The Free and Sovereign state of Oaxaca was created by decree of the Union Congresse, the three of February of 1824. Its name comes from náhuatl Huaxyacac, that means En the nose of guajes.. The state of Oaxaca is located in the Southeastern region of the Mexican Pacific: it limits the north with Puebla and Veracruz, the east with Chiapas and the west with Guerrero. The territorial surface of the organization is of 95 thousand 364 kilometers square; what represents the 4,8% of the national total. By its extension

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Oaxaca occupies the fifth place of the country after the states of Chihuahua, Sonant, Coahuila and Durango.

The organization has a nautical surface of 11 thousand 351 kilometers square and is located to thousand 558 meters on the mean sea level. By his political conformation, economic and social, Oaxaca it counts on 8 geoeconómicas regions: Gorge, Coast, Isthmus, Mixteca, Papaloapan, North Mountain range, South Mountain range and Central Valleys; being its capital the city of Oaxaca de Juárez, considered Cultural and Historical Patrimony of the Humanity. Framed in a complicated and capricious orography, the state is divided in 570 municipalities and more than 9 thousand localities that enjoy varied microclimates that benefit the productive activities from the organization. It arrives POPULATION The total population of Oaxaca ascends to 3,3 million inhabitants, which turns to our state in one of the 10 federal organizations of the country with greater population density. According to data thrown by the censuses of 1990 and 1995, the population grew to a 1,2% rate of annual, is to say that in each square kilometer 35 oaxaqueños live, whose age average is of 19 years and 51% of the total population are women.

In the regions of the state 16 etnoling5uísticos groups coexist: amuzgos, chatino, chinanteco, chocho, chontal, cuicateco, huave, ixcateco, mazateco, mixe, mixteco, náhuatl, triqui, zapoteco, zoque and popoloca in extinction danger, almost two million inhabitants are indigenous, which means that of 6 each 10 oaxaque6nos they belong to some ethnic group. It arrives ECONOMY The 54,05% of the greater population of 12 years are considered like economically active, of her the 98,89% is occupied: 51,39% in the primary sector, 14,43% in secondary and the 33,96% in the tertiary one.

It arrives SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Oaxaca is the first state that it defines to the Social Policy like his Policy of Government. The actions implemented in this heading have been directed to satisfy and to benefit to 75% of the municipalities that are classified like of alta. and muy high marginalization. It arrives HEALTH In 1997 the life expectancy was of 71,5 years, nine more than in 1990; whereas the rate of mortality, in smaller children of 4 years was of 1,7 by each boy, in contrast to 6,1 and 13,0 of 1990 and 1980, respectively. General mortality registers a discreet diminution when happening of 5,79 to 5,14 deaths through each thousand inhabitants. The health system takes care of 95% of the population oaxaqueña in its 2 thousand 354 units conformed by: hospitals and clinics.

The medical infrastructure is integrated by thousand 020 medical units of first level and 28 hospitals, which allows us to take care of 2 million 784 thousand people, who constitute 65,3 % of the total population. It arrives EDUCATION The rate of illiteracy has been reduced through diverse programs of educative attention of 24,7 in 1990 to 19,7 in 1997. The state educative system offers its services to million children and oaxaque6nos young people in 10 thousand 106 schools; the cover of prescholastic education is 32 thousand 659 children, 93,8% in primary level and 83,1% in secondary. At the moment, 174 thousand 183 students go to thousand 304 schools with respect to 1992-1993. He arrives SERVICES BASICOS The work of Government in the matter of social welfare has rendered highly favorable results, has granted potable water, sanitary drainage and electrical fluid to greater number of communities; 79 of each 100 oaxaque6nos ones count