Mexico (Spanish: México [ˈmexiko] ( listen); Nahuatl languages: Mēxihco), officially

the United Mexican States (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos[10][11][12][13] [esˈtaðos

uˈniðoz mexiˈkanos] ( listen)), is a country in the southern portion of North America.
It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific
Ocean; to the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and to the east
by the Gulf of Mexico.[14] Covering almost 2,000,000 square kilometers
(770,000 sq mi),[13] the nation is the fifth largest country in the Americas by total area
and the 13th largest independent state in the world. With an estimated population of
over 120 million people,[15] the country is the tenth most populous state and the most
populous Spanish-speaking state in the world, while being the second most populous
nation in Latin America after Brazil. Mexico is a federation comprising 31 states and
Mexico City, a special federal entity that is also the capital city and its most populous
city. Other metropolises in the state include Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla, Toluca,
Tijuana and León.

Pre-Columbian Mexico dates to about 8000 BC and is identified as one of five cradles
of civilization and was home to many advanced Mesoamerican civilizations such as
the Olmec, Toltec, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Maya, and Aztec before first contact with
Europeans. In 1521, the Spanish Empire conquered and colonized the territory from
its politically powerful base in Mexico-Tenochtitlan (part of Mexico City), which was
administered as the viceroyalty of New Spain. Three centuries later, the territory
became a nation state following its recognition in 1821 after the Mexican War of
Independence. The post-independence period was tumultuous, characterized by
economic inequality and many contrasting political changes. The Mexican–American
War (1846–1848) led to a territorial cession of the extant northern territories to the
United States. The Pastry War, the Franco-Mexican War, a civil war, two empires,
and the Porfiriato occurred in the 19th century. The Porfiriato ended with the Mexican
Revolution in 1910, which culminated in the promulgation of the 1917 Constitution
and the emergence of an authoritarian one-party state,[16][17][18][19] once widely
described as the "perfect dictatorship,"[20][21][22] that ruled for much of the 20th
Century until electoral reforms and opposition victories led to Mexico's democratic
transition in the 1990s.[23][24][25][26]

Mexico has the 15th largest nominal GDP and the 11th largest by purchasing power
parity. The Mexican economy is strongly linked to those of its 1994 North American
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners, especially the United States.[27][28] In 1994,
Mexico became the first Latin American member of the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD). It is classified as an upper-middle income
country by the World Bank[29] and a newly industrialized country by several
analysts.[30][31][32][33] The country is considered both a regional power and a middle
power,[34][35][36][37] and is often identified as an emerging global power.[38] Due to its
rich culture and history, Mexico ranks first in the Americas and seventh in the world
for number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.[39][40][41] Mexico is an ecologically
megadiverse country, ranking fourth in the world for its biodiversity. Mexico receives
a huge number of tourists every year: in 2018, it was the sixth most-visited country in
the world, with 39 million international arrivals.[42] Mexico is a member of the United
Nations (UN), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the G8+5, the G20, the Uniting
for Consensus group of the UN, and the Pacific Alliance trade bloc