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    "localId": "486500006",
    "label": "Report, Central Intelligence Agency, Mexico, Situation Report 18",
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    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "Report, Central Intelligence Agency, Mexico, Situation Report 18",
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        "President's Secretary's Files (Truman Administration)",
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    "productionDates": [
        {
            "day": 24,
            "logicalDate": "1951-01-24",
            "month": 1,
            "year": 1951
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{
    "seq": 76,
    "pageIndex": 0,
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    "ocrText": "74\nSECRET\nThese figures show that until recently the\nfact that in this area are located six of the\npopulation of Mexico has increased slowly.\nthirteen cities having more than 50,000 in-\nMexico has had no waves of immigration; 1 in\nhabitants; forty of the ninety-seven cities hav-\nfact, it has actually lost population at times\ning a population of more than 10,000 inhabit-\nthrough emigration. Population has also been\nants; 42.9 percent of the 12,757,711 inhabit-\nlost through revolutions and through loss of\nants living in rural areas of less than 2,500 in-\nterritory to the United States. Furthermore,\nhabitants. Most of the major industries other\nMexico has one of the highest death rates\nthan petroleum are also located in this region.\namong the Latin American countries, espe-\nThis centralization of population is evident\ncially infant mortality.\nnot only on a national scale but also in each\nThere have been two periods of compara-\ndistinct population district. The Central\ntively rapid growth-the first from 1885 to\narea, therefore, is composed of various clusters\n1910, during the Díaz dictatorship, and from\nof population each with its own urban nucleus\n1921 to date (end of military aspect of Revo-\nand separated from neighboring clusters by\nlution of 1910). The greatest increase ever\nthinly populated territory.\nrecorded for a ten-year period took place from\nTotal density of Mexico's population is 25.9\n1930 to 1940. The increase, slow as it may\ninhabitants per square mile as compared with\nhave been, has been mainly the result of high\n44.2 in the US. This figure is greater, how-\nbirth rate. In 1941 it was 43.5 per thousand\never, than that found in the larger countries\nas compared with 18.9 in the US. The excess\nof Latin America,1 and ranges from a density\nnumber of births over deaths is greater than\nof less than one inhabitant per square kilo-\nis found in most countries of Latin America.\nmeter in the Territory of Quintana Roo to that\nof more than 115 per square kilometer in the\n3. Distribution.\nFederal District. Conforming to the above\na. Geographical.\npattern, Mexico City has by far the greatest\nA glance at the following figures will clearly\npopulation of all Mexican cities. Important\nreveal the unequal geographical distribution\npopulation figures are as follows:\nof the Mexican population: The North Pacific\nCity\n1940\n1948 (est.)\narea comprising 21 percent of the total na-\nMexico City\n1,448,422\n2,146,154\ntional area holds only 6 percent of the total\nGuadalajara, Jal\n229,235\n282,280\npopulation. The arid North area has 40 per-\nMonterrey, N.L\n186,092\n252,639\ncent of the national territory and 19 percent of\nPuebla, Pue\n138,491\n159,701\n114,967\nthe population. The Gulf Coast, and the\nMérida, Yuc\n98,852\nTampico, Tamps\n82,475\n106,874\nSouth Pacific region each holds 12 percent of\nSan Luis Potosí, S.L.P\n77,161\n97,416\nthe total population and covers 12 and 14 per-\nTorreón, Coah\n75,796\n100,208\ncent of the national area, respectively. In con-\nLeón, Gto\n74,155\n93,751\ntrast to these figures are those applicable to\nVeracruz, Ver\n71,720\n84,012\nthe Central Region. Here 14 percent, or one-\nSaltillo, Coah\n49,430\n65,353\nCd. Juárez, Chih\n48,811\n61,060\nsixth of the Mexican territory, contains 48.6\npercent of the total Mexican population.\nMost heavily populated states and terriories\nThese Central Region figures also represent 15\nare:\npercent of all the agricultural land, 45 percent\n1949 (est.)\n1940\nas of 30 June '49\nof the total number of farmers. The present\nFederal District\n1,757,530\n2,107,362\nheavy concentration of population in the cen-\nVeracruz\n1,619,338\n1,933,410\ntral highlands is further emphasized by the\nJalisco\n1,418,310\n1,791,382\nPuebla\n1,294,620\n1,519,011\n1 In the 1930's there took place a program of re-\nOaxaca\n1,192,794\n1,396,429\npatriation of Mexicans from the US and this num-\nMichoacán\n1,182,003\n1,484,258\nber did exceed the emigration figures of that decade,\nMéxico\n1,146,034\n1,416,568\nbut this was not the major contributing factor to\nGuanajuato\n1,046,490\n1,361,786\nthe increase in population.\n2 James, p. 598.\n1 Some of the small Latin American countries are\n3 Whetten, p. 26.\nmuch more densely populated than Mexico.\nSECRET"
}