Mexico’s annual GDP/person now stands at $16,463

 Updates to Geo-Mexico  Comments Off on Mexico’s annual GDP/person now stands at $16,463
Sep 292014
 

Recent World Bank figures reveal that Mexico’s GDP/person in 2013 reached $16,463 a year, an increase in GDP/person of 1.8% since 2012. (All figures in US dollars). Mexico’s 2013 GDP/capita is well above the Latin America and Caribbean average of $14,978.

The GDP figures are based on purchasing power parity (PPP) which overcomes gross distortions resulting from differences in exchange rates. For example, a haircut of the exact same quality might cost $15 in the USA, $5 in Mexico and $1 in China. Using the PPP approach, this same haircut would count as a $15 contribution to the GDP of each of the three countries.

Mexico’s GDP/person has grown at an average rate of 4.5%/year since 1991, according to the World Bank. Back in 1991, the GDP/person averaged $6,320.

Mexico’s GDP/person has risen quite sharply since 2008, when the comparable figure was $14,810, though its world rank (#80) is essentially unchanged. The figures suggest that economic growth has outstripped population growth over the past five years, making Mexicans better off (on average), and able to afford more goods and services, now than they were then.

Since 1991, Mexico’s GDP/person has declined in only three years:

  • 1994-1995 – decline of 10% due to world economic crisis
  • 2000-2001 – decline of 0.2%
  • 2008-2009 – decline of 2.2% due to world economic crisis

These figures suggest that Mexico’s economy has become more resilient when there is any slump in global markets.

The 10 richest Mexicans in 2014

 Mexico's geography in the Press  Comments Off on The 10 richest Mexicans in 2014
May 012014
 

Carlos Slim Helú , director of Grupo Carso, continues to head the list of the 10 richest Mexicans, despite his fortune declining in 2013 due to the falling value of his holdings in Frisco mining company and América Móvil. Slim Helú was overtaken as the world’s richest person in 2013 by Bill Gates.

According to Forbes magazine, between them, these ten Mexicans have a fortune of 132.9 billion dollars, equivalent to 11% of Mexico’s GDP.

The top 10 are:

  1. Carlos Slim,  72 billion dollars
  2. Germán Larrea, mining, 14.7 billion dollars.
  3. Alberto Bailleres, mining, 12.4 billion dollars.
  4. Ricardo Salinas Pliego, Grupo Salinas (TV Azteca, Elektra, Banco Azteca) 8.3 billion dollars.
  5. Eva Gonda de Rivera, Coca Cola-Femsa shareholder, 6.4 billion dollars.
  6. María Asunción Arumburuzabala, former president of Grupo Modelo, 5.2 billion dollars.
  7. Antonio del Valle Ruiz, Mexichem, Pochteca y Banco Ve por Más, 5.0 billion dollars.
  8. Jerónimo Arango, whose family founded Aurrerá, 4.2 billion dollars.
  9. Emilio Azcárraga Jean, Televisa, 2.6 billion dollars.
  10. David Peñaloza Sandoval, construction firm Triturados Basálticos (Tribasa), 2.1 billion dollars.

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Disparities in wealth in Mexico: trends include a growing middle class as well as more millionaires

 Mexico's geography in the Press  Comments Off on Disparities in wealth in Mexico: trends include a growing middle class as well as more millionaires
Jun 242013
 

Two recent studies shed an interesting light on the distribution of wealth in Mexico. The first, carried out by the the National Statistics Agency (INEGI) is that agency’s first ever analysis of Mexico’s social classes. The study found that 12.3 million homes and 44 million people (39% of the total population) were “middle class” in 2010, up from 35% in 2000. In urban areas, 47% of the population was middle class, compared to just 26% in rural areas. Middle class homes had at least one computer, spent about 115 dollars [1,470 pesos] a month on eating and drinking outside the home, had at least one resident with a credit card and one with formal employment. In most cases, the head of household had gained a tertiary qualification. The same report found that almost 60% of Mexico’s population matched the criteria for “lower class”, while only 1.7% of the population could be best described as “upper class”.

However, a second study, by consultancy WealthInsight (“Mexico Wealth Book: Trends in Millionaire Wealth“) provides compelling evidence that the number of wealthy and super-wealthy individuals in Mexico has risen sharply. From 2007 to 2012, during the administration of President Felipe Calderón, the number of millionaires in Mexico rose by 32%, whereas the global average for the same period (which included economic recession in the USA and Europe) declined by 0.3%.

WealthInsight found that in 2012 Mexico had 145,000 individuals with a “High Net Worth” (defined as over a million dollars in assets besides their principal residence). Together these high net worth individuals hold a fortune of $736 billion, equivalent to 43% of Mexico ‘s total individual wealth. This number is well above the worldwide average of 29%, indicating that Mexico has a relatively uneven distribution of wealth. What’s more, WealthInsight expects the trend to continue and predicts that by 2017, the number of millionaires in Mexico will grow a further 47% to reach 213,000.

Included in the figure for millionaires are 2,540 multimillionaires (with individual net assets of $30 million or more), 2272 “affluent millionaires”(net assets between $30
million and $100 million) and 252 “centimillionaires” (net assets between $100 million and $1 billion). Mexico also has 16 billionaires, a number expected to rise to 21 by 2017. Grouped together, these ultra high net worth individuals are worth $364 billion in total combined wealth. By 2017 the total wealth of multimillionaires is projected to increase by 44% to reach $525 billion. The report predicts that the total wealth of Mexican billionaires will grow by 26% to reach $241 billion by the end of 2017.

