Updated the 5th of March 2019

Regional gap in GDP per capita, 2003-16 Index of regional disparity in GDP per capita, 2016

Mexico has high regional disparities. GDP per capita in Mexico City – the country’s second richest region after Campeche, where natural resources significantly contribute to the economy – was more than five times higher than in Chiapas in 2016. Even when resource rich regions such as Campeche or Tabasco are excluded, regional economic disparities in Mexico remain larger than in any other OECD country. However, regional disparities in terms of GDP per capita have slightly decreased in Mexico over the last sixteen years, when the richest and poorest 20% of regions are taken into account.

With a productivity growth of 4.4% per year over the period 2010-16, Aguascalientes had the highest productivity growth and strongly converged towards the productivity level of Mexico City, the national frontier in terms of labour productivity (excluding Campeche). Tlaxcala recorded the lowest productivity growth of the country with -1% per year between 2010 and 2016 (excluding Campeche and Tabasco due to fluctuation of natural resource prices).

Mexico City has the highest youth unemployment rate (13.1% in 2017) in the country, almost ten percentage points above the youth unemployment rate in Guerrero.

Productivity trends, most and least dynamic regions, 2010-16 Youth unemployment rate, 15-24 years old, 2005-15

Source: OECD Regional Database. Notes: (1) Figure on regional gap in GDP per capita: OECD regions refer to the administrative tier of subnational government (large regions, Territorial Level 2); Mexico is composed of 32 large regions. (2) Figure on index of regional disparity: top (bottom) 20% regions are defined as those with the highest (lowest) GDP per capita until the equivalent of 20% of national population is reached, this indicator provides a harmonised measure to rank OECD countries, using data for small regions (Territorial Level 3) when available. (3) Productivity is measured as GDP per employee at place of work in constant prices, constant Purchasing Power Parities (reference year 2010).

0

20 000

40 000

60 000

80 000

100 000

120 000

140 000

2003 2010 2016

GDP per capita in USD PPP

Low est region

Chiapas

Highest region

Campeche

6 636 USD

Second highest region

Mex ico City 39 860 USD

48 980 USD

16 969 USDMex ico

1

2

3

4

Top 20 % richest over bottom 20% poorest regionsRatio

Country (number of regions considered)

Small regions(TL3)

Large regions (TL2)

2016 2000

10 000

20 000

30 000

40 000

50 000

60 000

70 000

80 000

90 000

2010 2013 2016

GDP per worker in USD PPP

Tlax cala: low est

productiv ity grow th (-1%

annually )

Aguascalientes: 2nd

highest productiv ity

grow th (+4.4% annually )

Mex ico City : highest

productiv ity in 2016

(1.9% av erage annual

grow th ov er 2010-16) OECD

0

5

10

15

20

25

2005 2010 2015

rate (%)

Lowest rateGuerrero

Highest rateMexico City

3.4%

13.1%

8%Mexico

Regions and Cities at a Glance 2018 – MEXICO http://www.oecd.org/regional

Economic trends in regions

Updated the 5th of March 2019

Relative ranking of the regions with the best and worst outcomes in the 11 well-being dimensions, with respect to all 402 OECD regions. The eleven dimensions are ordered by decreasing regional disparities in the country. Each well-being dimension is measured by the indicators in the table below.

The largest disparities in well-being between Mexican states are found in the areas of environment and community, with Quintana Roo ranking in the top 10% of OECD regions and San Luis Potosi and Mexico City each ranking in the bottom 10% of OECD regions in both dimensions. Wide regional disparities also exist in life satisfaction, civic engagement and jobs.

The high performing Mexican states fare better than the OECD median region in air quality, life satisfaction, unemployment rate, but fare worse in the ten other well-being indicators. The gap between Mexican states and the OECD average is largest for the indicators homicide rate, disposable income per capita, access to broadband connection and share of labour force with at least a secondary degree.

Source: OECD Regional Database. Visualisation: https://www.oecdregionalwellbeing.org.

Notes: (1) OECD regions refer to the first administrative tier of subnational government (large regions, Territorial Level 2); Mexico States is composed of 32 large regions. (2) Household income per capita data are based on USD constant PPP, constant prices (year 2010).

Quintana

Roo

Quintana

Roo

Tamaulipas

Yucatan

Yucatan

Baja California

Sur

Yucatan Mexico City

Chihuahua Nuevo Leon Mexico City

San Luis

Potosi Mexico City

Guerrero

Baja

California

Tabasco

Chiapas Sinaloa Oaxaca Chiapas Chiapas Chiapas

Community Environment LifeSatisfaction

CivicEngagement

Jobs Access toservices

Safety Education Housing Health Income

Top region Bottom region

Ranki

ng of

OE

CD

regio

ns

(1 to 4

02)

top 2

0%

botto

m

20%

mid

dle

60%

Mexico City States

Top 20% Bottom 20%

Community

Perceived social netw ork support (%), 2013 81.1 91.4 89.2 66.7

Environment

Level of air pollution in PM 2.5 (µg/m³), 2015 15.1 12.4 7.8 22.5

Life Satisfaction

Life satisfaction (scale from 0 to 10), 2013 7.0 6.8 7.9 6.5

Civic engagement

Voters in last national election (%), 2017 or lastest year 47.7 70.9 58.5 37.2

Jobs

Employment rate 15 to 64 years old (%), 2017 60.7 67.7 64.8 55.2

Unemployment rate 15 to 64 years old (%), 2017 4.1 5.5 2.4 5.7

Access to services

Households w ith broadband access (%), 2017 46.8 78.0 67.6 24.2

Safety

Homicide Rate (per 100 000 people), 2016 19.6 1.3 6.5 40.4

Education

Labour force w ith at least upper secondary education (%), 2017 45.5 81.7 56.0 35.2

