Mexico Environment - 2024

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Environment - current issues

scarcity of hazardous waste disposal facilities; rural to urban migration; natural freshwater resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in urban areas; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification; deteriorating agricultural lands; serious air and water pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border; land subsidence in Valley of Mexico caused by groundwater depletion

note: the government considers the lack of clean water and deforestation national security issues

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Climate

varies from tropical to desert

Land use

agricultural land: 54.9% (2018 est.)

arable land: 11.8% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 1.4% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 41.7% (2018 est.)

forest: 33.3% (2018 est.)

other: 11.8% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 81.6% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 1.4% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

0.1% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0.03% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 17.83 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 486.41 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 135.77 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 53.1 million tons (2015 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually: 2.655 million tons (2013 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 5% (2013 est.)

Major lakes (area sq km)

fresh water lake(s): Laguna de Chapala - 1,140 sq km

salt water lake(s): Laguna de Terminos - 1,550 sq km

Major rivers (by length in km)

Rio Grande river mouth (shared with US [s]) - 3,057 km; Colorado river mouth (shared with US [s]) - 2,333 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: (Gulf of Mexico) Rio Grande/Bravo (607,965 sq km)
Pacific Ocean drainage: (Gulf of California) Colorado (703,148 sq km)

Major aquifers

Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains Aquifer

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 13.17 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 8.56 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 67.83 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

461.89 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Geoparks

total global geoparks and regional networks: 2

global geoparks and regional networks: Comarca Minera, Hidalgo; Mixteca Alta, Oaxaca (2023)

NOTE: The information regarding Mexico on this page is re-published from the 2024 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Mexico 2024 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Mexico 2024 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.