_#_Type: federal republic operating under a centralized government

_#_Capital: Mexico

_#_Administrative divisions: 31 states (estados, singular—estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Yucatan, Zacatecas

_#_Independence: 16 September 1810 (from Spain)

_#_Constitution: 5 February 1917

_#_Legal system: mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

_#_National holiday: Independence Day, 16 September (1810)

_#_Executive branch: president, Cabinet

_#_Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso de la Union) consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Camara de Senadores) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados)

_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Suprema Corte de Justicia)