Mexico’s population increased from 66.9 million to 97.5 million during 19802000 or 1.8 percent per year (Table 2.2). In this period, Mexico has become more urbanized, and the largest population growth has taken place in urban areas. During the last two decades, Mexico’s rural population has also increased. In 1980, rural Mexico with less than 15,000 inhabitants was home to 34.6 million people. In 2000, the rural population had increased to 38.1 million (Table 2.2). However, in rural areas, the population is expanding at a slower pace than the country as a whole, namely by 0.6 percent per year (Table 2.1). Not all regions follow the rural population growth pattern of the total country. In the North region, the rural population actually diminished by 0.1 percent annually during 1990-2000. In this period, in the Capital region, the difference in the population growth rate between rural and urban areas was the smallest in Mexico and the rural population expanded at 1.5 percent annually. The population growth rate in the poor South region and Gulf region followed closely the national average during the last decade.

|**Table 2.2: Popula**|**tion by size of**<br>**Less than**<br>**2,500**|**location**<br>**Share**<br>**(%)**|**in Mexico and**<br>**More than**<br>**2,500**|**its regions, 19**<br>**Less than**<br>**15,000**|**80-2000**<br>**Share**<br>**(%)**|**More than**<br>**15,000**|**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||**1980**||||
|**Total Mexico**|22,547,104|33.73|44,299,729|32,242,146|48.2|34,604,687|66,846,833|
|**North**|2,360,814|22.08|8,331,073|3,317,815|31.0|7,374,072|10,691,887|
|**Capital**|1,556,931|9.50|14,838,483|3,115,882|19.0|13,279,532|16,395,414|
|**Gulf**|3,804,118|46.61|4,356,794|5,228,230|64.1|2,932,682|8,160,912|
|**Pacific**|2,332,162|31.06|5,177,267|3,602,773|48.0|3,906,656|7,509,429|
|**South**|5,557,813|58.92|3,874,317|7,259,617|77.0|2,172,513|9,432,130|
|**Center-North**|3,962,426|47.98|4,295,771|5,076,888|61.5|3,181,309|8,258,197|
|**Center**|2,972,840|46.46|3,426,024|4,640,941|72.5|1,757,923|6,398,864|
|||||**1990**||||
|**Total Mexico**|23,289,924|28.66|57,959,721|34,574,235|42.6|46,675,410|81,249,645|
|**North**|2,032,682|15.34|11,214,309|3,035,755|22.9|10,211,236|13,246,991|
|**Capital**|1,552,489|8.60|16,499,050|2,961,367|16.4|15,090,172|18,051,539|
|**Gulf**|4,063,169|40.14|6,058,216|5,878,621|58.1|4,242,764|10,121,385|
|**Pacific**|2,207,351|24.32|6,870,309|3,657,722|40.3|5,419,938|9,077,660|
|**South**|6,354,957|51.25|6,043,935|8,670,353|69.9|3,728,539|12,398,892|
|**Center-North**|4,212,549|40.57|6,169,826|5,478,828|52.8|4,903,547|10,382,375|
|**Center**|2,866,727|35.97|5,104,076|4,891,589|61.4|3,079,214|7,970,803|
|||||**2000**||||
|**Total Mexico**|24,723,590|25.36|72,759,822|38,064,204|39.0|59,419,208|97,483,412|
|**North**|2,015,059|12.11|14,627,617|3,153,993|19.0|13,488,683|16,642,676|
|**Capital**|1,812,596|8.35|19,889,329|3,645,216|16.8|18,056,709|21,701,925|
|**Gulf**|4,367,521|36.32|7,657,145|6,514,575|54.2|5,510,091|12,024,666|
|**Pacific**|2,290,394|21.31|8,455,305|3,865,830|36.0|6,879,869|10,745,699|
|**South**|6,791,721|47.08|7,633,252|9,579,248|66.4|4,845,725|14,424,973|
|**Center-North**|4,269,270|35.24|7,843,984|5,710,063|47.1|6,403,191|12,113,254|
|**Center**|3,177,029|32.32|6,653,190|5,595,279|56.9|4,234,940|9,830,219|
|Source: Census198|0,1990 and20|00.||||||

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