Mexico Church

Mexico, officially known as the United Mexican States, is a federal constitutional republic in North America. Covering almost 2 million square kilometres (over 760,000 sq mi), Mexico is the fifth-largest country in the Americas by total area and the 14th largest independent nation in the world. With an estimated population of 111 million, it is the 11th most populous country and the most populous Hispanophone country. Mexico is a federation comprising thirty-one states and a Federal District, the capital city, Mexico City.

Mexico is both one of the world’s largest economies and a regional power, and a firmly established upper-middle income country. Mexico is considered a newly industrialized country and an emerging power. It has the 13th largest nominal GDP and the 11th largest by purchasing power parity. Mexico ranks fifth in the world and first in the Americas by number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites with 31, and in 2007 was the 10th most visited country in the world with 21.4 million international arrivals.

Mexican culture reflects the complexity of the country’s history through the blending of pre-Hispanic civilizations and the culture of Spain, imparted during Spain’s 300-year colonization of Mexico. Exogenous cultural elements mainly from the United States have also been incorporated into Mexican culture. The Tropic of Cancer effectively divides the country into temperate and tropical zones. Land north of the twenty-fourth parallel experiences cooler temperatures during the winter months. South of the twenty-fourth parallel, temperatures are fairly constant year round and vary solely as a function of elevation. This gives Mexico one of the world’s most diverse weather systems.