Demographics of Mexico - wikipedia Demographics of Mexico Demographics of Mexico Population of Mexico, 1961 -- 2003 Population ca. 123 million Growth rate 1.9 % ( 2015 ) Birth rate 18.3 births / 1,000 population ( 2016 est. ) Death rate 5.8 deaths / 1,000 population ( 2016 est. ) Life expectancy 76.66 years male 73.84 years female 79.63 years ( 2012 est. ) Fertility rate 2.2 children born / woman ( 2016 ) Infant mortality rate 16.77 deaths / 1,000 live births Net migration rate - 1.64 migrant ( s ) / 1,000 population ( 2014 est. ) Age structure 0 -- 14 years 27.8 % ( male 16,329,415 / female 15,648,127 ) 15 -- 64 years 65.5 % ( male 36,385,426 / female 38,880,768 ) 65 and over 6.7 % ( male 3,459,939 / female 4,271,731 ) ( 2012 est. ) Sex ratio Total 0.96 male ( s ) / female ( 2011 est. ) At birth 1.04 male ( s ) / female Under 15 1.05 male ( s ) / female 15 -- 64 years 0.94 male ( s ) / female 65 and over 0.81 male ( s ) / female Nationality Nationality Mexican Minor ethnic 10 % Indigenous 1.2 % Afro - descendant Language Official Spanish language Spoken Zapotec, Italian, Nahuatl, Arabic, Mixtec, Purépecha, English, Tzeltal, German, Chinese and many others are also spoken varying by region With a population of over 123 million in 2017, Mexico ranks as the 11th most populated country in the world. It is the most populous Spanish - speaking country and the third-most populous in the Americas after United States and Brazil. Throughout most of the twentieth century Mexico 's population was characterized by rapid growth. Although this tendency has been reversed and average annual population growth over the last five years was less than 1 %, the demographic transition is still in progress, and Mexico still has a large cohort of youths. The most populous city in the country is the capital, Mexico City, with a population of 8.9 million ( 2016 ), and its metropolitan area is also the most populated with 20.1 million ( 2010 ). Approximately 50 % of the population lives in one of the 55 large metropolitan areas in the country. In total, about 78.84 % of the population of the country lives in urban areas, meaning that only 21.16 % live in rural areas. The Census Inegi in Mexico is the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía ( INEGI ). The National Population Council ( CONAPO ), is an institution under the Secretary of the Interior in charge of the analysis and research of population dynamics. The National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples ( CDI ), also undertakes research and analysis of the sociodemographic and linguistic indicators of the indigenous peoples in Mexico. In 2017, Mexico 's total fertility rate dropped below replacement - level fertility for the first time ( i.e., less than 2.1 children born per woman ). Contents 1 Demographic dynamics 1.1 UN estimates 1.2 Structure of the population 2 Vital statistics 2.1 Registered births and deaths 2.2 Estimates 2.3 UN estimates 3 International migration 3.1 Immigration to Mexico 3.2 Emigration from Mexico 4 Cities and metropolitan areas 4.1 Settlements, cities and municipalities 4.2 Metropolitan areas 5 Ethnic groups 5.1 Mestizo 5.2 Indigenous peoples 5.3 Mexicans of European descent 5.4 Arab Mexicans 5.5 Afro - Mexicans 5.6 Asian Mexicans 5.7 Official censuses 5.7. 1 1793 census 5.7. 2 1921 census 5.7. 3 Present day 6 Languages 7 Mexican nationality and citizenship 8 Religion 9 See also 10 References and notes 11 External links Demographic dynamics Population growth Mexican states by population density Historical population Year Pop. ± % 1865 8,259,080 -- 1910 15,160,369 + 83.6 % 1921 14,334,780 − 5.4 % 1930 16,552,722 + 15.5 % 1940 19,653,552 + 18.7 % 1950 25,791,017 + 31.2 % 1960 34,923,129 + 35.4 % 1970 48,225,238 + 38.1 % 1980 66,846,833 + 38.6 % 1990 81,249,645 + 21.5 % 2000 97,483,412 + 20.0 % 113,580,528 + 16.5 % 2018 123,982,528 + 9.2 % Source : INEGI In 1900, the Mexican population was 13.6 million. During the period of economic prosperity that was dubbed by economists as the `` Mexican Miracle '', the government invested in efficient social programs that reduced the infant mortality rate and increased life expectancy. These measures jointly led to an intense demographic increase between 1930 and 1980. The population 's annual growth rate has been reduced from a 3.5 % peak in 1965 to 0.99 % in 2005. While Mexico is now transitioning to the third phase of demographic transition, close to 50 % of the population in 2009 was 25 years old or younger. Fertility rates have also decreased from 5.7 children per woman in 1976 to 2.2 in 2006. The average annual population growth rate of the capital, the Federal District, was the first in the country at 0.2 %. The state with the lowest population growth rate over the same period was Michoacán ( - 0.1 % ), whereas the states with the highest population growth rates were Quintana Roo ( 4.7 % ) and Baja California Sur ( 3.4 % ), both of which are two of the least populous states and the last to be admitted to the Union in the 1970s. The average annual net migration rate of the Federal District over the same period was negative and the lowest of all political divisions of Mexico, whereas the states with the highest net migration rate were Quintana Roo ( 2.7 ), Baja California ( 1.8 ) and Baja California Sur ( 1.6 ). While the national annual growth rate was still positive ( 1.0 % ) in the early years of the 2000s, the national net migration rate was negative ( - 4.75 / 1000 inhabitants ), given the former strong flow of immigrants to the United States ; an estimated 5.3 million undocumented Mexicans lived in the United States in 2004 and 18.2 million American citizens in the 2000 Census declared having Mexican ancestry. However, as of recent years in the 2010s, the net migration rate reached 0, given the strong economy of Mexico and a weakening American economy, causing many of its former residents to return. However, Mexico itself constitutes the second country of total number of immigrants to the United States from 1830 to 2000, after Germany. The Mexican government projects that the Mexican population will grow to about 123 million by 2042 and then start declining slowly. Assumptions underlying this projection include fertility stabilizing at 1.85 children per woman and continued high net emigration ( gently decreasing from 583,000 in 2005 to 393,000 in 2050 ). The states and the Federal District that make up the Mexican federation are collectively called `` federal entities ''. The five most populous federal entities in 2005 were the State of Mexico ( 14.4 million ), the Federal District ( 8.7 million ), Veracruz ( 7.1 million ), Jalisco ( 6.7 million ) and Puebla ( 5.4 million ), which collectively contain 40.7 % of the national population. Mexico City, being coextensive with the Federal District, is the most populous city in the country, while Greater Mexico City, that includes the adjacent municipalities that conform a metropolitan area, is estimated to be the second most populous in the world, by the UN Urbanization Report. Intense population growth in the northern states, especially along the US - Mexican border, changed the country 's demographic profile in the second half of the 20th century, as the 1967 US - Mexico maquiladora agreement through which all products manufactured in the border cities could be imported duty - free to the US. Since the adoption of NAFTA in 1994, however, which allows all products to be imported duty - free regardless of their place of origin within Mexico, the non-border maquiladora share of exports has increased while that of border cities has decreased, allowing for the growth of medium - sized cities in different regions in Mexico. This has also led to decentralization and growth of other metropolitan areas that form regional centers of economic growth, such as Monterrey, Guadalajara, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, León and Torreón. Un estimates Mexico 's population pyramid ( 2009 ) According to the 2012 revision of the World Population Prospects, the total population was 117,886,000 in 2010, compared to only 28,296,000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 30 %, 64 % of the population was between 15 and 65 years of age, and 6 % was 65 years or older. Total population ( x 1000 ) Proportion aged 0 -- 14 ( % ) Proportion aged 15 -- 64 ( % ) Proportion aged 65 + ( % ) 1950 28 296 42.5 54.1 3.5 1955 33 401 44.5 52.2 3.3 1960 38 677 45.9 50.8 3.4 1965 45 339 46.8 49.6 3.5 1970 52 988 46.6 49.7 3.7 61 708 46.2 50.1 3.7 1980 70 353 44.7 51.5 3.8 1985 77 859 42.1 53.9 3.9 1990 86 077 38.5 57.2 4.3 1995 95 393 35.9 59.6 4.5 2000 103 874 34.1 61.0 4.9 2005 110 732 32.3 62.4 5.3 117 886 30.0 64.0 6.0 2015 127 017 27.6 65.9 6.5 2020 134 837 25.6 66.9 7.6 Structure of the population Structure of the population ( 12.06. 2010 ) ( Census ) : Male Female Total % Total 54 855 231 57 481 307 112 336 538 100 0 - 4 5 346 943 5 181 379 10 528 322 9, 37 5 - 9 5 604 175 5 443 362 11 047 537 9, 83 10 - 14 5 547 613 5 392 324 10 939 937 9, 78 15 - 19 5 520 121 5 505 991 11 026 112 9, 82 20 - 24 4 813 204 5 079 067 9 892 271 8, 81 25 - 29 4 205 975 4 582 202 8 788 177 7, 82 30 - 34 4 026 031 4 444 767 8 470 798 7, 54 35 - 39 3 964 738 4 328 249 8 292 987 7, 38 40 - 44 3 350 322 3 658 904 7 009 226 6, 24 45 - 49 2 824 364 3 104 366 5 928 730 5, 28 50 - 54 2 402 451 2 661 840 5 064 291 4, 51 55 - 59 1 869 537 2 025 828 3 895 365 3, 47 60 - 64 1 476 667 1 639 799 3 116 466 2, 77 65 - 69 1 095 273 1 221 992 2 317 265 2, 06 70 - 74 873 893 1 000 041 1 873 934 1, 67 75 - 79 579 689 665 794 1 245 483 1, 11 80 - 84 355 277 443 659 798 936 0, 71 85 - 89 197 461 256 703 454 164 0, 40 90 - 94 68 130 96 794 164 924 0, 15 95 - 99 25 920 39 812 65 732 0, 06 100 + 7 228 11 247 18 475 0, 02 unknown 700 219 697 187 1 397 406 1, 24 Age group Male Female Total Percent 0 - 14 16 498 731 16 017 065 32 515 796 28, 94 15 - 64 34 453 410 37 031 013 71 484 423 63, 63 65 + 3 202 871 3 736 049 6 938 913 6, 18 Vital Statistics Registered births and deaths Source : Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía ( INEGI ) Note : registered births include births from non-resident mothers. Therefore, the birth rates are overestimated in the past two decades. Average population ( x 1000 ) Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate ( per 1000 ) Crude death rate ( per 1000 ) Natural change ( per 1000 ) TFR 1936 786 388 1937 820 469 1938 822 586 43.5 1939 857 951 44.6 1940 19 763 875 471 44.3 1941 20 208 878 935 43.5 1942 20 657 940 067 45.5 1943 21 165 963 317 45.5 1944 21 674 958 119 44.2 1945 22 233 999 093 44.9 1946 22 779 994 838 442 935 551 903 43.7 19.4 24.3 1947 23 440 1 079 816 390 087 689 729 46.1 16.6 29.5 1948 24 129 1 090 867 407 708 683 159 44.7 16.9 27.8 1949 24 833 1 109 446 438 970 670 476 46.0 17.7 28.3 1950 28 296 1 174 947 418 430 756 517 41.5 14.8 26.7 1951 29 110 1 183 788 458 238 725 550 40.7 15.7 24.9 1952 29 980 1 195 209 408 823 786 386 39.9 13.6 26.2 1953 30 904 1 261 775 446 127 815 648 40.8 14.4 26.4 1954 31 880 1 339 837 378 752 961 085 42.0 11.9 30.1 1955 32 906 1 377 917 407 522 970 395 