Mexico Officially United Mexican States, republic (1995 est. pop. 93,986,000), 753,665 sq mi (1,952,500 sq km), S North America. It borders on the United States in the north, on the Gulf of Mexico (including its arm, the Bay of Campeche) and the Caribbean Sea in the east, on Belize and Guatemala in the southeast, and on the Pacific Ocean in the south and west. Mexico is divided into 31 states and the Federal District, which includes most of the country's capital and largest city, Mexico City. Land Most of Mexico is highland or mountainous and less than 15% of the land is arable; about 25% of the country is forested. Most of the Yucatán peninsula and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in the southeast is lowland, and there are low-lying strips of land along the Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific Ocean, and the Gulf of California.  In the south the deserts yield to the broad, shallow lakes of a region, comprising the Valley of Mexico, known as the Anáhuac and famous for its rich cultural heritage. South of the Anáhuac, which includes Mexico City, is a chain of extinct volcanoes, including Citlaltépetl , or Orizaba (18,700 ft/5,700 m, the highest point in Mexico), Popocatépetl , and Iztaccihuatl . To the south are jumbled masses of mountains and the Sierra Madre del Sur. People The great majority of the population are of mixed Spanish and indigenous descent and speak Spanish, the official language, as their first language. Various Mayan dialects are also spoken. Since 1920 the population of Mexico has had a very high rate of growth, almost entirely the result of natural increase; from 1940 to 1990 the population grew from 19.6 million to 81.1 million.  *Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, Copyright (c) 2003. Where is life better in Mexico or in the United States?  The object of this question is to provoke some thought on your part.  Believe me I have thought about this for the 16 years I've been living here.  This question is for both Mexicans and North Americans.  The question is not were do you earn the most money but where is life better to live?  Many Mexicans want and talk to me about life on the other side or are planning to go to the other side.  I have learned to ask where life is better.  The answer is always thought out if I repeat it.  The answer is almost always Mexico has a better life.  The north is where you can make a little money to improve life economically in Mexico.  But everything in life has a price.  Leaving ones family to make more money is a costly thing for wives, children and the extended family.  Yet, the family is always there to return to. For North Americans, the answer is vague.  They don’t seem to really know but just have the canned answer that I had when I first came to work in Mexico.  Somewhere in the back of our minds we know inherently that our life in the north is not so great.  We’re stressed.  We don’t own our own houses.  Life is monthly bills.  We have a plethora of laws, laws on top of laws, rules, regulations so that in fact we are not at all free.  The Bill of Rights doesn’t apply.  How is that possible when all of our educational lives we are taught the contrary.  The best may not be the best. Mexicans are rich.  I’ve been here in country for 16 years or more and I’ve learned that there's a lot of money here but money isn’t the measure of rich.  Rich is many things in my opinion.  Quality of life is a measure of richness.  Who has the better climate?  Who has a strong family base?  Who regularly call each other “amigo (friend)”, “primo (cousin)”, “vecino (neighbor)”, “mijo/a (my son/daughter)”, even if they aren’t?  Who has a beautiful environment to live in?  Okay, I’m not saying that there aren’t places on both sides of the border ……..but where are people going on their two week vacation? If you haven’t been to Vallarta lately try to count the beat or broken down cars on the road. You won't find many. Life is good here.  It’s amazingly good.  If there’s stress here it’s self induced.  Happiness is a state of mind.  Here in Vallarta, that state is easily achieved.