Mexico City[c] is the capital and largest city of Mexico, as well as the most populous city in North
America.[14][15] It is one of the most important cultural and financial centers in the world, and is
classified as an Alpha world city according to the Globalization and World Cities Research Network
(GaWC) 2024 ranking.[16][17] Mexico City is located in the Valley of Mexico within the high Mexican
central plateau, at an altitude of 2,240 meters (7,350 ft). The city has 16 boroughs or demarcaciones
territoriales, which are in turn divided into neighborhoods or colonias.
The 2020 population for the city proper was 9,209,944,[8] with a land area of 1,495 square
kilometers (577 sq mi).[18] According to the most recent definition agreed upon by the federal and
state governments, the population of Greater Mexico City is 21,804,515, which makes it the sixth-
largest metropolitan area in the world, the second-largest urban agglomeration in the Western
Hemisphere (behind São Paulo, Brazil), and the largest Spanish-speaking city (city proper) in the
world.[19] Greater Mexico City has a GDP of $411 billion in 2011, which makes it one of the most
productive urban areas in the world.[20] The city was responsible for generating 15.8% of Mexico's
GDP, and the metropolitan area accounted for about 22% of the country's GDP.[21] If it were an
independent country in 2013, Mexico City would be the fifth-largest economy in Latin America.[22]
Mexico City is the oldest capital city in the Americas and one of two founded by Indigenous
people.[d] The city was originally built on a group of islands in Lake Texcoco by the Mexica around
1325, under the name Tenochtitlan. It was almost completely destroyed in the 1521 siege of
Tenochtitlan and subsequently redesigned and rebuilt in accordance with the Spanish urban
standards. In 1524, the municipality of Mexico City was established, known as México
Tenochtitlán,[23] and as of 1585, it was officially known as Ciudad de México (Mexico City).[23]
Mexico City played a major role in the Spanish colonial empire as a political, administrative, and
financial center.[24] Following independence from Spain, the region around and containing the city
was established as the new and only Mexican federal district (Spanish: Distrito Federal or DF) in 1824.
After years of demanding greater political autonomy, in 1997 residents were finally given the right to
elect both a head of government and the representatives of the unicameral Legislative Assembly by
election. Ever since, left-wing parties (first the Party of the Democratic Revolution and later the
National Regeneration Movement) have controlled both of them.[25] The city has several
progressive policies,[26][27] such as elective abortions,[28] a limited form of euthanasia,[29] no-
fault divorce,[30] same-sex marriage,[31] and legal gender change.[32] On 29 January 2016, it
ceased to be the Federal District (DF) and is now officially known as Ciudad de México (CDMX).
These 2016 reforms gave the city a greater degree of autonomy and made changes to its governance
and political power structures.[33][34] A clause in the Constitution of Mexico, however, prevents it
from becoming a state within the Mexican federation, as long as it remains the capital of the
country.[35]