41.9 12.4 29.5 1956 33 978 1 427 722 368 740 1 058 982 42.0 10.9 31.2 1957 35 095 1 485 202 414 545 1 070 657 42.3 11.8 30.5 1958 36 253 1 447 578 404 529 1 043 049 39.9 11.2 28.8 1959 37 448 1 589 606 396 924 1 192 682 42.4 10.6 31.8 1960 38 677 1 608 174 402 545 1 205 629 41.6 10.4 31.2 1961 39 939 1 647 006 388 857 1 258 149 41.2 9.7 31.5 1962 41 234 1 705 481 403 046 1 302 435 41.4 9.8 31.6 1963 42 564 1 756 624 412 834 1 343 790 41.3 9.7 31.6 1964 43 931 1 849 408 408 275 1 441 133 42.1 9.3 32.8 1965 45 339 1 888 171 404 163 1 484 008 41.6 8.9 32.7 1966 46 784 1 954 340 424 141 1 530 199 41.8 9.1 32.7 1967 48 264 1 981 363 420 298 1 561 065 41.1 8.7 32.3 1968 49 788 2 058 251 452 910 1 605 341 41.3 9.1 32.2 1969 51 361 2 037 561 458 886 1 578 675 39.7 8.9 30.7 1970 52 988 2 132 630 485 656 1 646 974 40.2 9.2 31.1 1971 54 669 2 231 399 458 323 1 773 076 40.8 8.4 32.4 1972 56 396 2 346 002 476 206 1 869 796 41.6 8.4 33.2 1973 58 156 2 572 287 458 915 2 113 372 44.2 7.9 36.3 59 931 2 522 580 433 104 2 089 476 42.1 7.2 34.9 61 708 2 254 497 435 888 1 818 609 36.5 7.1 29.5 1976 63 486 2 366 305 455 660 1 910 645 37.3 7.2 30.1 5.7 1977 65 261 2 379 327 450 454 1 928 873 36.5 6.9 29.6 1978 67 013 2346 862 418 381 1928 481 35.0 6.2 28.8 1979 68 715 2 274 267 428 217 1 846 050 33.1 6.2 26.9 1980 70 353 2 446 238 434 465 2 011 773 34.8 6.2 28.6 1981 71 916 2 530 662 424 274 2 106 388 35.2 5.9 29.3 4.4 1982 73 416 2 392 849 412 345 1 980 504 32.6 5.6 27.0 74 880 2 609 088 413 403 2 195 685 34.8 5.5 29.3 1984 76 351 2 511 894 410 550 2 101 344 32.9 5.4 27.5 1985 77 859 2 655 671 414 003 2 241 668 34.1 5.3 28.8 1986 79 410 2 577 045 400 079 2 176 966 32.5 5.0 27.4 80 999 2 794 390 400 280 2 394 110 34.5 4.9 29.6 3.8 82 635 2 622 031 412 987 2 209 044 31.7 5.0 26.7 84 327 2 620 262 423 304 2 196 958 31.1 5.0 26.1 1990 86 077 2 735 312 422 803 2 312 509 31.8 4.9 26.9 3.38 1991 87 890 2 756 447 411 131 2 345 316 31.4 4.7 26.7 3.28 1992 89 758 2 797 397 409 814 2 387 583 31.2 4.6 26.6 3.20 1993 91 654 2 839 686 416 335 2 423 351 31.0 4.5 26.4 3.12 1994 93 542 2 904 389 419 074 2 485 315 31.0 4.5 26.6 3.04 1995 95 393 2 750 444 430 278 2 320 166 28.8 4.5 24.3 2.97 97 202 2 707 718 436 321 2 271 397 27.9 4.5 23.4 2.90 1997 98 969 2 698 425 440 437 2 257 988 27.3 4.5 22.8 2.83 1998 100 679 2 668 429 444 665 2 223 764 26.5 4.4 22.1 2.77 1999 102 317 2 769 089 443 950 2 325 139 27.1 4.3 22.7 2.71 2000 103 874 2 798 339 437 667 2 360 672 26.9 4.2 22.7 2.66 2001 105 340 2 767 610 443 127 2 324 483 26.3 4.2 22.1 2.61 2002 106 724 2 699 084 459 687 2 239 397 25.3 4.3 21.0 2.56 2003 108 056 2 655 894 472 140 2 183 754 24.6 4.4 20.2 2.52 109 382 2 625 056 473 417 2 151 639 24.0 4.3 19.7 2.48 2005 110 732 2 567 906 495 240 2 072 666 23.2 4.5 18.7 2.45 2006 112 117 2 505 939 494 471 2 011 468 22.4 4.4 17.9 2.41 2007 113 530 2 655 083 514 420 2 140 663 23.4 4.5 18.9 2.38 2008 114 968 2 636 110 539 530 2 096 580 22.9 4.7 18.2 2.35 2009 116 423 2 577 214 564 673 2 012 541 22.1 4.9 17.3 2.31 114 255 2 643 908 592 018 2 051 890 23.1 5.2 17.9 2.28 2011 115 683 2 586 287 590 693 1 995 594 22.3 5.1 17.2 2.25 2012 117 054 2 498 880 602 354 1 896 526 21.3 5.1 16.2 2.27 2013 118 395 2 478 889 623 599 1 855 290 20.9 5.3 15.6 2.24 2014 119 713 2 463 420 633 641 1 829 779 20.5 5.3 15.2 2.22 2015 121 005 2 353 596 655 694 1 697 902 19.4 5.4 14.0 2.13 2016 122 298 2 293 708 685 763 1 607 945 18.8 5.6 13.2 2.08 2017 123 415 2 188 069 719 259 1 468 361 18.0 5.9 12.1 1.97 Estimates The following estimates were prepared by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía : Crude birth rate ( per 1000 ) Crude death rate ( per 1000 ) Natural change ( per 1000 ) Total fertility rate 1976 5.7 1981 4.4 3.8 1990 27.9 5.6 22.3 3.4 1991 27.5 5.5 22.0 3.3 1992 27.1 5.4 21.7 3.2 1993 26.8 5.3 21.5 3.1 1994 26.3 5.2 21.1 3.0 1995 25.9 5.2 20.7 3.0 25.4 5.1 20.3 2.9 1997 24.8 5.1 19.7 2.8 1998 24.3 5.1 19.2 2.8 1999 23.9 5.1 18.8 2.7 2000 23.4 5.1 18.3 2.6 2001 23.0 5.1 17.9 2.6 2002 22.6 5.1 17.5 2.6 2003 22.2 5.2 17.0 2.5 21.8 5.2 16.6 2.5 2005 21.5 5.2 16.3 2.5 2006 21.1 5.3 15.8 2.4 2007 20.8 5.3 15.5 2.4 2008 20.4 5.4 15.0 2.3 2009 20.1 5.5 14.6 2.3 19.7 5.6 14.1 2.3 2011 19.4 5.6 13.8 2.3 2012 19.2 5.7 13.5 2.2 2013 19.0 5.7 13.3 2.2 2014 18.7 5.7 13.0 2.2 2015 18.5 5.7 12.8 2.2 2016 18.3 5.8 12.5 2.2 Un estimates The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates. Period Live births per year Deaths per year Natural change per year CBR * CDR * NC * TFR * IMR * Life expectancy total Life expectancy males Life expectancy females 1950 -- 1955 1 469 000 509 000 959 000 48.0 16.7 31.3 6.70 121 50.7 48.9 52.5 1955 -- 1960 1 675 000 483 000 1 193 000 46.8 13.5 33.3 6.80 102 55.3 53.3 57.3 1960 -- 1965 1 878 000 481 000 1 397 000 44.7 11.5 33.3 6.75 88 58.5 56.4 60.6 1965 -- 1970 2 147 000 510 000 1 637 000 43.7 10.4 33.3 6.75 80 60.3 58.2 62.5 1970 -- 1975 2 434 000 521 000 1 913 000 42.4 9.1 33.4 6.50 69 62.6 60.1 65.2 1975 -- 1980 2 406 000 490 000 1 916 000 36.4 7.4 29.0 5.25 57 65.3 62.2 68.6 1980 -- 1985 2 352 000 470 000 1 882 000 31.7 6.3 25.4 4.25 47 67.7 64.4 71.2 1985 -- 1990 2 385 000 466 000 1 919 000 29.1 5.7 23.4 3.63 40 69.8 66.8 73.0 1990 -- 1995 2 493 000 470 000 2 022 000 27.5 5.2 22.3 3.16 33 71.8 69.0 74.6 1995 -- 2000 2 535 000 471 000 2 064 000 25.4 4.7 20.7 2.80 28 73.7 71.3 76.1 2000 -- 2005 2 449 000 492 000 1 958 000 22.8 4.6 18.2 2.54 21 75.0 72.4 77.4 2005 -- 2010 2 355 000 513 000 1 841 000 20.6 4.5 16.1 2.37 17 76.3 73.7 78.6 * CBR = crude birth rate ( per 1000 ) ; CDR = crude death rate ( per 1000 ) ; NC = natural change ( per 1000 ) ; IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births ; TFR = total fertility rate ( number of children per woman ) International migration Immigration to Mexico Main article : Immigration to Mexico Aside from the original Spanish colonists, many Europeans immigrated to Mexico in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Non-Spanish immigrant groups included British, Irish, Italian, German, French and Dutch. Large numbers of Middle Eastern immigrants arrived in Mexico during the same period, mostly from Syria and Lebanon. Asian immigrants, mostly Chinese, some via the United States, settled in northern Mexico, whereas Koreans settled in central Mexico. During the 1970s and 1980s Mexico opened its doors to immigrants from Latin America, mainly political refugees from Chile, Cuba, Peru, Colombia and Central America. The PRI governments, in power for most of the 20th century, had a policy of granting asylum to fellow Latin Americans fleeing political persecution in their home countries. A second wave of immigrants has come to Mexico as a result of the economic crises experienced by some countries in the region. The Argentine community is quite significant estimated to be somewhere between 11,000 and 30,000. Due to the 2008 Financial Crisis and the resulting economic decline and high unemployment in Spain, many Spaniards have been emigrating to Mexico to seek new opportunities. For example, during the last quarter of 2012, a number of 7,630 work permits were granted to Spaniards. Mexico is also the country where the largest number of American citizens live abroad, with Mexico City playing host to the largest number of American citizens abroad in the world. The American Citizens Abroad Association estimated in 1999 that a little more than one million Americans live in Mexico ( which represent 1 % of the population in Mexico and 25 % of all American citizens living abroad ). This immigration phenomenon could well be explained by the interaction of both countries under the North American Free Trade Agreement ( NAFTA ), but also by the fact that Mexico has become a popular destination for retirees, especially the small towns : just in the State of Guanajuato, in San Miguel de Allende and its surroundings, 10,000 Americans have their residence. Discrepancies between the figures of official legal aliens and all foreign - born residents is quite large. The official figure for foreign - born residents in Mexico in 2000 was 493,000, with a majority ( 86.9 % ) of these born in the United States ( except Chiapas, where the majority of immigrants are from Central America ). The six states with the most immigrants are Baja California ( 12.1 % of total immigrants ), Mexico City ( the Federal District ; 11.4 % ), Jalisco ( 9.9 % ), Chihuahua ( 9 % ) and Tamaulipas ( 7.3 % ). Emigration from Mexico The national net migration rate in Mexico is negative, estimated at - 4.32 migrant per 1,000 population. The great majority of Mexican emigrants have moved to the United States of America. This migration phenomenon is not new, but it has been a defining feature in the relationship of both countries for most of the twentieth century. Since World Wars I and II, the United States government approved the recruitment of Mexican workers in their territory, and tolerated unauthorized migration to obtain additional farm and industrial workers to fill the necessary spots vacated by the population in war, and to supply the increase in the demand for labor. Nonetheless, the United States unilaterally ended the program as a result of activities of civil rights groups. In spite of that, emigration of Mexicans continued throughout the rest of the century at varying degrees. It grew significantly during the 1990s and has continued to do so in the first years of the 2000s. In fact, it has been estimated that 37 % of all Mexican immigrants to the United States in the 20th century arrived during the 1990s. In 2000 approximately 20 million American residents identified themselves as either Mexican, Mexican - Americans or of Mexican origin, making it the sixth most cited ancestry of all US residents. In 2000, the INEGI estimated that about eight million Mexican - born people, which then was equivalent to 8.7 % of the population of Mexico itself, lived in the United States of America. In that year, the Mexican states sending the greatest numbers of emigrants to the United States were Jalisco ( 170,793 ), Michoacán ( 165,502 ), and Guanajuato ( 163,338 ) ; the total number of Mexican emigrants to the United States in 2000, both legal and illegal, was estimated at 1,569,157 ; the great majority of these were men. Approximately 30 % of emigrants come from rural communities. In that same year, 260,650 emigrants returned to Mexico. According to the Pew Hispanic Center in 2006, an estimated ten percent of all Mexican citizens lived in the United States. The population of Mexican immigrants residing illegally in the United States fell from around seven million in 2007 to about 6.1 million in 2011. This trajectory has been linked to the economic downturn which started in 2008 and reduced available jobs, and to the introduction of stricter immigration laws in many States. According to the Pew Hispanic Center the total number of Mexican - born people had stagnated in 2010 and then began to fall. After the Mexican - American community, Mexican Canadians are the second largest group of emigrant Mexicans, with a population of over 50,000. A significant but unknown number of mestizos of Mexican descent had migrated to the Philippines since the era of the Viceroyalty of New Spain when the Philippines was a territory under the rule of Mexico city. Mexicans live throughout Latin America as well as in Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates. Emigration list from Mexico Mexican residents in the world by countries Country Population Position Continent United States 9,900,000 North America Canada 36,225 North America Spain 15,399 Europe Guatemala 14,481 Central America Bolivia 13,377 5 South America Germany 8,848 6 Europe Argentina 6,750 7 South America United Kingdom 5,125 8 Europe France 4,601 9 Europe Israel 4,252 10 Asia Netherlands 3,758 11 Europe Italy 3,485 12 Europe Venezuela 3,075 13 South America Sweden 2,794 14 Europe Belize 2,349 15 Central America Costa Rica 2,327 16 Central America Panama 2,299 17 Central America Colombia 2,286 18 South America Chile 1,874 19 South America Paraguay 1,778 20 South America The list includes also temporary residents ( 1 -- 3 years ' stay ) Mexican diaspora Americas Belize Canada Chile Costa Rica Cuba Panama United States Uruguay Asia Philippines Europe France Germany Spain United Kingdom Cities and metropolitan areas Settlements, cities and municipalities See also : Municipalities of Mexico Most populated municipalities Municipality of Guadalajara Municipality Pop. ( 2005 ) Ecatepec de Morelos 1,688,258 Guadalajara 1,600,940 Puebla 1,485,941 Tijuana 1,410,700 León 1.325. 