Informations about the country

Mexico is now the 14th most powerful country in the world. After experiencing an economic boom 20 years ago, the country’s growth has stabilized at around 2 percent per year for the past 5 years. Its 130 million inhabitants (population multiplied by 5 since 1950!) share the GDP of 1300 billion dollars. And the least we can say is that sharing is not very equitable. With 53 million poor people in the country, there is a high level of inequality. 35 percent of the resources are held by 10 percent of the population. However, this high poverty rate is not linked to unemployment (less than 5 percent!).

On the currency side, even if the country’s official currency is the Mexican peso, due to mass American tourism, many exchanges are made in dollars in tourists areas. The peso is subject to inflation of 6% per year and is now worth around one twentieth of a euro (1€ = 20 pesos).

Although the new left-wing populist president, Andres Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), makes it one of the priorities of his mandate, the country is still heavily affected by corruption. Ranked 135th out of 180 on the Corruption Perception Index, it is the lowest ranking for a G20 country.

We advise you to check France Diplomatie’s website to observe the areas to avoid as an expatriate. However, wherever we went ( tab “where are we sleeping?”) we have never felt insecure and Mexicans are generally very friendly and welcoming.