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Census: Mexico has 103.1 million people


ASSOCIATED PRESS

1:36 p.m. February 13, 2006

MEXICO CITY – The number of Mexicans rose to 103.1 million people last year, according to preliminary results of Mexico's census. That's up from 97.5 million residents counted during the 2000 census.

The director of the National Statistics Institute, Gilberto Calvillo, said that 53 million of last year's 103.1 million people are women and 50.1 million are men.

The results of the census, carried out in October and November, were at least 2 million less than originally had been projected. Calvillo said investigators were still trying to determine why, but he said migration and lower birth rates could be to blame.

According to the census, 41 percent of Mexico's population is concentrated in five states.

The most populous state is the state of Mexico with 14.1 million people; followed by Mexico City with 8.6 million people. Veracruz was third with 7 million residents, Jalisco was fourth with 6.6 million and Puebla was fifth with 5.3 million.

The final results of last fall's count will be released May 24, but Calvillo said he didn't believe the results would vary much.