210 Juárez 1,313,338 In 2005 Mexico had 187,938 localidades ( lit. `` localities '' or `` settlements '' ), which are census - designated places, which could be defined as a small town, a large city, or simply as a single unit housing in a rural area whether situated remotely or close to an urban area. A city is defined to be a settlement with more than 2,500 inhabitants. In 2005 there were 2,640 cities with a population between 2,500 and 15,000 inhabitants, 427 with a population between 15,000 and 100,000 inhabitants, 112 with a population between 100,000 and one million, and 11 with a population of more than one million. All cities are considered `` urban areas '' and represent 76.5 % of total population. Settlements with less than 2,500 inhabitants are considered `` rural communities '' ( in fact, more than 80,000 of those settlements have only one or two housing units ). Rural population in Mexico is 22.2 % of total population. Municipalities ( municipios in Spanish ) and boroughs ( delegaciones in Spanish ) are incorporated places in Mexico, that is, second or third - level political divisions with internal autonomy, legally prescribed limits, powers and functions. In terms of second - level political divisions there are 2,438 municipalities and Mexico and 16 semi-autonomous boroughs ( all within the Federal District ). A municipality can be constituted by one or more cities one of which is the cabecera municipal ( municipal seat ). Cities are usually contained within the limits of a single municipality, with a few exceptions in which small areas of one city may extend to other adjacent municipalities without incorporating the city which serves as the municipal seat of the adjacent municipality. Some municipalities or cities within municipalities are further divided into delegaciones or boroughs. However, unlike the boroughs of the Federal District, these are third - level administrative divisions ; they have very limited autonomy and no elective representatives. Municipalities in central Mexico are usually very small in area and thus coextensive with cities ( as is the case of Guadalajara, Puebla and León ), whereas municipalities in northern and southeastern Mexico are much larger and usually contain more than one city or town that may not necessarily conform a single urban agglomeration ( as is the case of Tijuana ). Metropolitan areas Main article : Metropolitan areas of Mexico A metropolitan area in Mexico is defined to be the group of municipalities that heavily interact with each other, usually around a core city. In 2004, a joint effort between CONAPO, INEGI and the Ministry of Social Development ( SEDESOL ) agreed to define metropolitan areas as either : the group of two or more municipalities in which a city with a population of at least 50,000 is located whose urban area extends over the limit of the municipality that originally contained the core city incorporating either physically or under its area of direct influence other adjacent predominantly urban municipalities all of which have a high degree of social and economic integration or are relevant for urban politics and administration ; or a single municipality in which a city of a population of at least one million is located and fully contained, ( that is, it does not transcend the limits of a single municipality ) ; or a city with a population of at least 250,000 which forms a conurbation with other cities in the United States of America. In 2004 there were 55 metropolitan areas in Mexico, in which close to 53 % of the country 's population lives. The most populous metropolitan area in Mexico is the Metropolitan Area of the Valley of Mexico, or Greater Mexico City, which in 2005 had a population of 19.23 million, or 19 % of the nation 's population. The next four largest metropolitan areas in Mexico are Greater Guadalajara ( 4.1 million ), Greater Monterrey ( 3.7 million ), Greater Puebla ( 2.1 million ) and Greater Toluca ( 1.6 million ), whose added population, along with Greater Mexico City, is equivalent to 30 % of the nation 's population. Greater Mexico City was the fastest growing metropolitan area in the country since the 1930s until the late 1980s. Since then, the country has slowly become economically and demographically less centralized. From 2000 to 2005 the average annual growth rate of Greater Mexico City was the lowest of the five largest metropolitan areas, whereas the fastest growing metropolitan area was Puebla ( 2.0 % ) followed by Monterrey ( 1.9 % ), Toluca ( 1.8 % ) and Guadalajara ( 1.8 % ). Mexico City Guadalajara Monterrey Ranks Core city State Metro area population Puebla Toluca Tijuana Mexico City Federal District 20,137,152 Guadalajara Jalisco 4,434,878 Monterrey Nuevo León 4,106,054 Puebla Puebla 2,728,790 5 Toluca México 1,936,126 6 Tijuana Baja California 1,751,430 7 León Guanajuato 1,609,504 8 Juárez Chihuahua 1,495,094 9 Torreón Coahuila 1,275,993 10 Querétaro Querétaro 1,097,025 11 San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí 1,040,443 12 Mérida Yucatán 973,046 Source : INEGI Ethnic groups Mexico is ethnically diverse. The second article of the Mexican Constitution defines the country to be a pluricultural state originally based on the indigenous peoples and combined with European heritage through the process of colonization and `` mestizaje ''. Mestizo Main article : Mestizos in Mexico President Porfirio Diaz was of Mestizo descent A large majority of Mexicans have been classified as `` Mestizos '', meaning in modern Mexican usage that they identify fully neither with any indigenous culture nor with a Spanish cultural heritage, but rather identify as having cultural traits incorporating elements from both indigenous and Spanish traditions. By the deliberate efforts of post-revolutionary governments the `` Mestizo identity '' was constructed as the base of the modern Mexican national identity, through a process of cultural synthesis referred to as mestizaje ( mestiˈsahe ). Mexican politicians and reformers such as José Vasconcelos and Manuel Gamio were instrumental in building a Mexican national identity upon the concept of mestizaje. Since the Mestizo identity promoted by the government is more of a cultural identity than a biological one it has achieved a strong influence in the country, with a good number of biologically white people identifying with it, leading to being considered Mestizos in Mexico 's demographic investigations and censuses due the ethnic criteria having its base on cultural traits rather than biological ones. A similar situation occurs regarding the distinctions between Indigenous peoples and Mestizos : while the term Mestizo is sometimes used in English with the meaning of a person with mixed indigenous and European blood, In Mexican society a non-indigenous person can be considered mestizo. and a person with none or a very low percentage of indigenous genetic heritage would be considered fully indigenous either by speaking an indigenous language or by identifying with a particular indigenous cultural heritage. In the Yucatán peninsula the word Mestizo has a different meaning, with it being to refer to the Maya - speaking populations living in traditional communities, because during the caste war of the late 19th century those Maya who did not join the rebellion were classified as Mestizos. In Chiapas the word `` Ladino '' is used instead of mestizo. Given that the word Mestizo has different meanings in Mexico, estimates of the Mexican Mestizo population vary widely. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, which uses a biology - based approach, between one half and two thirds of the Mexican population is Mestizo. A culture - based estimate gives the percentage of Mestizos as high as 90 %. Paradoxically, the word Mestizo has long been dropped from popular Mexican vocabulary, with the word even having pejorative connotations, which further complicates attempts to quantify Mestizos via self - identification. Indigenous peoples Largest indigenous peoples Mayas in Chiapas Group Number Nahua peoples ( Nawatlaka ) 2,445,969 Maya ( Maaya ) 1,475,575 Zapotec ( Binizaa ) 777,253 Mixtec ( Ñuu sávi ) 726,601 Otomí ( Hñähñü ) 646,875 Totonac ( Tachihuiin ) 411,266 Source : CDI ( 2000 ) ( 8 ) Main article : Indigenous peoples of Mexico Benito Juárez, the first native American President of Mexico Prior to contact with Europeans the indigenous peoples of Mexico had not had any kind of shared identity. Indigenous identity was constructed by the dominant Euro - Mestizo majority and imposed upon the indigenous people as a negatively defined identity, characterized by the lack of assimilation into modern Mexico. Indigenous identity therefore became socially stigmatizing. Cultural policies in early post-revolutionary Mexico were paternalistic towards the indigenous people, with efforts designed to help indigenous peoples achieve the same level of progress as the rest of society, eventually assimilating indigenous peoples completely to Mestizo Mexican culture, working toward the goal of eventually solving the `` Indian problem '' by transforming indigenous communities into mestizo communities. The category of `` indigena '' ( indigenous ) in Mexico has been defined based on different criteria through history, this means that the percentage of the Mexican population defined as `` indigenous '' varies according to the definition applied. It can be defined narrowly according to linguistic criteria including only persons that speak an Indigenous language, based on this criteria approximately 5.4 % of the population is Indigenous. Nonetheless, activists for the rights of indigenous peoples have referred to the usage of this criteria