Mexico is a country in North America, lying between the United States of America to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast. The Republic of Mexico is vast, comprising nearly two million square miles of coastline, desert, rain forest, mountains, and fertile plains. Its extensive coastlines include the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west.

There are two major peninsulas in Mexico that are almost countries themselves. In the west is the poetically barren Baja Peninsula, which seals in the biological riches of the Sea of Cortes. The two main mountain ranges, the Sierra Madre Occidental and the Sierra Madre Oriental, hug the west and east, finally merging into the volcanically active central highlands and the capital, Mexico City the most populous city in the world.

Mexico is highly dependent on exports to the U.S., which represent more than a quarter of the country's GDP (gross domestic product). The result is that the Mexican economy is strongly linked to the U.S. business cycle.

Mexico  map

The population of the area around Mexico City is nearly 20 million, which would make it the largest concentration of population in the Western Hemisphere. About 76% of the people live in urban areas. Cities bordering on the United States, such as Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez and cities in the interior such as Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Puebla have undergone sharp rises in population in recent years.

Mexico has been graced with an unusually temperate climate year round. Varies from desert like regions on the northwest part of the country and temperate in the northeaster part, but note that much of the northern Mexican territory gets rather cold during the winter with average day time highs from 8 to 12C, overnight lows average around -5C and snow is sometimes frequent in certain northern places like the Sierra Madre of Chihuahua, Durango, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and northern Tamaulipas but can also occur at higher altitudes in the temperate forests in the central part of Mexico.

Mexican summer is also the rainy season, although the rain rarely lasts more than a few hours, and typically arrives in the late afternoon. Extremes are present only in the North and in Baja, both of which have deserts where the temperature leaps above 100F. Also, northern Mexico gets very hot during the summer with sudden violent storms in the afternoon, with heavy rain and hail, also an isolated tornado can occur with these storms but rarely, and the temperatures during the day can quickly exceed 39C.

In the Caribbean Sea meets the Yucatan Peninsula, coral reefs come alive, with sea creatures, great and small. The Pacific coast attracts elephant seals and spectacular grey whales, which choose Mexico to breed and give birth, year after year. In the Plaza de las Tres Culturas celebrate the three major cultures that have shaped Mexico: there are Aztec ruins, the 17th-century colonial church of San Diego and several late 20th-century buildings. Even the dead are alive here, at least once a year; on the Day of the Dead, the living bring gifts to their dearly departed and spend the night in their company, remembering and celebrating how things used to be.

Nor is the desert a barrier to life, it is home to agaves, the mother of all tequilas. The blue plant has a lot to answer for in Acapulco and Cancun, where everybody come ashore after a day in the surf to flirt in bars and nightclubs.

Mexico is the most populous Spanish speaking country in the world and the second most populous country in Latin America after Portuguese speaking Brazil. They say that Mexico is a country no one ever leaves. Mexico is ranked 7th major destination for foreigner visitors, according to WTO. Every year, millions of tourists pass through, and Mexicans jovially warn that a part of them will remain behind forever.

The generosity of the Mexican people is unsurpassed. The people are vivacious lovers of free time and socialising, and work will never have the importance that friends and family do. Knowing a few simple sentences in Spanish will win hearts. Its unique and traditional Mexican food can often be very spicy, it recommend if you are not used to peppers, always ask if your food includes it.

Most visitors are vacationing North Americans who wind up on the brilliant beaches of Cancun, Acapulco, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta. The beaches, of course, are among the world's best. And the generosity of the Mexican people is unsurpassed. Knowing a few simple sentences in Spanish will win hearts.