic opportunity in the United States.
With about 10 percent of Moroccan and Mexican citizens living abroad, remittances have become a vital source of income and poverty alleviation for both countries. Hein de Haas and Simona Vezzoli of the International Migration Institute, University of Oxford explore how migration has affected development and ways to reframe the migration-development debate.
English version | Version française
A lo largo de la segunda mitad del siglo XX, Marruecos y México se han convertido en fuentes de fuerza laboral migrante, mayoritariamente de poca calificación, en los Estados Unidos y la Unión Europea.
English version | Versión espanol
Au cours de la deuxième moitié du XXe siècle, le Mexique et le Maroc sont devenus les sources principales de travailleurs immigrés, et pour la plupart peu qualifiés, des États-Unis et de l'Europe respectivement.
Pages
Este reporte analiza algunos de los factores económicos que han influido sobre los flujos migratorios de México a los Estados Unidos, con el fin de construir escenarios sobre cómo dichos flujos podrían evolucionar en el futuro cercano. El análisis examina tres diferentes periodos en la historia reciente de la migración de México a los Estados Unidos.
This final report from the Regional Migration Study Group outlines the powerful demographic, economic, and social forces reshaping Mexico and Central America and changing longstanding migration dynamics with the United States. It offers a forward-looking, pragmatic agenda for the region, focusing on new collaborative approaches on migration and human-capital development to strengthen regional competitiveness.
This report examines migration flows from Mexico to the U.S. since the 1990s and highlights key economic factors linked to migration trends. These findings are analyzed to forecast Mexican migration flows.
This report assesses trends in U.S., Central American, and Mexican agriculture and their implications for farm labor markets, including the demand for skills and its effects on education and workforce development.
This study explores the intersecting dynamics of evolving demographic trends, shifting epidemiological profiles, and worker migration in five countries in the Americas to develop policy recommendations for health workforce development, specifically for nursing personnel. Countries highlighted are El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and the U.S.
This report examines trends in manufacturing – with a focus on advanced manufacturing – in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and the United States. Although these countries’ manufacturing histories and contexts are different, the sectors are increasingly interdependent, and the sector potentially holds great promise for improving individual livelihoods and overall regional competitiveness.
Over the past two decades, governing institutions in Mexico and parts of Central America have proven too primitive to cope with the volatility of democratic transitions. Organized crime has taken over key activities of various levels of government and corruption has become more entrenched. These regions must face the challenge of building democratic institutions capable of engaging in good governance.
The U.S. government has increased its attention to public security issues in Mexico and Central America since 2007. This report suggest the policy emphasis has begun to shift away from the earlier focus on combating drug trafficking and transnational crime toward addressing the citizen security crisis.
Crime and insecurity are undermining economic and social prosperity in Mexico and Central America, eroding public trust in government institutions. This report examines current economic, social, and political costs resulting from insecurity, and future implications.
The growth of organized crime in Mexico and Central America has dramatically increased the risks that migrants crossing the region face. As this report outlines, migrants increasingly are forced to seek the assistance of intermediaries, and those unable to afford one are more likely to be abused along the way.
Pages
![cover RSMG final report thumb[1]](https://www.migrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/styles/publication_thumbnail/public/pub_covers/cover-RSMG-final-report-thumb%5B1%5D.jpg?itok=XdUMp9eT)
