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See the fact file below for more information on the country of Turkey or alternatively, you can download our comprehensive worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.
General Information
- Capital: Mexico City
- Population: 101,879,171 (July 2001 est.)
- Area: 1,972,550 sq km, slightly less than three times the size of Texas
- Government: Federal republic
- Money: Mexican peso (MXN)
- Climate: Varies from tropical to desert
- Languages: Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl and other regional indigenous languages
Ancient History:
- Mexico is the third largest country in Latin America and has one of the largest populations, making it the home of more Spanish speakers than any other nation in the world – including Spain!
- Around 1000 B.C., the first of Mexico’s ancient civilizations, the Olmecs, established themselves in what are now the states of Veracruz and Tabasco. In their wake came the Teotihuacan, the Zapotecs and Mixtecs of Monte Alban, the Maya of Yucatan, the Toltecs, Aztecs, and dozens of smaller urban groups.
- By 1100 A.D., the Toltecs had conquered much of central and southern Mexico and had established their capital at Tula in the Mesa Central. They also built the city of Teotihuacan near present-day Mexico City.
- The Aztecs founded the city of Tenochtitlan in the early 1300s, and it became the capital of their empire. When the Spanish arrived in central Mexico, the Aztecs controlled most of the Mesa Central through a state tribute system that extracted taxes and political servility from conquered tribal groups.
Mid History:
- Spaniard Hernán Cortés arrived at Veracruz in 1519. Believing that Cortés might be the serpent god Quetzalcoatl, Aztec King Moctezuma II invited the conquistador to Tenochtitlán. In May 1521, Cortez and his followers attacked and conquered the Aztecs. It was the start of Spanish colonization.
- The Catholic Church’s influence was felt in the region when missionaries began arriving in 1523. The missionaries built many monasteries and converted millions of people to Catholicism.
- On September 16, 1810, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a parish priest from the town of Dolores, issued a call to rebellion. It was the start of the rebellion and quest for independence.
- In 1858 Benito Juarez, a Zapotec from Oaxaca, became president. He attempted to eliminate the influence of the Roman Catholic church in the nation by appropriating its land and prerogatives.
- Following Mexico’s occupation by the French in the mid-1800s, Porfírio Díaz served as president from 1876 to 1909. But his dictatorship sparked a 10-year Mexican revolution.
- In 1934, Lázaro Cárdenas became president and re-established the ancient ejido system, which established communally shared tracts of farmland.
- Miguel Aleman Valdes, president from 1946 to 1952, was responsible for massive public-works projects, including irrigation schemes in the northwest and hydroelectric power in the south.
- Luis Echeverria Alvarez (1970-76) devalued the peso after nearly 25 years of parity with the United States dollar. Jose Lopez Portillo (1976-82) directed the frantic economic growth of the oil boom. Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado (1982-88) inherited an economy that had been transformed by a rapid decrease in international oil prices as well as huge foreign debts.
Mexico Today:
- At the beginning of the 21st century, Mexico’s population surpassed 100 million.
- Mexico has the largest population of Spanish speakers in the world.
- With almost 25 million residents, Mexico City is one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world.
- Mexico has the world’s second-highest number of Catholics after Brazil.
- Mexicans comprise the largest group of legal immigrants in the United States.
- Mexico is the world’s leading producer of silver. An area called the Silver Belt, which encompasses Guanajuato and Zacatecas in the Mesa Central, Chihuahua in the Mesa del
- Norte and San Luis Potosi farther east, saw significant mining activity during the colonial period.
- Mexico hosted the Summer Olympics in 1968 and the FIFA World Cup soccer championship in 1970 and 1986.
- The Mexico City Arena – one of the largest bullfighting arenas in the world – seats 50,000. Another 35 arenas are located throughout the country.
Mexico Worksheets
This bundle includes 10 ready-to-use Mexico worksheets that are perfect for students to learn about Mexico, known officially as the United Mexican States which is a federal republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico.
This download includes the following worksheets:
- Mexico Facts
- All Around Mexico – Mexican Adjectives
- People of Mexico – Autobiography
- People Match
- Mexican Symbols – National Identities in Pictures
- Coloring Activity
- Aztec Word Creator
- Quick Quiz – Truth or Bluff
- Mexico’s Mexico City
- Mexico Acrostic
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Link will appear as Mexico Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, February 1, 2018
Use With Any Curriculum
These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.