Sometimes overlooked by adventuresome travelers because of its neighborly proximity, Mexico has an encyclopedic inventory of delights: restful resorts, backroads villages, surf, sun, and, yes, snow, all part of a zesty culture that prizes and savors life.

• TOTAL AREA: 1,972,550 sq km

• LAND AREA: 1,923,040 sq km

• WATER AREA: 49,510 sq km

• POPULATION: 107,449,525

• RELIGIONS: nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%, other 5%

• LANGUAGES: Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages

• GOVERNMENT TYPE: Federal Republic

• CAPITAL CITY: Mexico (Distrito Federal)

• OFFICIAL CURRENCY: Mexican peso (MXN)

• TIME ZONE: GMT/UTC -6, GMT/UTC -7, GMT/UTC -8