Housing

Rooms per person, 2016 1.0 1.8 1.1 0.8

Health

Life Expectancy at birth (years), 2016 75.2 80.4 76.1 73.5

Age adjusted mortality rate (per 1 000 people), 2016 10.0 8.1 9.3 10.9

Income

Disposable income per capita (in USD PPP), 2016 3 415 17 695 5 098 2 207

Mexican regionsCountry

Average

OECD median

region

Differences in well-being across regions

Updated the 5th of March 2019

OECD population is concentrated in cities* Percentage of population in cities, 2016

Source: OECD Metropolitan Database. Number of cities: 92 in Mexico and 1 138 in the OECD.

In Mexico, 67% of the population lives in cities of more than 50 000 inhabitants. The share of population in cities with more than 500 000 people is 56%, in line with the OECD average (55%).

Importance of metropolitan areas Cities above 500 000 people, 2016

Contribution of metropolitan areas to GDP growth Cities above 500 000 people, 2000-16

The metropolitan areas in Mexico account for 63% of national GDP. Between 2000 and 2016, the Mexican metropolitan areas generated 64% of national GDP growth, in line with their weight in the national economy.

In 2016, Monterrey was the only Mexican metropolitan area with a GDP per capita above the lowest 20% of OECD metropolitan areas.

When considering air pollution in terms of levels of PM 2.5, the metropolitan areas of Toluca (State of Mexico) is the least polluted metropolitan areas in Mexico, and is the only Mexican metropolitan area which is not in the 20% most polluted OECD metropolitan areas.

OECD Metropolitan areas ranking Cities above 500 000 people

GDP per capita, 2016

Air pollution (PM2.5), 2017

Source: OECD Metropolitan Database. Number of metropolitan areas with a population of over 500 000: 38 in Mexico compared to 327 in the OECD.

* Note: Cities are defined here as functional urban areas, which are composed by high-density urban centres of at least 50 000 people and their areas of influence (commuting zone). For more information, see: http://www.oecd.org/cfe/regional-policy/functionalurbanareasbycountry.htm.

56%

7%4%

33%

United States

people in citieswith population above 500 000

peopleoutside cities

United States

people in cities withpopulation between50 000 and 250 000

121 million people - 67% live in cities

United StatesMexico

people in cities with population between 250 000 and 500 000

OECD average

1.2 billion people - 70%live in cities

people in citieswith population

above 500 000

people in cities withpopulation between

50 000 and 250 000

peopleoutside cities

55%

9%

30%

people in cities with populationbetween 250 000 and 500 000

6%

63%56% 56%

63%58% 55%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

% of nationalGDP

% of nationalemployment

% of nationalpopulation

Mexico OECD average%

64%68%

Me

xico

City

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

1 2

%

All metropolitan areas Largest contributor

Mexico OECD average

32

7 m

etr

op

olit

an

are

as

0

20 000

40 000

60 000

80 000

100 000USD PPP

Top 20% richest metropolitan areas

Bottom 20% poorest metropolitan areas

0

10

20

30

Lev el of air pollution in PM 2.5 (µg/m³)

Top 20% least polluted metropolitan areas

Bottom 20% most polluted metropolitan areas

Metropolitan areas in the national economy

Updated the 5th of March 2019

Subnational government expenditure amounts to USD 2 243 per capita in Mexico compared to an OECD average of USD 6 817. In Mexico, this is equivalent to 51.9% of total public expenditure and to 12.7% of GDP. In comparison, across the OECD, subnational government expenditure accounts for 40.4% of total public expenditure and for 16.2% of GDP.

In Mexico, subnational governments carried out 78.9% of total public investment, compared to an OECD average of 56.9%.

Role of subnational governments in public investment Subnational government public investment per capita, 2016

Source: OECD Subnational Government Structure and Finance Database.

OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance 2018

The 2018 edition of OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance shows how regions and cities contribute to national growth and the well-being of societies. It updates its regular set of region-by-region indicators, examining a wide range of policies and trends and identifying those regions that are outperforming or lagging behind in their country.

Consult this publication on line: https://oe.cd/pub/2n9

0

200

400

600

800

1 000

1 200

1 400

Total public investmentUSD 312 per capita1.8% of GDP

Total public investmentUSD 1 278 per capita3.0% of GDP

Subnational governmentinvestmentUSD 246 per capita78.9% of public invest.

USD per capita

Subnational government investmentUSD 727 per capita 56.9% of public invest.

OECD averageMexico

Subnational government finance