for census purposes as `` statistical genocide '' Other surveys made by the Mexican government do count as Indigenous all persons who speak an indigenous language and people who do not speak indigenous languages nor live in indigenous communities but self - identifies as Indigenous. According to this criteria, the National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples ( Comisión Nacional para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas, or CDI in Spanish ) and the INEGI ( Mexico 's National Institute of Statistics and Geography ), state that there are 15.7 million indigenous people in Mexico of many different ethnic groups, which constitute 14.9 % of the population in the country. Finally According to the latest intercensal survey carried out by the Mexican government on 2015, Indigenous people make up 21.5 % of Mexico 's population. In this occasion, people who self - identified as `` Indigenous '' and people who self - identified as `` partially Indigenous '' were classified in the `` Indigenous '' category altogheter. The Mexican constitution not only recognizes the 62 indigenous peoples living in Mexican territory but also grants them autonomy and protects their culture and languages. This protection and autonomy is extended to those Amerindian ethnic groups which have migrated from the United States -- like the Cherokees and Kickapoos -- and Guatemala during the 19th and 20th centuries. Municipalities in which indigenous peoples are located can keep their normative traditional systems in relation to the election of their municipal authorities. This system is known as Usos y Costumbres, roughly translated as `` customs and traditions ''. According to official statistics -- as reported by the National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples or CDI -- Amerindians make up 10 - 14 % of the country 's population, more than half of them ( 5.4 % of total population ) speak an indigenous language and a tenth ( 1.2 % of total population ) do not speak Spanish. Official statistics of the CDI report that the states with the greatest percentage of people who speak an Amerindian language or identify as Amerindian are Yucatán ( 59 % ), Oaxaca ( 48 % ), Quintana Roo ( 39 % ), Chiapas ( 28 % ), Campeche ( 27 % ), Hidalgo ( 24 % ), Puebla ( 19 % ), Guerrero ( 17 % ), San Luis Potosí ( 15 % ) and Veracruz ( 15 % ). Oaxaca is the state with the greatest number of distinct indigenous peoples and languages in the country. Mexicans of European descent Main article : Mexicans of European descent Mexican girls of European ancestry in Zapopan, Jalisco White Mexicans are Mexican citizens of fully or predominately European descent. Given that the Mexican government does not conduct racial censuses that quantify the country 's Eurodescendant population, estimations of this ethnic group 's percentage within Mexico 's population vary depending of the source, ranging from one tenth or one fifth to as high as 47 % the latter figure coming from a nationwide survey conducted by the Mexican government as a mean to address the problems of racism that Mexicans of mainly Indigenous or African ancestry suffer at hands of a society that favours light skinned, European looking Mexicans. Mexico 's northern and western regions have the highest percentages of European population, with the majority of the people not having native admixture or being of predominantly European ancestry, resembling in aspect that of northern Spaniards. In the north and west of Mexico, the indigenous tribes were substantially smaller than those found in central and southern Mexico, and also much less organized, thus they remained isolated from the rest of the population or even in some cases were hostile towards Mexican colonists. The northeast region, in which the indigenous population was eliminated by early European settlers, became the region with the highest proportion of whites during the Spanish colonial period. However, recent immigrants from southern Mexico have been changing, to some degree, its demographic trends. While the majority of European immigration to Mexico has been Spanish with the first wave starting with the colonization of America and the last one being a consequence of the Spanish Civil War of 1937, immigrants from other European countries have arrived to Mexico as well : during the Second Mexican Empire the immigration was mostly French, and during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries migrants mainly from Italy, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Germany followed. Additionally small numbers of White Americans, Croats, Armenians, Greeks, Poles, Romanians, Russians and Ashkenazi Jews came. The European Jewish immigrants joined the Sephardic community that lived in Mexico since colonial times, though many lived as Crypto - Jews, mostly in the northern states of Nuevo León and Tamaulipas. Some communities of European immigrants have remained isolated from the rest of the general population since their arrival, among them the German - speaking Mennonites from Russia of Chihuahua and Durango, and the Venetos of Chipilo, Puebla, which have retained their original languages. Arab Mexicans See also : Arab Mexicans Carlos Slim is of Lebanese descent. An Arab Mexican is a Mexican citizen of Arabic - speaking origin who can be of various ancestral origins. The vast majority of Mexico 's 1.1 million Arabs are from either Lebanese, Syrian, Iraqi, or Palestinian background. The interethnic marriage in the Arab community, regardless of religious affiliation, is very high ; most community members have only one parent who has Arab ethnicity. As a result of this, the Arab community in Mexico shows marked language shift away from Arabic. Only a few speak any Arabic, and such knowledge is often limited to a few basic words. Instead the majority, especially those of younger generations, speak Spanish as a first language. Today, the most common Arabic surnames in Mexico include Nader, Hayek, Ali, Haddad, Nasser, Malik, Abed, Mansoor, Harb and Elias. Arab immigration to Mexico started in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Roughly 100,000 Arabic - speakers settled in Mexico during this time period. They came mostly from Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Iraq and settled in significant numbers in Nayarit, Puebla, Mexico City and the Northern part of the country ( mainly in the states of Baja California, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Sinaloa, Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Durango, as well as the city of Tampico and Guadalajara. The term `` Arab Mexican '' may include ethnic groups that do not in fact identify as Arab. During the Israel - Lebanon war in 1948 and during the Six - Day War, thousands of Lebanese left Lebanon and went to Mexico. They first arrived in Veracruz. Although Arabs made up less than 5 % of the total immigrant population in Mexico during the 1930s, they constituted half of the immigrant economic activity. Immigration of Arabs in Mexico has influenced Mexican culture, in particular food, where they have introduced Kibbeh, Tabbouleh and even created recipes such as Tacos Árabes. By 1765, Dates, which originated from the Middle East, were introduced into Mexico by the Spaniards. The fusion between Arab and Mexican food has highly influenced the Yucatecan cuisine. Another concentration of Arab - Mexicans is in Baja California facing the U.S. - Mexican border, esp. in cities of Mexicali in the Imperial Valley U.S. / Mexico, and Tijuana across from San Diego with a large Arab American community ( about 280,000 ), some of whose families have relatives in Mexico. 45 % of Arab Mexicans are of Lebanese descent. The majority of Arab - Mexicans are Christians who belong to the Maronite Church, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Rite Catholic Churches. A scant number are Muslims and Jews of Middle Eastern origins. Afro - Mexicans See also : Afro - Mexicans Vicente Guerrero, major figure during the late Mexican War of Independence, abolitionist and second President of Mexico, was an African - Mexican. Afro - Mexicans are an ethnic group that predominate in certain areas of Mexico. Such as the Costa Chica of Oaxaca and the Costa Chica of Guerrero, Veracruz ( e.g. Yanga ) and in some towns in northern Mexico. The existence of blacks in Mexico is unknown, denied or diminished in both Mexico and abroad for a number of reasons : their small numbers, heavy intermarriage with other ethnic groups and Mexico 's tradition of defining itself as a `` mestizaje '' or mixing of European and indigenous. Mexico did have an active slave trade since the early Spanish period but from the beginning, intermarriage and mixed race offspring created an elaborate caste system. This system broke down in the very late Spanish period and after Independence the legal notion of race was eliminated. The creation of a national Mexican identity, especially after the Mexican Revolution, emphasized Mexico 's indigenous and European past actively or passively eliminating its African one from popular consciousness. The majority of Mexico 's native Afro - descendants are Afromestizos, i.e. `` mixed - race ''. Individuals with significantly high amounts of African ancestry make up a very low percentage of the total Mexican population, the majority being recent black immigrants from Africa, the Caribbean and elsewhere in the Americas. According to the Intercensal survey carried out by the Mexican government, Afro - Mexicans make up 1.2 % of Mexico 's population, the Afro - Mexican category in the Intercensal survey includes people who self - identified solely as African and people who self - identified as partially African. The survey also states that 64.9 % ( 896,829 ) of Afro - Mexicans also identified as indigenous, with 9.3 % being speakers of indigenous languages. Asian Mexicans Main article : Asian Mexicans Japanese Mexican youths in Monterrey. Asian Mexicans make up less than 1 % of the total population of modern Mexico, nonetheless they are a notable minority. Due to the historical and contemporary perception in Mexican society of what constitutes Asian culture ( associated with the Far East rather than the Near East ), Asian Mexicans are of East, South and Southeast Asian descent and Mexicans of West Asian descent are not considered to be part of the group. Asian immigration began with the arrival of Filipinos to Mexico during the Spanish period. For two and a half centuries, between 1565 and 1815, many Filipinos and Mexicans sailed to and from Mexico and the Philippines as sailors, crews, slaves, prisoners, adventurers and soldiers in the Manila - Acapulco Galleon assisting Spain in its trade between Asia and the Americas. Also on these voyages, thousands of Asian individuals ( mostly males ) were brought to Mexico as slaves and were called `` Chino '', which meant Chinese. Although in reality they were of diverse origins, including Japanese, Koreans, Malays, Filipinos, Javanese, Cambodians, Timorese, and people from Bengal, India, Ceylon, Makassar, Tidore, Terenate, and China. A notable example