North America
To which language should you translate to localize in Mexico?
What we know from our community
Mexican Spanish and its linguistic varieties.
Spanish is the most widely-spoken language in the country. With almost 124 million people, Mexico is the country with the largest number of native Spanish speakers in the world! However, Mexico has an extraordinary linguistic diversity that includes more than 50 indigenous languages such as Nahuatl, Zapotec or Mayan.That’s why the Spanish spoken in Mexico is a mix of many regional variations, local accents, a wide spectrum of expressions and a unique colloquial vocabulary defined by its indigenous heritage.For example, in the southern state of Chiapas, Spanish might resemble that of Central American Spanish. But in the northern states, there’s a very distinctive accent and evident influence from their English-speaking neighbors. In contrast the one used in the Yucatán Peninsula is defined by the intonation and use of Mayan words. And while the Central-Mexican accent from Mexico City might be commonly used as the “neutral” for translating, each region has its very distinctive features.
Now, if you need others information about that country to make your decision, below you can find a selection of economic/social/cultural data
Introduction
Language
Official language
Spanish
T-index
1.4%
T-Index ranks countries according to their potential for online sales.
Other languages
Portuguese, Italian, German, English and French.
Indigenous languages
Nahuatl (1,376,026 speakers), Yucatec Maya (759,000 speakers), Zapotec, Mixtec, Mayo, Yaqui, Tzeltal, Tzotzil, Chol, Totonac, Purépecha, Otomi, Mazahua, Mazatec, Chinantec, Mixe, Zoque, Popoluca, Popoloca language, Me’phaa, Wixarika, Chontal, Huave, Pame, Teenek, Kickapoo, Kiliwa, Paipai, Cucapá, Amuzgo, Triqui, Lacandon Maya, Mam Maya, Jakaltek, Matlatzinca, Tepehua, Chichimeca Jonaz, Pima Bajo, Ngiwa, Ixcatec, Ayapanec, Huasteco etc
English
Low proficiency (EF) – 92 of 112 countries/regions in the world- 19/20 position in Latin America.
Demography
Capital: Mexico City
Currency: Mexican peso
Population: 130,26 m
Population density: 67 /km2
Economy
GDP: 1.29 trillion USD (2020)
GDP per capita: 9,926.4 USD (2020)
Exports: $427 billion (2020)
Statistics
Internet users: 74% penetration, 96.87 million
Unemployment rate: 4.1% (2021)
Urbanisation: 80.44% (2019)
Literacy: 95% (2020)
Conventions
Numbering system
Arabic numerals with dot as decimal separatorr
Date format: dd – mm – yyyy
Time: 24h time system
Country code: 0052
Language data sources: Worldatlas/Britannica//EF/Wikipedia; Demography data sources: IMF/Worldometers; Conventions data source: Wikipedia; Economy data sources: WTO/OEC/CIA/Esomar/Datareportal; Statistics data sources: Datareportal/WorldBank/UN/UNESCO/CEIC/IMF/Culturalatlas/Commisceoglobal
Facts and data
Economy
Imports
$368 billion (2020). Integrated Circuits ($28.3B), Vehicle Parts ($21.6B), Refined Petroleum ($18.1B), Office Machine Parts ($14.9B), and Telephones ($7.85B), importing mostly from United States ($196B), China ($59.8B), Germany ($13B), South Korea ($10.7B), and Malaysia ($10.2B).
Financial inclusion factors (over 15 years of age)
• 35% have an account with a financial institution
• 9.5% have a credit card
• 5.6% have a mobile money account
• 13% make online purchases
Ease of doing business
It is easy to conduct businesses (rated 72.4 out of 100). Ranked 1st out of 32 Latin American and Caribbean countries. Ranked 60th out of 190 countries worldwide (2020, World Bank).
Exports
$427 billion (2020). Cars ($41.6B), Computers ($31.5B), Vehicle Parts ($27.1B), Delivery Trucks ($23.8B), and Crude Petroleum ($17.8B), exporting mostly to United States ($326B), Canada ($16.1B), China ($8.82B), Germany ($8.21B), and South Korea ($5.86B).
Main local online stores
MercadoLibre, eBay and Amazon, Netshoes, Alibaba, Garbarino.com, Musimundo.com, Frávega, Apple and Cencosud
Economic freedom
‘Moderately free’ (rated 63.7 out of 100). Ranked 11th out of 32 Latin American countries. Ranked 67th out of 186 countries worldwide (2019, Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal).
Economy data sources: WTO/OEC/CIA/Esomar/Datareportal
Service Imports (2018)
Source: OEC
Service Exports (2018)
Source: OEC
Most-Complex-Products-by-PCI
Product Complexity Index measures the knowledge intensity of a product by considering the knowledge intensity of its exporters
Source: OEC
Most specialised products by RCA Index
Specialisation is measured using Revealed Comparative Advantage, an index that takes the ratio between Mexico observed and expected exports in each product
Source: OEC
Export opportunities by Relatedness
Relatedness measures the distance between a country's current exports and each product, the barchart show only products that Mexico is not specialized in
Source: OEC
How have you conducted online payments in the past 12 months? (2020)
T-index
Reach most of the online purchasing power
T-Index ranks countries according to their potential for online sales. It estimates the market share of each country in relation to global e-commerce.
Try it nowMedia
Media language Spanish
Information channels
Mexico is the one of the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists and media workers. Journalists covering organised crime or political corruption – especially at a local level – are often executed in cold blood, says Reporters Without Borders. It says most of these crimes go unpunished. Two networks, Televisa and TV Azteca, dominate the TV sector. The radio market is very large, with around 1,400 local and regional stations and several major station-owning groups. Some high-powered stations on the northern border beam into lucrative US markets. Newspapers reflect different political views; sensationalism characterises the biggest-selling dailies. Mexico is one of Latin America’s biggest internet markets.
