On the boarder of the USA, lies Mexico with its 100 million inhabitants, of which 22 million live in the capital, Mexico City. Other important cities apart from the capital are Guadalajara and Monterrey. Mexico is a mountainous country, with only 15% rural areas, and the most important populous inland areas are on a plateau approximately 1000 metres above sea level.
The population is a mixture of natives and Spanish descendants. The country's official language is Spanish but many Mexicans still speak the local dialect. Ninety percent of the population are Catholics and circa 6 % are Protestant.
With exception of the middle of the 80's (low oil prices), Mexico has experienced economic growth since the Second World War. Agriculture employs a fourth of the population, of which coffee is a very important part. The country is rich in mineral resources, mainly petroleum, but also commodities such as silver and cupric. Tourism is also an important source of income.
As the fourth largest coffee producing country in the world, Mexico has a yearly production of approximately 5 million bags. Most of the production is carried out by one hundred thousand small coffee farmers - the era of the big plantations is past. Poverty among these farmers, more so than conscientiousness, has caused the farmers to produce ecological coffee.
The best coffee regions are in the Chiapas region in the south, Oaxaca and Veracruz.