is the story of Catarina de San Juan ( Mirra ), an Indian girl captured by the Portuguese and sold into slavery in Manila. She arrived in New Spain and eventually she gave rise to the `` China Poblana ''. These early individuals are not very apparent in modern Mexico for two main reasons : the widespread mestizaje of Mexico during the Spanish period and the common practice of Chino slaves to `` pass '' as Indios ( the indigenous people of Mexico ) in order to attain freedom. As had occurred with a large portion of Mexico 's black population, over generations the Asian populace was absorbed into the general Mestizo population. Facilitating this miscegenation was the assimilation of Asians into the indigenous population. The indigenous people were legally protected from chattel slavery, and by being recognized as part of this group, Asian slaves could claim they were wrongly enslaved. Asians, predominantly Chinese, became Mexico 's fastest - growing immigrant group from the 1880s to the 1920s, exploding from about 1,500 in 1895 to more than 20,000 in 1910. Official censuses Historically, population studies and censuses have never been up to the standards that a population as diverse and numerous such as Mexico 's require : the first racial census was made in 1793, being also Mexico 's ( then known as New Spain ) first ever nationwide population census. Since only part of its original datasets survive, most of what is known of it comes from essays made by researchers who back in the day used the census ' findings as reference for their own works. More than a century would pass until the Mexican government conducted a new racial census in 1921 ( some sources assert that the census of 1895 included a comprehensive racial classification ; however, according to the historic archives of Mexico 's National Institute of Statistics, that was not the case ). While the 1921 census was the last time the Mexican government conducted a census that included a comprehensive racial classification, in recent years it has conducted nationwide surveys to quantify most of the ethnic groups who inhabit the country as well as the social dynamics and inequalities between them. 1793 census New Spain in 1819 with the boundaries established at the Adams - Onís Treaty. Also known as the `` Revillagigedo census '' from the name of the Count who ordered it to be conducted, this census was the first nationwide population census of Mexico ( then known as the Viceroyalty of New Spain ). Most of its original datasets have reportedly been lost, so most of what is known about it nowadays comes from essays and field investigations made by academics who had access to the census data and used it as reference for their works, such as Prussian geographer Alexander von Humboldt. Each author gives different estimations for each racial group in the country although they do n't vary greatly, with Europeans ranging from 18 % to 22 % of New Spain 's population, Mestizos from 21 % to 25 %, Indians from 51 % to 61 %, and Africans from 6,000 and 10,000. The estimations given for the total population range from 3,799,561 to 6,122,354. It is concluded then, that across nearly three centuries of colonization, the population growth trends of whites and mestizos were even, while the total percentage of the indigenous population decreased at a rate of 13 % -- 17 % per century. The authors assert that rather than whites and mestizos having higher birthrates, the reason for the indigenous population 's numbers decreasing lies on their suffering of higher mortality rates due to living in remote locations rather than in cities and towns founded by the Spanish colonists or being at war with them. For the same reasons, the number of Indigenous Mexicans presents the greatest variation range between publications, as in some cases their numbers in a given location were estimated rather than counted, leading to possible overestimations in some provinces and possible underestimations in others. Intendecy or territory European population ( % ) Indigenous population ( % ) Mestizo population ( % ) Mexico 16.9 % 66.1 % 16.7 % Puebla 10.1 % 74.3 % 15.3 % Oaxaca 06.3 % 88.2 % 05.2 % Guanajuato 25.8 % 44.0 % 29.9 % San Luis Potosi 13.0 % 51.2 % 35.7 % Zacatecas 15.8 % 29.0 % 55.1 % Durango 20.2 % 36.0 % 43.5 % Sonora 28.5 % 44.9 % 26.4 % Yucatán 14.8 % 72.6 % 12.3 % Guadalajara 31.7 % 33.3 % 34.7 % Veracruz 10.4 % 74.0 % 15.2 % Villadolid 27.6 % 42.5 % 29.6 % Nuevo Mexico ~ 30.8 % 69.0 % Vieja California ~ 51.7 % 47.9 % Nueva California ~ 89.9 % 09.8 % Coahuila 30.9 % 28.9 % 40.0 % Nuevo Leon 62.6 % 05.5 % 31.6 % Nuevo Santander 25.8 % 23.3 % 50.8 % Texas 39.7 % 27.3 % 32.4 % Tlaxcala 13.6 % 72.4 % 13.8 % ~ Europeans are included within the Mestizo category. Regardless of the possible inaccuracies related to the counting of Indigenous peoples living outside of the colonized areas, the effort that New Spain 's authorities put into considering them as subjects is worth mentioning, as censuses made by other colonial or post-colonial countries did not consider American Indians to be citizens / subjects ; for example, the censuses made by the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata would only count the inhabitants of the colonized settlements. Another example is the censuses made by the United States, which did not include Indigenous peoples living among the general population until 1860, and indigenous peoples as a whole until 1900. 1921 census Made right after the consummation of the Mexican revolution, the social context in which this census was conducted makes it particularly unique, as the government of the time was in the process of rebuilding the country and was looking to unite all Mexicans in a single national identity. The 1921 census ' final results in regards to race, which assert that 59.3 % of the Mexican population self - identified as Mestizo, 29.1 % as Indigenous, and only 9.8 % as White, were then essential in cementing the mestizaje ideology ( which asserts that the Mexican population as a whole is product of the admixture of all races ), which shaped Mexican identity and culture through the 20th century and remains prominent nowadays, with extraofficial international publications such as The World Factbook and Encyclopædia Britannica using the 1921 census as a reference to estimate Mexico 's racial composition up to this day. Nonetheless in recent times, the census ' results have been subjected to scrutiny by historians, academics and social activists alike, who assert that such drastic alterations on demographic trends with respect to the 1793 census are impossible and cite, among other statistics, the relatively low frequency of marriages between people of different continental ancestries in colonial and early independent Mexico. It is claimed that the mestizaje process sponsored by the state was more `` cultural than biological '', which resulted in the numbers of the Mestizo Mexican group being inflated at the expense of the identity of other races. Controversies aside, this census constituted the last time the Mexican Government conducted a comprehensive racial census with the breakdown by states being the following ( foreigners and people who answered `` other '' not included ) : Federative Units Mestizo Population ( % ) Amerindian Population ( % ) White Population ( % ) Aguascalientes 66.12 % 16.70 % 16.77 % Baja California ( Distrito Norte ) 72.50 % 07.72 % 00.35 % Baja California ( Distrito Sur ) 59.61 % 06.06 % 33.40 % Campeche 41.45 % 43.41 % 14.17 % Coahuila 77.88 % 11.38 % 10.13 % Colima 68.54 % 26.00 % 04.50 % Chiapas 36.27 % 47.64 % 11.82 % Chihuahua 50.09 % 12.76 % 36.33 % Durango 89.85 % 09.99 % 00.01 % Guanajuato 96.33 % 02.96 % 00.54 % Guerrero 54.05 % 43.84 % 02.07 % Hidalgo 51.47 % 39.49 % 08.83 % Jalisco 75.83 % 16.76 % 07.31 % Mexico City 54.78 % 18.75 % 22.79 % State of Mexico 47.71 % 42.13 % 10.02 % Michoacan 70.95 % 21.04 % 06.94 % Morelos 61.24 % 34.93 % 03.59 % Nayarit 73.45 % 20.38 % 05.83 % Nuevo Leon 75.47 % 05.14 % 19.23 % Oaxaca 28.15 % 69.17 % 01.43 % Puebla 39.34 % 54.73 % 05.66 % Querétaro 80.15 % 19.40 % 00.30 % Quintana Roo 42.35 % 20.59 % 15.16 % San Luis Potosí 61.88 % 30.60 % 05.41 % Sinaloa 98.30 % 00.93 % 00.19 % Sonora 41.04 % 14.00 % 42.54 % Tabasco 53.67 % 18.50 % 27.56 % Tamaulipas 69.77 % 13.89 % 13.62 % Tlaxcala 42.44 % 54.70 % 02.53 % Veracruz 50.09 % 36.60 % 10.28 % Yucatán 33.83 % 43.31 % 21.85 % Zacatecas 86.10 % 08.54 % 05.26 % When the 1921 census ' results are compared with the results of Mexico 's recent censuses as well as with modern genetic research, there is high consistency with respect to the distribution of Indigenous Mexicans across the country, with states located in south and south - eastern Mexico having both the highest percentages of population who self - identify as Indigenous and the highest percentages of Amerindian genetic ancestry. However, this is not the case when it comes to European Mexicans, as there are instances in which states that have been shown through scientific research to have a considerably high European ancestry are reported to have very small white populations in the 1921 census, with the most extreme case being that of the state of Durango, where the aforementioned census asserts that only 0.01 % of the state 's population ( 33 persons ) self - identified as `` white '' while modern scientific research shows that the population of Durango has similar genetic frequencies to those found on European peoples ( with the state 's Indigenous population showing almost no foreign admixture either ). Various authors theorize that the reason for these inconsistencies may lie in the Mestizo identity promoted by the Mexican government, which reportedly led to people who are not biologically Mestizos to identify themselves as such. Present day The following table is a compilation of ( when possible ) official nationwide surveys conducted by the Mexican government who have attempted to quantify different Mexican ethnic groups. Given that for the most part each ethnic group was estimated by different surveys, with different methodologies and years apart rather than on a single comprehensive racial census, some groups could overlap with others and be overestimated or underestimated. Race or ethnicity Population ( est. ) Percentage ( est. ) Year Indigenous 26,000,000 21.5 % 2015 Black 1,400,000 1.2 % 2015 White 56,000,000 47.0 % Foreigners residing in Mexico ( of any race ) 1,010,000 < 1.0 % 2015 East Asian 1,000,000 < 1.0 % Middle Eastern 400,000 < 1.0 % Jewish 68,000 < 1.0 % Muslim 4,000 < 1.0 % 2015 Unclassified ( most likely Mestizos ) 37,300,000 30.0 % - Total 123,500,000 100 % 2017 Of all the ethnic groups that have been surveyed, Mestizos are notably absent, which is likely due the label 's fluid and subjective definition, which complicates its precise quantification. However it can be safely assumed that Mestizos make up at least the remaining 30 % unassessed percentage of Mexico 's population with possibilities of increasing if the methodologies of the extant surveys are considered. As example the 2015 intercensal survey considered as