The Mexican city with most multimillionaires is Mexico City; 43% of them make their home there.

Related articles:

Interactive graph of changes in GDP/person and life expectancy in Mexico since 1800

 Books and resources, Teaching ideas  Comments Off on Interactive graph of changes in GDP/person and life expectancy in Mexico since 1800
Aug 252012
 

Gapminder is a wonderful resource for an overview of all manner of things geographic. The link below will take a few minutes to load, but should then show how Mexico’s GDP/person (on a purchasing power parity basis) and life expectancy have changed since 1800. The size of the yellow circle for each year is proportional to Mexico’s total population, with a scale that can be user-modified at the bottom right of the graph. Hover your mouse over a circle for the year to be identified.

The early figures for GDP/person are unlikely to be very reliable, but once we reach the 20th century, the figures are based on better assumptions and data. After falls in GDP/person and life expectancy in the early stages of the Mexican Revolution (which began in 1910), both variables increased steadily until about 1926. While life expectancy has continued to rise since then, with the occasional dip, GDP/person shows some obvious “blips” such as the early 1950s when it fell quite sharply.

It is interesting to play with the chart and look at how GDP/person and life expectancy have changed for other countries.

To do this:

  1. Select one or more countries by clicking on them [each country is identified when your mouse hovers over it]
  2. Use the slider at the bottom of the chart to select the time period of interest
  3. Sit back and prepare to get engrossed in the world of Gapminder!

Mexico’s GDP/person reaches all-time high

 Updates to Geo-Mexico  Comments Off on Mexico’s GDP/person reaches all-time high
Jul 132011
 

According to the National Statistics agency (INEGI), Mexico’s GDP/person broke all records in the first quarter of 2011 to reach 9,985 dollars/person, 15% higher than the equivalent period of 2010. The rise is due to continuing economic growth, coupled with the strength of the Mexican peso against the US dollar and other major currencies.

Mexico maintains its position as the world’s 11th largest economy. Mexico’s total GDP reached 13.588 trillion pesos (about 1.680 trillion dollars) in the past 12 months, 62.2% of which came from the tertiary (services) sector, 35.9% from manufacturing and 3.7% from primary activities.

Mexico’s richest individuals in 2010

 Mexico's geography in the Press, Updates to Geo-Mexico  Comments Off on Mexico’s richest individuals in 2010
Mar 122010
 

The Forbes magazine list of the world’s richest individuals in 2010 consists of 1011 individuals, each with a wealth of one billion dollars or more. Nine Mexicans (all men this year) made the list. The nine richest Mexicans are:

World rank / Name / Estimated wealth according to Forbes / Main business interests

#1 Carlos Slim Helú, 53.5 billion dollars, making him the richest man in the world. Fixed line telephone provider Telmex, cell phone provider América Móvil, Grupo Carso, Inbursa

#63 Ricardo Salinas Pliego, 10.1 billion dollars. Television company Televisón Azteca, domestic appliance store Elektra, bank Banco Azteca,
and cell phone company Iusacell

#72 Germán Larrea, 9.7 billion dollars. Grupo México – mining for copper and other minerals

#82 Alberto Bailleres, 8.3 billion dollars. Mining giant Peñoles, department store El Palacio de Hierro and Grupo Profuturo

#212 Jerónimo Arango, 4 billion dollars. Founder of Aurrerá supermarket chain and Grupo Cifra which controlled VIPS and El Portón restaurant chains, Suburbia department stores and tourist developments in Baja California Peninsula and Acapulco

#655 Emilio Azcárraga, 1.5 billion dollars. Television and media conglomerate Televisa,and Nextel cell phones

#828 Roberto Hernández, 1.2 billion dollars. Banker, one of main shareholders of Citigroup, and tourist developments in the Yucatán Peninsula

#937 (equal) Alfredo Harp Helú, 1 billion dollars. Shareholder in Citibank, telecommunications firm Avantel

#937 (equal) Joaquín Guzmán Loera (aka “El Chapo”), 1 billion dollars. Mexico’s most wanted man, head of the Sinaloa drugs cartel, the main supplier of cocaine to the US market

The combined total wealth of these 9 individuals is a staggering 90.3 billion dollars, equivalent to almost 6% of Mexico’s GDP.

The average earnings of Mexican workers registered in IMSS (Mexico’s Social Security Institute) is about 220 pesos a day or $6,300 (dollars) a year. The combined wealth of Mexico’s nine richest individuals is therefore equivalent to the total annual salaries of 14.3 million Mexicans earning this average salary!

Clearly, there are a handful of extremely wealthy individuals living in Mexico, alongside millions of Mexicans who are living at or below the poverty line. These income disparities have existed for a very long time, and are examined in detail in chapter 14 of Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico. That chapter also analyzes the spatial patterns of wealth in Mexico, and discusses whether the gap between rich and poor has widened or narrowed in recent years.

Chapter 29 discusses Gender inequities in Mexico and  Oportunidades, a poverty reduction program (both links are to excerpts from that chapter).