If you’re wondering exactly how many people in Mexico are walking the streets of Mexico City or farming in Oaxaca right now, the answer is a moving target. It’s a massive number. It's also changing in ways that might surprise you.
As of early 2026, Mexico's population has officially climbed to approximately 133 million people.
Specifically, the most recent data from the United Nations and local econometric models points to a figure around 133,008,812. It makes Mexico the 11th most populous nation on the planet. But those digits don't tell the whole story.
Honestly, the "vibe" of the country's growth is shifting. For decades, Mexico was the poster child for a "youth bulge"—a country overflowing with kids and young families. That's ending. The birth rate has plummeted, and the country is graying faster than almost anyone predicted.
Breaking Down the 133 Million
Where does everyone actually live? It’s not evenly spread out. Not even close.
You’ve probably heard that Mexico City is huge. That’s an understatement. The Greater Mexico City metropolitan area is now home to over 23 million people. That is more than the entire population of many European countries packed into one high-altitude valley.
But if we look at the states, the State of Mexico (Edomex) is actually the heavyweight champion. It wraps around the capital like a horseshoe and holds roughly 17.1 million people.
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The Top 5 Most Populated Areas
- State of Mexico: 17.1 million
- Mexico City (CDMX): ~9.2 million (city proper) / 23 million (metro)
- Jalisco: 8.4 million (home to Guadalajara)
- Veracruz: 8.1 million
- Puebla: 6.5 million
On the flip side, you have places like Baja California Sur and Colima. They are beautiful, sure, but they’re practically empty by comparison, each housing fewer than 1 million people.
The Aging Myth vs. Reality
People still think of Mexico as a land of large families with five or six kids. That is old news.
The fertility rate has dropped to about 1.8 births per woman. For context, a population needs about 2.1 just to stay level without migration. Basically, Mexicans aren't having enough babies to replace themselves anymore.
By 2030—which is just around the corner—the number of people over 60 will officially outnumber children under 15. This is what experts call the end of the "demographic dividend."
For years, Mexico had a surplus of young workers. Now, the median age has hit 30.5 years and is climbing toward 43 by the middle of the century. It’s a massive shift for the economy. Who is going to pay into the social security system when the workforce shrinks?
Urban Living and the "Lost Cities"
Roughly 88% of the population now lives in cities. Mexico has moved away from its rural roots at lightning speed.
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This urbanization created what locals call ciudades perdidas or "lost cities." These are essentially massive squatter settlements or slums on the edges of major hubs. In Nezahualcóyotl, a suburb of the capital, nearly 4 million people live in an area that was just a dusty lakebed a few decades ago.
It's a world of extremes. You've got the ultra-wealthy in Polanco and then millions of people in the "lost cities" struggling for consistent water and electricity.
The Expat Factor
When asking how many people in Mexico are currently resident, we can't ignore the foreigners. Mexico City has the largest population of U.S. citizens living outside the United States.
There are an estimated 1.6 million Americans living in Mexico full-time or part-time.
They aren't just in the beach towns like Cancún or Puerto Vallarta anymore. They are flooding into CDMX, Oaxaca, and San Miguel de Allende. This has spiked rents and created a weird tension in neighborhoods like Roma Norte, where you’re as likely to hear English as you are Spanish.
Why the Growth is Slowing
The growth rate is now under 1% per year.
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In the 1960s, Mexico was growing at 3.5% annually. If that had kept up, the country would be double its current size. But better education for women and access to family planning changed everything.
Migration also plays a part, though it's not what people think. For several years, net migration was actually "net zero" or even negative, meaning more people were leaving than coming in. Lately, that has stabilized, but Mexico still loses about 100,000 people net every year to emigration.
Putting the Numbers to Work
If you are looking at these stats for business or travel, here is what actually matters.
Target the "Middles": The growing middle class is concentrated in the Bajío region (Querétaro, Guanajuato) and the northern industrial hubs like Monterrey. Monterrey is booming because of "nearshoring"—companies moving factories from China to Mexico to be closer to the U.S. market.
Watch the Gray Market: If you're in healthcare or services, the aging population is the biggest untapped opportunity in Mexico. The country isn't set up for millions of seniors, and the demand for elder care is about to explode.
Infrastructure Lag: Despite the 133 million residents, infrastructure hasn't kept up. Water scarcity is a massive issue in Mexico City and the North. Any project or investment needs to factor in the "dry" reality of a crowded nation.
Mexico is no longer a "developing" country in the way it was in the 1990s. It’s a complex, aging, urbanized powerhouse with 133 million unique stories. Keeping an eye on the how many people in Mexico statistics is about more than just a headcount; it's about watching a nation reinvent itself in real-time.
To stay ahead of these trends, focus your research on the National Population Council (CONAPO) and INEGI, which provide the most granular local data on state-by-state shifts.