Indigenous Mexicans and Afro - Mexicans altogether individuals who self - identified as `` part Indigenous '' or `` part African '' thus, said people technically would be Mestizos. Similarly, White Mexicans were quantified based on physical traits and appearance, thus technically a Mestizo with a percentage of Indigenous ancestry that was low enough to not affect his or her primarily European phenotype was considered to be white. Finally the remaining ethnicities, for being of a rather low number or being faiths have more permissive classification criteria, therefore a Mestizo could claim to belong to one of them by practicing the faith, or by having an ancestor who belonged to said ethnicities. Nonetheless, contemporary sociologists and historians agree that, given that the concept of `` race '' has a psychological foundation rather than a biological one and to society 's eyes a Mestizo with a high percentage of European ancestry is considered `` white '' and a Mestizo with a high percentage of Indigenous ancestry is considered `` Indian '', a person that identifies with a given ethnic group should be allowed to, even if biologically it does n't completely belong to that group. Languages Main article : Languages of Mexico Languages in Mexico % Spanish ( 92.7 % ) Spanish and indigenous languages ( 5.7 % ) indigenous ( 0.8 % ) unspecified ( 0.8 % ) Spanish is the de facto official language in Mexico being spoken by 99.3 % of the population. Mexican Spanish is spoken in a variety of dialects, accents and variations in different regions across the country. Some indigenous languages are still being spoken by around 5 % according to the latest census, in 2003 the General Law of Linguistic Rights of the Indigenous Peoples recognized 68 indigenous languages as `` national languages '', with the `` same validity '' in all territories and contexts where they are spoken. The indigenous language with the greatest number of speakers is Nahuatl ( 1,586,884 speakers in 2010 or 1.5 % of the nation 's population ), followed by Yucatec Maya ( 796,405 speakers in 2010 0.8 % ) spoken Yucatán Peninsula, Mixtecas languages ( 494,454 ), Tzeltal ( 474,298 ), Zapotecas languages ( 460,683 ), Tzotzil ( 429,168 ), Otomí ( 288,052 ), Totonaca ( 250,252 ) Mazateco ( 230,124 ), Chol ( 222,051 ) and 1,462,857 speakers of other languages. After half a century of rural - to - urban migration, in Mexico City and other major cities large districts and sections use both written and spoken Amerindian languages. During the first half of the 20th century the government promoted a policy of castellanización, that is, promoting the use of Spanish as a way to integrate indigenous peoples into Mexican society. Later, this policy changed, and since the 1980s the government has sponsored bilingual and intercultural education in all indigenous communities. This policy has mainly been successful in large communities with a significant number of speakers. While some languages, with less than 1,000 speakers, are still facing extinction. The second most spoken language in Mexico, however, is English. It is used extensively at border areas, tourist centers and large metropolitan areas, a phenomenon arguably caused by the economic integration of North American under the North American Free Trade Agreement ( NAFTA ) and the immigration phenomenon and the return of workers and their families from the United States. In border cities, American TV and radio waves in English ( and Spanish ) are received as much Spanish - speaking radio and TV stations from Mexico on the US side of the border, thus a bilingual cross-cultural exchange is at work. Among the languages brought to the country by immigrants are the Venetian of Chipilo, and Mennonite Low German spoken in Durango and Chihuahua. Other languages spoken in Mexico include French, German, Russian, Arabic, Occitan, Catalan, Basque, Galician, Asturian, Chinese, Hebrew, Korean, Ladino, Plautdietsch, Armenian, Italian, etc. Although some of these may have a greater number of speakers than the national languages, they are not recognized by the government. Mexican nationality and citizenship Main article : Mexican nationality law The Constitution of Mexico grants Mexican nationality based on birth and naturalization. Mexican laws regarding nationality by birth are very open. Mexican nationality by birth is granted to : all those individuals born in Mexican territory, all those individuals born outside Mexico, whose father or mother is Mexican by birth, all those individuals born outside Mexico, whose father or mother is Mexican by naturalization, all those individuals born aboard Mexican aircraft or sea vessels, whether warships or commercial vessels. Mexican nationality by naturalization is granted to : foreign citizens granted Mexican nationality by the Secretariat of Government ( Ministry of the Interior ) ; foreign citizens married to a Mexican national, whether by birth or naturalization. Religión Main article : Religion in Mexico Religions : in Mexico Roman Catholic ( 82.7 % ) Evangelical Churches ( 5 % ) none ( 4.7 % ) unspecified ( 2.7 % ) other ( 1.9 % ) Pentecostal ( 1.6 % ) Jehovah 's Witnesses ( 1.4 % ) The Mexican population is predominantly Catholic ( 83.9 % of the population aged five and older, according to the 2010 census ), although a smaller percent ( 46 % ) attends church on a weekly basis. About 7.6 % of the population was classified as Protestant or Evangelical, 2.5 % were classified as `` Non-Evangelical Biblical '' ( a classification that groups Adventists, Mormons and Jehovah 's Witnesses ), 0.05 % as practicing Jews, and 4.6 % without a religion. The largest group of Protestants are Pentecostals and Charismatics ( classified as Neo-Pentecostals ). The states with the greatest percentage or professing Catholics are central states, namely Guanajuato ( 96.4 % ), Aguascalientes ( 95.6 % ) and Jalisco ( 95.4 % ), whereas southeastern states have the least percentage of Catholics, namely Chiapas ( 63.8 % ), Tabasco ( 70.4 % ) and Campeche ( 71.3 % ). The percentage of professing Catholics has been decreasing over the last four decades, from over 98 % in 1950 to 87.9 % in 2000. Average annual growth of Catholic believers from 1990 to 2000 was 1.7 % whereas that of Non-Catholics was 3.7 %. Given that average annual population increase over the same time period was 1.8 %, the percentage of Catholics with respect to total population is still decreasing. Unlike some other countries in Latin America or Ibero - America, the 1857 Mexican Constitution drastically separated Church and State. The State does not support or provide any economic resource for the Church ( as is the case in Spain and Argentina ), and the Church can not participate in public education ( no public school can be operated by a Catholic order, although they can participate in private education ). Moreover, the government nationalized all the Church 's properties ( some of which were given back in the 1990s ), and priests lost the right to vote or to be voted for ( in the 1990s they were given back the right to vote ). See also Economy of Mexico Poverty in Mexico References and notes ^ Jump up to : `` Encuesta Intercensal 2015 '' ( PDF ). INEGI. Retrieved 17 December 2015. Jump up ^ `` The World Factbook -- Central Intelligence Agency ''. Cia.gov. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ `` Page 25 from ' Población indigena en México ' by Animal político ''. Población indigena en México. Jump up ^ Statistics on the total population in Mexico, International Monetary Fund. October 2012. Retrieved June 25, 2017. Jump up ^ La división territorial del Segundo Imperio Mexicano, 1865. Estudios de Historia Moderna y Contemporánea de México, UNAM Jump up ^ `` From Traitors to Heroes : 100 Years of Mexican Migration Policies ''. Migrationinformation.org. 1 March 2004. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ `` Población total por grupos quinquenales de edad según sexo, 1950 a 2005 ''. Inegi.org.mx. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ Tasa global de fecundidad, 1976 a 2006 Jump up ^ `` Tasa de crecimiento media anual de la población por entidad federativa, 1990 a 2005 ''. Inegi.org.mx. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ `` Tasas de inmigración, emigración y migración neta por entidad federativa, 1995 -- 2000 ''. Inegi.org.mx. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ `` Mexican Immigration to the U.S. : The Latest Estimates ''. Migrationinformation.org. 1 March 2004. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ `` Census Bureau Summary File '' ( PDF ). Census.gov. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ Proyecciones de la Población de México 2005 -- 2050 Archived October 12, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Hufbauer GC and Schott, JJ, NAFTA Revisited, Institute for International Economics, Washington, D.C. 2005 ^ Jump up to : Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects : The 2012 Revision Archived May 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` United Nations Statistics Division - Demographic and Social Statistics ''. unstats.un.org. Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 2012 - 05 - 28. Retrieved 2012 - 05 - 27. Jump up ^ `` Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía - Temas estadísticos ''. 3.inegi.org.mx. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ ( 1 ) United nations. Demographic Yearbooks Jump up ^ `` Página no encontrada ''. 3.inegi.org.mx. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ `` Página no encontrada ''. 3.inegi.org.mx. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ `` Página no encontrada ''. 3.inegi.org.mx. Retrieved 29 August 2017. ^ Jump up to : Asociaciones de Inmigrantes Extranjeros en la Ciudad de México. Una Mirada a Fines del Siglo XX Archived 2009 - 07 - 04 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Los árabes de México. Asimilación y herencia cultural Archived March 27, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Conmemoran 100 años de inmigración coreana Archived January 22, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` Migrantes, votos, remesas '' ( PDF ). Ime.gob.mx. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 29 July 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ Argentinos en México Archived February 17, 2007, at Archive.is Jump up ^ `` As Spain 's Economy Worsens, Young Adults Flock to Mexico for Jobs - New America Media ''. newamericamedia.org. Jump up ^ Flannery, Nathaniel Parish ( 2013 - 04 - 30 ). `` As Spain Falters, Spaniards Look to Latin America ''. Forbes. Retrieved 2015 - 12 - 26. Jump up ^ American Citizens Abroad Archived February 25, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Retiring Americans, Go south, old man by The Economist ^ Jump up to : `` Población nacida en otro país residente en México por entidad federativa según sexo, 2000 ''. Inegi.org.mx. Retrieved 29 August 2017. ^ Jump up to : Mexico - US Migration in Nafta Revisited by the International Institute of Economics. Jump up ^ The Hispanic Population in the United States Jump up ^ Indicadores seleccionados de la población nacida en México residente en Estados Unidos de América, 1970 a 2000. Jump up ^ Población emigrante a Estados Unidos de América por entidad federativa según sexo, 2000. Jump up ^ Distribución porcentual de la población emigrante a Estados Unidos de América por tamaño de la localidad de residencia para cada sexo, 1990 a 1995 y 1995 a 2000. Jump up ^ `` Población migrante de retorno de Estados Unidos de América por entidad federativa según sexo, 2000 ''. Inegi.org.mx. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ Lizette Alvarez ( 20 December 2006 ). `` A Growing Stream of Illegal Immigrants Choose to Remain Despite the Risks ''. New York Times. Retrieved 15 January 2013. Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 2015 - 05 - 01. Retrieved 2016 - 04 - 19. Jump up ^ `` Navarrette : The Mexican reverse migration ''. Newsday.com. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ `` Mexicans feeling persecuted flee U.S. - CNN.com ''. CNN. November 27, 2012. Jump up ^ `` L.A. Now ''. Los Angeles Times. October 23, 2012. Jump up ^ Preston, Julia ( July 31, 2008 ). `` Decline Seen in Numbers of People Here Illegally ''. The New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2010. Jump up ^ Passel, Jeffrey S. ; Cohn, D'Vera ; Gonzalez - Barrera, Ana ( 23 April 2012 ). `` Net Migration from Mexico Falls to Zero -- and Perhaps Less ''. Pewhispanic.org. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ `` In 1637 the military force maintained in the islands consisted of one thousand seven hundred and two Spaniards and one hundred and forty Indians. '' ~ Memorial de D. Juan Grau y Monfalcon, Procurador General de las Islas Filipinas, Docs. Inéditos del Archivo de Indias, vi, p. 425. `` In 1787 the garrison at Manila consisted of one regiment of Mexicans comprising one thousand three hundred men, two artillery companies of eighty men each, three cavalry companies of fifty men each. '' La Pérouse, ii, p. 368. Jump up ^ Mexicans in the World ( Spanish Wikipedia ) Jump up ^ `` conapo.gob.mx ; Mexicanos en Estados Unidos ''. Conapo.gob.mx. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ `` Ethno - Cultural Portrait of Canada, Table 1 ''. 12.statcan.ca. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ `` Mexicanos en España INE 2007 ''. Ine.es. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ N M % C9XICO Jump up ^ Bolivia - Censo de Población y Vivienda 2001 Archived 2008 - 10 - 14 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Statische Bundesamt Deutschland Archived November 16, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` Página / 12 ''. Pagina12.com.ar. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ ( 2 ) Jump up ^ ( 3 ) Jump up ^ `` Investigación de la Migración Internacional en Israel '' ( PDF ). 1.cbs.gov.il. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 15 October 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` Statistiche demografiche ISTAT ''. Demo.istat.it. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ INE Archived September 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` Raza Cósmica ''. Razacosmica.blogspot.com. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ `` Redatam : : CELADE, ECLAC - United Nations ''. Celade.cepal.org. 28 June 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ `` Redatam : : CELADE, ECLAC - United Nations ''. Celade.cepal.org. 30 June 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ `` Censo de Población y Vivienda 2000 - Jerarquía Censal ''. Celade.cepal.org. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ Colombia - Sistema de Consulta Información Censal ( Censo 2005 ) Archived June 16, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` R+ : : CEPAL / CELADE - R + SP WebServer ''. Espino.ine.cl. 28 June 2012. Archived from the original on 30 December 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ `` Redatam : : CELADE, ECLAC - United Nations ''. Celade.cepal.org. Archived from the original on 26 October 2007. Retrieved 29 August 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` II Conteo de población y vivienda 2005 ''. Inegi.org.mx. Retrieved 29 August 2017. ^ Jump up to : CONAPO Áreas Metropolitanas Archived 2011 - 05 - 01 at the Wayback Machine. ^ Jump up to : `` Síntesis de resultados 2005 ''. Inegi.org.mx. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía ( 2008 ). `` Perfil sociodemográfico de Yucatán '' ( PDF ). p. 8. Retrieved September 19, 2010. Jump up ^ Wade ( 1981 : 32 ) Jump up ^ Knight ( 1990 : 78 -- 85 ) Jump up ^ `` Composición Étnica de las Tres Áreas Culturales del Continente Americano al Comienzo del Siglo XXI '' ( PDF ). Academic investigation ( in Spanish ). University of the State of Mexico. 2005. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2014. Jump up ^ Bartolomé, Miguel Alberto ( 1996 ). `` Pluralismo cultural y redefinicion del estado en México ''. in Coloquio sobre derechos indígenas '' ( PDF ). Oaxaca : IOC. p. 2. En primer lugar cabe destacar que en México la pertenencia racial no es un indicador relevante ni suficiente para denotar una adscripción étnica específica. (... ) Por lo tanto es relativamente factible realizar el llamado tránsito étnico, es decir que un indígena puede llegar a incorporarse al sector mestizo a través de la renuncia a su cultura tradicional y si sus condiciones materiales se lo permiten. Jump up ^ Knight, Alan ( 1 September 2010 ). `` The Idea of Race in Latin America, 1870 -- 1940 ''. In Richard Graham. The Idea of Race in Latin America : 1870 - 1940. University of Texas Press. p. 73. ISBN 978 - 0 - 292 - 78888 - 6. Retrieved 17 July 2013. Jump up ^ Schaefer, Richard T. ( ed. ) ( 2008 ). Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity and Society. Sage. p. 900. ISBN 978 - 1 - 4129 - 2694 - 2. In New Spain, there was no strict idea of race ( something that continued in Mexico ). The Indians that had lost their connections with their communities and had adopted different cultural elements could `` pass '' and be considered mestizos. The same applied to Blacks and castas. CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list ( link ) Jump up ^ Wade, Peter ( 20 May 1997 ). Race And Ethnicity In Latin America. Pluto Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 7453 - 0987 - 3. Retrieved 17 July 2013. ^ Jump up to : Bartolomé ( 1996 : 2 ) Jump up ^ Wade ( 1997 : 44 -- 47 ) ^ Jump up to : `` Mexico - Ethnic groups ''. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 1 October 2016. Jump up ^ en el censo de 1930 el gobierno mexicano dejó de clasificar a la población del país en tres categorías raciales, blanco, mestizo e indígena, y adoptó una nueva clasificación étnica que distinguía a los hablantes de lenguas indígenas del resto de la población, es decir de los hablantes de español. Archived 2013 - 08 - 23 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Knight ( 1990 : 75 ) Jump up ^ Friedlander, Judith. 1975. Being Indian in Hueyapan : A Study of Forced Identity in Contemporary Mexico. New York : Saint Martin 's Press. Jump up ^ Bartolomé, Miguel Alberto. ( 1996 ) `` Pluralismo cultural y redefinicion del estado en México ''. in Coloquio sobre derechos indígenas, Oaxaca, IOC. ( 4 ) p. 5 ) Jump up ^ `` Indicadores seleccionados sobre la población hablante de lengua indígena, 1950 a 2005 ''. Inegi.gob.mx. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2011. Jump up ^ Knight ( 1990 : 73 - 74 ) Jump up ^ Bartolomé ( 1996 : 3 - 4 ) Jump up ^ `` Síntesis de Resultados '' ( PDF ). Comisión Nacional para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas. 2006. Retrieved 22 December 2010. Jump up ^ Defined as persons who live in a household where an indigenous language is spoken by one of the adult family members, and or people who self identified as indigenous ( `` Criteria del hogar : De esta manera, se establece, que los hogares indígenas son aquellos en donde el jefe y / o el cónyuge y / o padre o madre del jefe y / o suegro o suegra del jefe hablan una lengua indígena y también aquellos que declararon pertenecer a un grupo indígena. '' ( 5 ) ) AND persons who speak an indigenous language but who do not live in such a household ( Por lo antes mencionado, la Comisión Nacional Para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas de México ( CDI ) considera población indígena ( PI ) a todas las personas que forman parte de un hogar indígena, donde el jefe ( a ) del hogar, su cónyuge y / o alguno de los ascendientes ( madre o padre, madrastra o padrastro, abuelo ( a ), bisabuelo ( a ), tatarabuelo ( a ), suegro ( a ) ) declaro ser hablante de lengua indígena. Además, también incluye a personas que declararon hablar alguna lengua indígena y que no forman parte de estos hogares ( 6 ) ) ^ Jump up to : `` Encuesta Intercensal 2015 '', `` INEGI '', Mexico, December 2015. Retrieved on 28 April 2017. Jump up ^ `` Mexico - History, Geography, Facts, & Points of Interest ''. Britannica.com. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ `` POBLACIÓN DE 5 AÑOS Y MÁS POR ENTIDAD FEDERATIVA, SEXO Y GRUPOS LENGUA INDÍGENA QUINQUENALES DE EDAD, Y SU DISTRIBUCIÓN SEGÚN CONDICIÓN DE HABLA INDÍGENA Y HABLA ESPAÑOLA '' ( PDF ). INEGI, México. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 2008 - 01 - 02. Retrieved 2007 - 12 - 13. Jump up ^ `` Comision Nacional Para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indigenas - México ''. Cdi.gob.mx. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ en el año de 1808 aproximadamente el 60 % de la población de lo que sería México pertenecía a la categoría étnica de indígena, el 18 % eran europeos o de origen europeo ( de los cuales la inmensa mayoría eran criollos nacidos en México ) Archived 23 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine... Jump up ^ `` Encyclopedia Britannica : Mexico Ethnic groups ''. ^ Jump up to : `` 21 de Marzo Día Internacional de la Eliminación de la Discriminación Racial '' pag. 7, CONAPRED, Mexico, 21 March. Retrieved on 28 April 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` Encuesta Nacional Sobre Discriminación en Mexico '', `` CONAPRED '', Mexico DF, June 2011. Retrieved on 28 April 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` DOCUMENTO INFORMATIVO SOBRE DISCRIMINACIÓN RACIAL EN MÉXICO '', CONAPRED, Mexico, 21 March 2011, retrieved on 28 April 2017. Jump up ^ Howard F. Cline ( 1963 ). THE UNITED STATES AND MEXICO. Harvard University Press. p. 104. ISBN 9780674497061. Retrieved May 18, 2017. Jump up ^ ( 7 ). Los - indios - barbaros - de. html Jump up ^ `` HISTORY TV Schedule - HISTORY ''. Historyenespanol.com. Retrieved 29 August 2017. ^ Jump up to : Los Extranjeros en México, La inmigración y el gobierno ¿ Tolerancia o intolerancia religiosa ? Archived 2009 - 03 - 27 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Gitlitz, David ( 27 August 1998 ). `` Nexos entre los cripto - judíos coloniales y contemporáneos ''. Revista de humanidades : Tecnológico de Monterrey ( 5 ). Jump up ^ `` HugeDomains.com - PuroChihuahua.com is for sale ( Puro Chihuahua ) ''. Purochihuahua.com. Jump up ^ Montagner, Eduardo. `` El dialecto veneto de Chipilo ''. Orbilat.com. Jump up ^ `` Archived copy '' ( PDF ). Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 17 April 2010. Jump up ^ `` Archived copy '' ( PDF ). Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 17 April 2010. Jump up ^ `` Arab Influence in Yucatecan Cuisine -- Mexico Culture -- Arab Influence in Yucatecan Cuisine, Culture ''. Discoverymexico.com. 16 March 2008. Archived from the original on 16 March 2008. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ `` Find Local Contractors - Home Remodeling Contractors on Ecnext ''. goliath.ecnext.com. Jump up ^ Vincent, Theodore G ( 2001 ). The Legacy of Vicente Guerrero, Mexico 's First Black Indian President. University Press of Florida. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8130 - 2422 - 6. Jump up ^ Tatiana Seijas ( 2014 ). Asian Slaves in Colonial Mexico : From Chinos to Indian. Cambridge University Press. p. 21. ISBN 9781107063129. Jump up ^ Leslie Bethell ( 1984 ). Leslie Bethell, ed. The Cambridge History of Latin America. Volume 2 of The Cambridge History of Latin America : Colonial Latin America. I - II ( illustrated, reprint ed. ). Cambridge University Press. p. 21. ISBN 0521245168. Jump up ^ Ignacio López - Calvo ( 2013 ). The Affinity of the Eye : Writing Nikkei in Peru. Fernando Iwasaki. University of Arizona Press. p. 134. ISBN 0816599874. Jump up ^ Dirk Hoerder ( 2002 ). Cultures in Contact : World Migrations in the Second Millennium. Andrew Gordon, Alexander Keyssar, Daniel James. Duke University Press. p. 200. ISBN 0822384078. Jump up ^ Buchenau, Jürgen ( Spring 2001 ). `` Small Numbers, Great Impact : Mexico and Its Immigrants, 1821 - 1973 '' ( PDF ). Journal of American Ethnic History. 20 ( 3 ) : 35. Jump up ^ Navarrete, Federico. `` El mestizaje y las culturas '' ( Mixed race and cultures ). México Multicultural ( in Spanish ). Mexico : UNAM. Archived from the original on 2013 - 08 - 23. Retrieved July 19, 2011. Jump up ^ `` censo General de la Republica Mexicana 1895 '', `` INEGI '', Mexico, Retrieved on 24 July 2017. Jump up ^ `` Consideraciones sobre la población de la Nueva España ( 1793 - 1810 ) '', El Colegio de Mexico, Mexico, Retrieved on 24 July 2017. Jump up ^ Historical Dictionary of Argentina. London : Scarecrow Press, 1978. pp. 239 -- 40. Jump up ^ `` American Indians in the Federal Decennial Census '', Retrieved on 25 July 2017. Jump up ^ Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA ). `` North America : Mexico ''. The World Factbook. Ethnic groups :. Retrieved 11 April 2014. mestizo ( Amerindian - Spanish ) 60 %, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30 %, white 9 %, other 1 % Jump up ^ `` El mestizaje es un mito, la identidad cultural sí importa '' Istmo, Mexico, Retrieved on 25 July 2017. Jump up ^ `` Más desindianización que mestizaje. Una relectura de los censos generales de población '' INAH, Mexico, Retrieved on 25 July 2017. Jump up ^ DEPARTAMENTO DE LA ESTADISTICA NACIONAL Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. CENSO GENERAL DE HABITANTES 1921 Census ( Page : 62 ) Jump up ^ `` El impacto del mestizaje en México '', `` Investigación y Ciencia '', Spain, October 2013. Retrieved on 01 June 2017. Jump up ^ Sosa - Macías, Martha ( 2006 ). `` CYP2D6Genotype and Phenotype in Amerindians of Tepehuano Origin and Mestizos of Durango, Mexico ''. The Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. 46 ( 5 ) : 527 -- 536. doi : 10.1177 / 0091270006287586. Jump up ^ `` Composición Étnica de las Tres Áreas Culturales del Continente Americano al Comienzo del Siglo XXI '' ( PDF ). Academic investigation ( in Spanish ). University of the State of Mexico. 2005. p. 196. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2014. Jump up ^ El mestizaje y las culturas regionales Archived 23 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine... Jump up ^ `` Principales resultados de la Encuesta Intercensal 2015 Estados Unidos Mexicanos '' ( PDF ). INEGI. p. 1. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 10 December 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015. Jump up ^ `` La Música de Guerrero ( Del atabal a la flauta, el son y el zapateado ) ''. Gobierno del Estado de Guerrero. Retrieved 20 February 2015. Jump up ^ `` Archived copy '' ( PDF ). Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 2009 - 03 - 27. Retrieved 2010 - 04 - 17. Jump up ^ `` Panorama de las religiones en México 2010 '' ( PDF ) ( in Spanish ). INEGI. p. 3. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 21 October 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2015. Jump up ^ `` El número de católicos en México va la baja ; aumentan los ateos y de otras religiones '', `` Animal político '', Mexico, February 2016. Retrieved on 03 August 2017. Jump up ^ `` Mexico cuenta con 123.5 millones de habitantes '', Retrieved on 26 July 2017. Jump up ^ `` El mestizaje en Mexico '' ( PDF ). ^ Jump up to : `` North America : : MEXICO ''. CIA The World Factbook. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ `` Encuesta Intercensal 2015 '' ( PDF ). INEGI, México. ^ Jump up to : Artículo 30 Archived 2008 - 01 - 03 at the Wayback Machine... Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos. Jump up ^ `` Volumen y porcentaje de la población según profese alguna religión y tipo de religión, 1895 a 2010 ''. Inegi.org.mx. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ Church attendance in Latin America Archived September 1, 2006, at the Wayback Machine. ^ Jump up to : Población de 5 años y más por entidad federativa, sexo y religión y su distribución según grupos quinquenales de edad Archived September 25, 2007, at the Wayback Machine... Jump up ^ `` Tasa de crecimiento media anual de la población según credo religioso para cada período decenal, 1950 a 2000 ''. Inegi.org.mx. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ `` Tasa de crecimiento media anual de la población, 1950 a 2005 ''. Inegi.org.mx. Retrieved 29 August 2017. Jump up ^ `` Argentina : Constitución de 1994 ''. pdba.georgetown.edu. External links UN : Fertility in Mexico : Trends and Forecasts ( in Spanish ) Mexico population bureau CONAPO ( in Spanish ) Institute of Statistics, Geography and Informatics, INEGI Ancestry and ethnicity in Mexico Mexicans Non-Amerindian Mexico Mestizo From Sub-Saharan Africa Kenyan From the Americas American Mascogos Mormon Argentine Brazilian Canadian Chilean Colombian Cuban Guatemalan Haitian Salvadoran Uruguayan Venezuelan From South and East Asia Chinese Filipino Indian Japanese Mexico City Korean Romani From Europe British ( Cornish ) Czech French German Mennonite Greek Irish Italian Polish Portuguese Russian Scandinavian Spanish ( Basque ) From Western Asia and North Africa Arab ( Lebanese ) Armenian Jewish Turkish Amerindian More than 100,000 people Nahua Yucatec Maya Zapotec Mixtec Otomi Totonac Tzotzil Tzeltal Mazahua Mazatec Huastec Ch'ol Chinantec Purépecha Mixe Tlapanec Tarahumara 20,000 -- 100,000 people Mayo Zoque Chontal Maya Popoluca Chatino Amuzgo Tojolabal Huichol Tepehuán Triqui Cora Mam Yaqui Cuicatec Huave 1,000 -- 20,000 people Tepehua Kanjobal Pame Chichimeca Jonaz Guarijio Chuj Chocho Tacuate Mexicanero Ocuiltec Pima Bajo Jacaltec Fewer than 1,000 people Kekchí Lacandon Ixcatec Seri K'iche ' Motozintlec Kaqchikel Paipai Tohono O'odham Cocopah Kumiai Kikapú Cochimí Ixil Kiliwa Aguacatec Opata Portal Jews and Romani originate in the Middle East and South Asia respectively, with most arriving to Mexico via Europe Primarily arrived via Canada Originated in what is now the United States Mexico articles History Pre-Columbian era Colonial era War of Independence First Mexican Empire Provisional Government of Mexico ( 1823 - 1824 ) First Mexican Republic Centralist Republic of Mexico Texas Revolution Pastry War Mexican -- American War Second Mexican Republic La Reforma French intervention Second Mexican Empire Porfiriato Mexican Revolution Cristero War Maximato Institutional Revolutionary Party Mexican miracle Chiapas conflict Mexican Drug War Geography Borders Cities Climate Earthquakes Extreme points Forests Islands Lakes Metropolitan areas Mountains Protected Natural Areas Rivers States Territorial evolution Time Volcanos Water resources Wettest - known tropical cyclones Politics Administrative divisions Congress Senate Chamber of Deputies Constitution Elections Federal government Foreign relations Human rights Intersex LGBT Law Law enforcement Military Political parties President Cabinet State legislatures Supreme Court Economy Agriculture Automotive market Central bank Companies Economic history Energy Irrigation Labor law North American Free Trade Agreement ( NAFTA ) Oil Pension system Peso ( currency ) Petroleum Science and technology States by GDP States by unemployment Stock exchange Telecommunications Tourism Transportation Water scarcity Society Corruption Crime Demographics Education Health Immigration Indigenous peoples Nationality law People Poverty Religion States by HDI Water supply and sanitation Welfare Women Culture Architecture Art Cinema Cuisine Flags Folklore Handcrafts and folk art Languages Literature Monuments Music National symbols Public holidays Radio Sports Television World Heritage Sites Outline Index Book Portal Demographics of North America Sovereign states Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Belize Canada Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago United States Dependencies and other territories Anguilla Aruba Bermuda Bonaire British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Curaçao Greenland Guadeloupe Martinique Montserrat Puerto Rico Saint Barthélemy Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saba Sint Eustatius Sint Maarten Turks and Caicos Islands United States Virgin Islands ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Demographics_of_Mexico&oldid=852548416 '' Categories : Demographics of Mexico Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Webarchive template archiveis links All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from August 2017 Articles with dead external links from July 2017 Articles with permanently dead external links Articles with dead external links from October 2017 CS1 Spanish - language sources ( es ) CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list Articles with dead external links from November 2016 Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from July 2010 Pages using deprecated image syntax All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from June 2008 Articles with unsourced statements from March 2017 Articles with unsourced statements from November 2011 Articles with unsourced statements from July 2008 Articles with Spanish - language external links Talk Contents About Wikipedia Languages Български Català Dansk Español Euskara Français Հայերեն Hrvatski Lietuvių Bahasa Melayu Nederlands Português Română Русский Українська اردو 中文 9 more Edit links This page was last edited on 29 July 2018, at 19 : 13 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: what was the population of mexico in 1940
Answer: 19,653,552