Environment-current issues: natural fresh water resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in urban areas; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification; serious air pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border
Environment-international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography-note: strategic location on southern border of US
@Mexico:People
Population: 98,552,776 (July 1998 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 36% (male 17,883,007; female 17,193,082) 15-64 years: 60% (male 28,932,074; female 30,511,443) 65 years and over: 4% (male 1,808,581; female 2,224,589) (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.77% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 25.49 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 4.91 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: -2.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)