Located on the continet of North America, the country of Mexico is situated just below the United States of America. As a country comprised of 761,600 square miles of total area, the country of Mexico spans for a great distance of land. Known as the United Mexican States, Mexico is divided into states. To the east of the Mexican border lies the Gulf of Mexico, and even further out, you would find the Atlantic Ocean. In the opposite direction, the Pacific Ocean borders the western coastline of Mexico. The North Pacific Ocean trickles down and lines the southern regions of Mexico's coastline, too.
The current population of all thirty-one Mexican states combined is about 132,392,802 people and climbing. Mexico is number eleven on the list of countries based solely on population sizes, and within the country of Mexico, the United Mexican States thrive on tourism as an industry. Though the Mexican states have not been official for as long as the land has existed, it has been proven that people inhabited Mexican land as early as twenty-three thousand years ago. The most commonly spoken language in the Mexican states is Spanish, despite the fact that the majority of immigrants to Mexico are originally from the United States of America, where English is the most common spoken language.
The Mexican states all share the same national symbol, which is the golden eagle. The country is so proud of its representation as a golden eagle that the national symbol is embedded into the country's coat of arms, too. There are exactly thirty-one states in Mexico. It is important to note that Mexico City is not a state in and of itself, but rather, Mexico City is the capital of the country. For perspective, Mexico City is similar to the District of Columbia in the United States. These are federal districts, not states, but they are often mislabeled as one of the states anyway.
Like states in other countries, the states of Mexico were all land that belonged to various other provinces, districts, and people before becoming the states that we know them to be today. Let’s take a look at every Mexican state in terms of when it was admitted to the nation, as well as what the land was part of before becoming an official state. In the table below is each Mexican state and the year it was admitted.
# | State Name | Capital City | Largest City | Notable Cities & Towns | Area (mi²) | Population (2022 Census) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Aguascalientes | Aguascalientes | Aguascalientes | Aguascalientes | 2,168 | 1,465,000 |
2 | Baja California | Mexicali | Tijuana | Ensenada, Mexicali, Tijuana | 27,587 | 3,822,000 |
3 | Baja California Sur | La Paz | La Paz | La Paz | 28,537 | 759,000 |
4 | Campeche | San Francisco de Campeche | San Francisco de Campeche | Campeche | 22,195 | 965,000 |
5 | Chiapas | Tuxtla Gutiérrez | Tuxtla Gutiérrez | Comitán, San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Tapachula, Tuxtla | 28,306 | 5,602,000 |
6 | Chihuahua | Chihuahua | Ciudad Juárez | Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Ciudad Delicias, Hidalgo del Parral, Juárez, Nuevo Casas Grandes | 95,527 | 3,806,000 |
7 | Coahuila | Saltill | Saltill | Ciudad Acuña, Monclova, Múzquiz, Nueva Rosita, Piedras Negras, Sabinas, Saltillo, San Pedro, Torreón, Villa Frontera | 58,531 | 3,189,000 |
8 | Colima | Colima | Manzanillo | Colima, Manzanillo, Tecomán | 2,173 | 830,000 |
9 | Durango | Victoria de Durango | Victoria de Durango | Durango, Gómez Palacio | 47,631 | 1,846,000 |
10 | Guanajuato | Guanajuato | León de los Aldama | Acámbaro, Celaya, Cortazar, Guanajuato, Irapuato, León, Moroleón, Salamanca, San Francisco del Rincón, San Miguel de Allende, Silao, Valle de Santiago | 11,817 | 6,205,000 |
11 | Guerrero | Chilpancingo de los Bravo | Acapulco de Juárez | Acapulco, Chilpancingo, Iguala, Taxco | 24,555 | 3,556,000 |
12 | Hidalgo | Pachuca de Soto | Pachuca de Soto | Pachuca, Tulancingo | 8,039 | 3,115,000 |
13 | Jalisco | Guadalajara | Guadalajara | Ameca, Arandas, Autlán, Ciudad Guzmán, Guadalajara, La Barca, Ocotlán, Puerto Vallarta, Tepatitlán, Tlaquepaque, Zapopan | 30,346 | 8,400,000 |
14 | México | Toluca de Lerdo | Ecatepec de Morelos | Nezahualcóyotl, Tlalnepantla, Toluca | 8,630 | 17,102,000 |
15 | Michoacán | Morelia | Morelia | Apatzingán, Ciudad Hidalgo, La Piedad Cavadas, Morelia, Sahuayo, Uruapan, Zacapú, Zamora, Zitácuaro | 22,625 | 4,736,000 |
16 | Morelos | Cuernavaca | Cuernavaca | Cuernavaca, Xochicalco | 1,884 | 2,016,000 |
17 | Nayarit | Tepic | Tepic | Tepic | 10,756 | 1,274,000 |
18 | Nuevo León | Monterrey | Monterrey | Guadalupe, Monterrey | 24,771 | 5,846,000 |
19 | Oaxaca | Oaxaca de Juárez | Oaxaca de Juárez | Juchitán, Oaxaca | 36,200 | 4,096,000 |
20 | Puebla | Puebla de Zaragoza | Puebla de Zaragoza | Atlixco, Cholula, Matamoros, Puebla, Teziutlán | 13,247 | 6,535,000 |
21 | Querétaro | Santiago de Querétaro | Santiago de Querétaro | Querétaro | 4,514 | 2,404,000 |
22 | Quintana Roo | Chetumal | Cancún | Cancún, Chetumal | 17,261 | 1,895,000 |
23 | San Luis Potosí | San Luis Potosí | San Luis Potosí | Matehuala, San Luis Potosí, Valles | 23,606 | 2,815,000 |
24 | Sinaloa | Culiacán Rosales | Culiacán Rosales | Culiacán, Los Mochis, Mazatlán | 22,149 | 3,015,000 |
25 | Sonora | Hermosillo | Hermosillo | Ciudad Obregón, Guaymas, Hermosillo, Navojoa, Nogales, San Luis | 69,249 | 3,006,000 |
26 | Tabasco | Villahermosa | Villahermosa | Villahermosa | 9,549 | 2,435,000 |
27 | Tamaulipas | Ciudad Victoria | Reynosa | Ciudad Mante, Ciudad Victoria, Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa, Tampico | 30,984 | 3,506,000 |
28 | Tlaxcala | Tlaxcala de Xicohténcatl | San Pablo del Monte | Apizaco, Tlaxcala | 1,543 | 1,405,000 |
29 | Veracruz | Xalapa-Enríquez | Veracruz | Ciudad Mendoza, Coatzacoalcos, Córdoba, Cosamaloapan, Minatitlán, Orizaba, Papantla, Poza Rica, San Andrés Tuxtla, Tierra Blanca, Tuxpan, Veracruz, Xalapa | 27,731 | 8,105,000 |
30 | Yucatán | Mérida | Mérida | Mérida, Progreso | 15,261 | 2,374,000 |
31 | Zacatecas | Zacatecas | Zacatecas | Fresnillo, Jerez de García Salinas, Zacatecas | 29,064 | 1,674,000 |