Mexico Country Information

Fact and Figures

Location - Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the US

Capital - Mexico City

Population - 112.4 million

People - Mestizo (mixed Amerindian & European) 60%, Amerindian 30%, White 9%, other 1%

Language - Spanish, Mayan, Nahuatl, other indigenous languages

Religion - Roman Catholic 76.5%, Protestant 6.3% (Pentecostal 1.4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.1%, other 3.8%), other 0.3%, unspecified 13.8%, none 3.1%

Literacy rate - 91%

Life expectancy - 76 years

% Living below $1/day - 3%

Sources The CIA World Fact Book 2008, Compassion International, www.news.bbc.co.uk

Mexico

Mexico was under Spanish rule for three centuries before achieving independence early in the 19th century. From the 1910 Mexican Revolution until the free presidential elections held in 2000, the power was held by the Institutional Revolutionary Party. The new government brought hope for reforms that would address long-ignored issues such as the massive drug trade and the situation of the rural and urban poor.

Although economic growth over the last decade has made Mexico a middle income country, rural areas are generally neglected and huge shanty towns ring the major cities. It is estimated that 24 million Mexicans are living in extreme poverty.

The poverty has forced many children to move, on their own or with their families, both within the country and to the United States. This has resulted in family instability and a large number of working children, with over 3.5 million children in the labour force. Many end up homeless, often sleeping on the streets in the bigger cities, where they face many dangers, including being forced to work in the sex industry.

Compassion’s work in Mexico began in 1976. More than 19,640 children are now sponsored through over 136 church-based projects. Our goal is to reach out to the children in Mexico, giving them the opportunity to rise above their circumstances and become all God has created them to be.

Compassion Mexico does not have any Child Survival Programmes yet.

Over 19,646 children are currently being assisted in more than 136 Child Sponsorship Programmes in Mexico.

Compassion Mexico does not have any Leadership Development Programme students yet.