The press
Excelsior – established daily
La Jornada – daily
Reforma – influential daily
El Universal – established Mexico City daily
El Sol de Mexico – daily
El Financiero – business daily
Siempre! – political weekly
Proceso – political weekly
Television
Televisa – Mexico’s TV giant, operates four networks and has many local affiliates
TV Azteca – main competitor of Televisa, operates two networks and local stations
Imagen TV – privately owned national network
Once TV – Canal 11 – Canal 11 – public, educational, cultural
Television Metropolitana – Canal 22 – government-owned cultural network
Radio
Grupo ACIR – has stations in Mexico City and across the country
MVS Radio – operates in the capital and elsewhere
Nucleo Radio Mil – operates several outlets in Mexico City
Grupo Radio Centro – operates a large network of stations
W Radio – news, talk network; part of Televisa group
Instituto Mexicano de la Radio (IMER) – state-run
News agency
Notimex – state-run
El Universal – private
Media data source: BBC
Types of audio content consumed in Mexico in the 20th century
Internet Data
Internet users
74% penetration rate, 96.87 million
Share of web traffic by device
54.17% mobile phones, 44.15% computers (laptops and desktops), 1.65% tablet devices, others 0.04%
Median speed of mobile Internet connection
22.1% Mbps Mbps
Median speed of fixed Internet connection
36.54 Mbps
Mobile connection as a percentage of total population: 91.5%
Percentage of mobile connections that are broadband (3G-5G): 91.6%
Most popular web search engines
Google (96.45%), Bing (2.2%),Yahoo (0.93%), Duckduckgo (0.15%), Ecosia (0.14%), MSN (0.09%)
Most used social media
Facebook (77.67%), Twitter(11.56%), Instagram (4.81%), Pinterest (3.06%), YouTube (2.79%), Tumblr (0.06%)
Internet data sources: Datareportal/Statcounter
Social statistics
Life expectancy
76.52 yrs (2020)
Gender
This is a very complex issue in Mexican culture. It is a matriarchal society where the “Mother” is the most respected figure in society. At the same time it is still pretty much male-dominated. Women nowadays do have influential positions, but their earning power will be lower than men. Women are still seen as sexual objects and the ones who should be in charge of household duties – even if they hold a full time position.
Tertiary Education
Mexico has made great progress in increasing tertiary educational attainment from 16% in 2008 to 23% in 2018.
Cultural Curiosities
Especially in rural areas, family plays a central role in Mexican society, providing a sense of stability for its members. Respecting the elderly is also crucial.
Death plays a special and unusual role in Mexican tradition. It is seen as something to mourn, but also to be joyful about, and this is particularly celebrated on November 2nd – the “Dia de los muertos” – when the dead are said to “visit” the living.
Localization Tips
Business in Mexico, like in many other countries, is not just about providing a service or selling a product, but also about relationships. Generally, Mexicans are very warm and passionate people, so it is crucial to establish a good network of professionals in order to be successful when localizing in Mexico.
Religion
Mostly Catholic. Very important part of most people’s lives. Particularly for lower class and less educated. Religious holidays will be respected at work.
Class
Mexican society is highly “classist” and elitist. The way you are seen by others and the position you hold in society will depend on the class to which you belong. People will treat you according to your class. Opportunities and education will depend on class. Class is usually determined by the amount of money you have: the more money you have, the “better” class you belong to. It is not impossible to climb to a higher class (e.g. winning the lottery) but still there will be several cultural issues that will make the climbing hard. A person can suddenly acquire money but without adequate education (because of poverty at the age of education) then it will b
Ethnicity
Ethnic background greatly influences the way one is seen and treated. Belong to an acceptable ethnic group means one is treated with respect; lack of respect means suffering discrimination.
A person suffering ethnic discrimination would struggle twice as hard to be accepted as the one whose ethnicity is accepted. Then attitudes in the workplace have an important impact.
Social statistics sources: WorldBank/UN/UNESCO/CEIC/IMF
Languages research
Dialects in Mexico
Legend
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1-Cocopa
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2-Tohono Oodham
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3-Prima Bajo
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4-Huarijio
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5-Plautdietsch
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6-Huichol
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7-Afro-Seminoli Creole
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8-Kickapoo
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9-Nahuati
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10-Cuicaten Chinatec
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11-Mixe
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12-Popoluca
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13-Chontal
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14-Chol
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15-Kacandon
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16-Youcatan Maya
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17-Chan SantaC.M.
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18-Tzeltal
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19-Tojolabal
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20-Ixtatan Chuj
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21-Mocho
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22-Todos Santos Mam
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23-Tzotzil
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24-Zapotec
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25-Zoque
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26-Chatinoi
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27-Amuzgo
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28-Me’paa
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29-Mixtec
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30-Mazatec
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31-Purepecha
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32-Mazahua
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33-Otomi
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34-Totonac
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35-Pame
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36-Huastec
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37-Cora
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38-Spanish
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39-Mayo
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40-Tepehuan
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41-Tarahumara
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42-Yaqui
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43-Seri
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44-Kiliwa
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45-Paipai
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46-Kumiai
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47-Uninhabited
The geographical distribution of languages that you will find in the maps published in this section is a work in progress. Our community is helping us to fill it up with always new and updated data. Your contribution is precious. If you want to help us, please write to imminent.factbook@translated.com
Photo credit: Jezael Melgoza, Unsplash