Mexico: Map & History
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America.
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Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, bordering the United States of America to the north and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast, while having maritime boundaries with the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Caribbean Sea to the southeast, and the Gulf of Mexico to the east. Mexico covers 1,972,550 km2, and is the thirteenth-largest country in the world by land area. With a population around 131 million as of 2025, Mexico is the tenth-most populous country in the world and is home to the largest number of native Spanish speakers. Mexico City is the capital and largest city in Mexico, which ranks among the most populous metropolitan areas in the world.
Modern Countries Once Part of Mexico
At its mapped extent, Mexico covered territory in 2 present-day countries. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
States and Provinces
- Sonora, Mexico
- Veracruz, Mexico
- Chihuahua, Mexico
- Oaxaca, Mexico
- Tamaulipas, Mexico
- Yucatán, Mexico
- Coahuila, Mexico
- Guerrero, Mexico
- Sinaloa, Mexico
- Michoacán, Mexico
- San Luis Potosí, Mexico
- Baja California, Mexico
- Jalisco, Mexico
- Baja California Sur, Mexico
- Chiapas, Mexico
- Durango, Mexico
- Guanajuato, Mexico
- Nayarit, Mexico
- Puebla, Mexico
- Zacatecas, Mexico
- Nuevo León, Mexico
- Tabasco, Mexico
- Texas, United States
- Quintana Roo, Mexico
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Mexico's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Mexico in Depth
History
The earliest human artifacts in what is now Mexico are chips of stone tools found in the Valley of Mexico, dated to circa 10,000 years ago. Mexico is the site of the domestication of maize, tomato, and beans, which produced an agricultural surplus. This enabled the transition from paleo-Indian hunter-gatherers to sedentary agricultural villages beginning around 5000 BC. The formative period of Mesoamerica is one of the six independent cradles of civilization, this era saw the origin of distinct cultural traits such as religious and symbolic traditions, maize cultivation, artistic and architectural complexes as well as a vigesimal (base 20) numeric system that spread from Mexican cultures to the rest of Mesoamerica.
Government and politics
The United Mexican States is a federation whose government is representative, democratic, and republican based on a presidential system according to the 1917 Constitution. The Constitution establishes three levels of government: the federal Union, the state governments, and the municipal governments.
The federal legislature is the bicameral Congress of the Union, composed of the Senate of the Republic and the Chamber of Deputies. The Congress makes federal law, declares war, imposes taxes, approves the national budget and international treaties, and ratifies diplomatic appointments. The federal Congress, and the state legislatures, are elected by a system of parallel voting that includes plurality and proportional representation.
The Chamber of Deputies has 500 deputies.
Economy
As of April 2026, Mexico has the 13th largest economy by purchasing power parity (PPP) (US$3.5 trillion), and a GDP per capita of US$26,643. The World Bank reported in 2026 that the country's gross national income was the second highest in Latin America after Brazil at US$1.8 trillion.
Mexico has the sixth largest electronics industry after China, the US, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Mexico is the second-largest exporter of electronics to the US where it exported $71 billion worth of electronics in 2011. Electronics exports grew 73% between 2002 and 2012. The manufactured value-added sector, which electronics is part of, accounted for 18% of GDP.
Mexico produces the most automobiles of any North American nation.
Culture
Mexican culture reflects a long and complex history of interactions between various peoples through migration, conquest, and trade. Three centuries of Spanish rule resulted in the blending of Spanish culture with those of different indigenous groups.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Mexico (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Mexico: Key Facts
| Capital | Mexico City |
|---|---|
| Official language | Spanish |
| Founded | 23 October 1835 |
| Dissolved | 22 August 1846 |
Preceded by
Succeeded by
- Republic of Yucatán
- Republic of Texas
- Republic of the Río Grande
- California Republic
- Second Federal Republic of Mexico
Facts from Wikidata Q5062192 (CC0).
Interactive map
Mexico on the World War II map →
See Mexico’s territory change day by day from 22 May 1942, with every battle it fought.
Mexico Map Over Time
Dated world maps on which Mexico appears, with the other states of the time.
Mexico Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 2,004,458 km² in 1872 CE.
Mexico: Frequently Asked Questions
When did Mexico exist?
Mexico is dated to 1868 CE – 2024 CE, in the Industrial era.
What was the capital of Mexico?
The capital of Mexico was Mexico City.
How large was Mexico at its peak?
At its peak in 1872 Mexico covered about 2,004,458 km².
How did the map of Mexico change over time?
Mexico appears on 2 dated world maps in the atlas, from 1900 CE to 1945 CE. Each shows its borders in that year next to the other states of the time.
Other Sovereign Realms
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Industrial Era • Capital: London
Early Modern & Age of Discovery • Capital: Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Lahore, Delhi
Early Modern & Age of Discovery • Capital: Raigad