New Mexico
New Mexico
(
/nuːˈmɛksɨkoʊ/
(help·info)
) is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. Inhabited by Native American populations for many centuries, it has also been part of the Imperial Spanish viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S. territory. Among U.S. states, New Mexico has the highest percentage of Hispanics at 45% (2008 estimate), being descendants of Spanish colonists and recent immigrants from Latin America. It also has the third-highest percentage of Native Americans after Alaska and Oklahoma, and the fifth-highest total number of Native Americans after California, Oklahoma, Arizona, and Texas. The tribes represented in the state consist of mostly Navajo and Pueblo peoples. As a result, the demographics and culture of the state are unique for their strong Hispanic, Mexican, and Native American cultural influences. At a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth most sparsely inhabited U.S. state.
New Mexico has benefited from federal government spending. It is home to three Air Force bases, White Sands Missile Range, and the federal research laboratories Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories. The state's population grew rapidly after World War II, going from 531,818 in 1940 to 1,819,046 in 2000. Employment growth areas in New Mexico include microelectronics, call centers, and Indian casinos.
Demographics
See also: List of cities in New Mexico and New Mexico locations by per capita incomePopulation
The United States Census Bureau, as of July 1, 2008, estimated New Mexico's population at 1,984,356, which represents an increase of 165,315, or 9.1%, since the last census in 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 114,583 people (that is 235,551 births minus 120,968 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 59,499 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 34,375 people, and migration within the country produced a net gain of 25,124 people.
The center of population of New Mexico is located in Torrance County, in the town of Manzano. In 2008, the population density in New Mexico was 16.4 persons per square mile of land area.
7.2% of New Mexico's population was reported as under 5 years of age, 28% under 18, and 11.7% were 65 or older. Females make up approximately 50.8% of the population.
As of 2006, 8.2% of the residents of the state were foreign-born.
Important cities and counties
According to the Census Bureau, 1.5% of the population is Multiracial/Mixed-Race, a population larger than both the Asian and NHPI population groups. In 2008 New Mexico had the highest percentage (45%) of Hispanics of any state, with 83% of these native-born and 17% foreign-born. The state also has a large Native American population, third, in percentage, behind Alaska and Oklahoma.
According to estimates from the United States Census Bureau's Population Estimate Program, on July 1, 2007 the population of New Mexico was 1,969,915, and the number of New Mexicans of these single races were: White, 1,663,821 (84.46%); Black, 56,083 (2.85%); American Indian or Alaskan Native, 186,256 (9.46%); Asian, 27,722 (1.41%); and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 2,787 (0.14%). There were 33,246 (1.69%) of two or more races. Whites are broken into Hispanic and non-Hispanic. There were 874,688 (44.40%) Hispanics. White persons not Hispanic 833,274 (42.3%).
According to the 2000 United States Census, the most commonly claimed ancestry groups in New Mexico were: Mexican (16.3%), American Indian (10.3%), German (9.8%), Hispanic (9.4%), and Spanish (9.3%).
Languages
According the 2000 U.S. Census, 28.76% of the population aged 5 and older speak Spanish at home, while 4.07% speak Navajo. Speakers of New Mexican Spanish dialect are mainly descendants of Spanish colonists who arrived in New Mexico in the 17th and 18th centuries.
New Mexico is commonly thought to have Spanish as an official language alongside English, due to the widespread usage of Spanish in the state. Although the original state constitution of 1912 provided for a temporarily bilingual government, New Mexico has no official language. Nevertheless, the state government publishes a driver's manual as well as ballots in both languages (they are required to publish ballots in Spanish by federal law).
The constitution provided that, for the following twenty years, all laws passed by the legislature be published in both Spanish and English, and thereafter as the legislature should provide.
Prior to 1967, notices of statewide and county elections were required to be printed in English and "may be printed in Spanish." Additionally, many legal notices today are required to be published in both English and Spanish.
In 1995, New Mexico adopted a State Bilingual Song, New Mexico - Mi Lindo Nuevo México .
Religion
Religious affiliations
According to a report compiled by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies, the largest denominations in 2000 were the Catholic Church with 670,511; the Southern Baptist Convention with 132,675; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 42,261 (63,987 year-end 2007) ; and the United Methodist Church with 41,597 adherents. According to a 2008 survey by the Pew Research Center, the most common self-reported religious affiliation of New Mexico residents are:
- Roman Catholic – 26%
-
Protestant
- Mainline – 15%
- Evangelical – 25%
- Other Protestant – 2%
- LDS (Mormon) – 3%
- Jewish – 2%
- Buddhist – 2%
- Other Religions – 3%
- Unaffiliated – 22%
Catholic Church hierarchy
Within the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, New Mexico belongs to the Ecclesiastical Province of Santa Fe. New Mexico has three dioceses, one of which is an archdiocese:
- Archdiocese of Santa Fe
- Diocese of Gallup
- Diocese of Las Cruces
Government and Politics
New Mexico is considered a swing state, whose population has favored both Democratic and Republican presidential candidates in the past. The current governor is Bill Richardson (D), who has been in office since 2003. Prior to Richardson, Gary E. Johnson (R) served as governor from 1995 to 2003.
Economy
Main article: Economy of New MexicoOil and gas production, tourism, and federal government spending are important drivers of the state economy. State government has an elaborate system of tax credits and technical assistance to promote job growth and business investment, especially in new technologies.
Economic indicators
In 2007 New Mexico's Gross Domestic Product was $76.178 billion (preliminary figure). In 2007 the per capita personal income was $31,474 (rank 43 rd in the nation). In 2005 the percentage of persons below the poverty level was 18.4%. The New Mexico Tourism Department estimates that in Fiscal Year 2006 the travel industry in New Mexico generated expenditures of $6.5 billion.
Oil and gas production
New Mexico is a leading crude oil and natural gas producer in the United States. The Permian Basin (part of the Mid-Continent Oil Field) and San Juan Basin lie partly in New Mexico. In 2006 New Mexico accounted for 3.4% of the crude oil, 8.5% of the dry natural gas, and 10.2% of the natural gas liquids produced in the United States. In 2000 the value of oil and gas produced was $8.2 billion.
Federal government
Federal government spending is a major driver of the New Mexico economy. In 2005 the federal government spent $2.03 on New Mexico for every dollar of tax revenue collected from the state. This rate of return is higher than any other state in the Union.
Many of the federal jobs relate to the military; the state hosts three air force bases (Ki