Capital: Mexico (Distrito Federal)

Languages: Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages

Currency: Mexican peso (MXN)

Timezones: General GMT-6, Baja California GMT-8, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Nayarit & Sinaloa GMT-7, Sonora GMT-7

This diverse land is made up of 31 individual states (Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro de Arteaga, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz-Llave, Yucatan, Zacatecas) and one federal district (Distrito federal).

Depending on where you are, the atmosphere can be hot and humid with the backdrop of a blue-green ocean and tropical terrain, hot and dry with sand dunes, scorpions and dust storms, or cold and dry with a view of towering mountains.

Mexico gained its independence from Spain in the early 19th century. Since then, the ruling party has been the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) until the most recent election in the year 2000, when Vincent Fox, a member of the National Action Party (PAN) won in a free election.

In 1994 the Mexican Peso devalued significantly, causing major financial woes to the country. Since then, it has made a steady, impressive comeback that has created an environment allowing expatriates to live a comfortable lifestyle for significantly less than they would be able to in the United States or Canada.