The nearly 2,000 mile (3,201 kilometer) United
States border with Mexico is the most frequently crossed border in the entire world. According to the BBC, the border between Tijuana
and San Diego is the busiest land border crossing anywhere. You might think this close proximity and the
fact that people are continually moving between the countries should mean the two nations
have a lot in common, but that’s not exactly the case. The U.S. probably has more in common with
the UK, a country that lies over 4,000 miles across the ocean. Mexico’s many indigenous civilizations were
colonized by the Spanish in the 16th century, while the USA was a colony of Great Britain. This made all the difference. And today we will discuss these many differences,
in this episode of the Infographics Show, The Average American vs. the Average Mexican. Don’t forget to subscribe and click the
bell button so that you can be part of our Notification Squad. First of all, let’s have a quick look at
the two countries our citizens call home. The USA is the third (some sources say 4th)
largest country in the world with a landmass of 3,796,742 square miles (9,833,520 kilometers
squared). Today it has a population of 325,365,189 people,
making it the third most populated country on the planet. Mexico has a land mass of 761,610 square miles
(1,972,550 kilometers squared) making it the 13th largest country in the world. The population is 129,669,477 people, making
it the 10th most populated country in the world. So, who are these people? The USA is said to be 72.4 percent white. Other sources have put this estimate as high
as 77 percent. What we do know is that most of these white
Americans identify as having ancestry from England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, France,
Italy, Poland and the Netherlands, among many other European countries. The U.S. Census Bureau states that the next
largest ethnic group is Hispanic or Latino, at around 17.6 percent of the population,
followed by black - 13.3 percent; Asian – 5.6 percent; and native American – 1.2 percent. Multiracial, meaning people that identify
as having mixed ancestry, is around 2.6 percent. U.S. Census Bureau data also stated in 2016
that 5.6 million Mexican nationals were residing in the U.S. without authorization. As for Mexico, the largest ethnic group there
identify as Mestizo. Mestizo is a group – around 62 percent of
the country – that are of mixed ethnicity between the indigenous people of the country
and Europeans. This would include someone that has blood
from Spanish colonists as well as Mexico’s indigenous peoples. The next largest group at 27 percent of the
population are Amerindians, which can draw comparisons to Native American Indians. Think of the Mayas from the Yucatan or Chiapas
or the Náhuas, descendants of the Aztecs. White (or European) Mexicans make up 9 percent
of the population, while black Mexicans and Arabic Mexicans are thought to make up about
1 percent each of the population. With mixed ethnicity comes mixed religions,
and the USA has quite a few on the go. Nonetheless, the USA is said to be the world’s
biggest Christian population, many of whom are still quite devout compared to their European
counterparts. More than 70 percent of Americans say they
are Christian, and the next largest group at around 23 percent aren’t really anything
at all. Much smaller groups of people are Muslim,
Jewish, Hindu and Buddhist. Mexico is quite similar in this respect, with
93% percent of the population identifying as Christian. The only difference is that 82.7 percent say
they are Catholic, while other Christian denominations make up around 12 percent. It’s thought that only 20.8% of Americans
are Catholics. About 4.7 percent of Mexicans have taken the
“don’t believe” or “don’t know what to think” route, while Judaism, Islam, Buddhism,
and native religions make up a very small percentage. Mexicans predominantly speak Spanish, but
some people are bilingual or even trilingual, speaking also English and/or a native language. The vast majority of Americans are English
speakers, although almost 40 million people say they’re mother tongue is Spanish. Smaller groups state that they are Chinese,
French, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Korean and German speakers, in that order in terms of numbers. What about the demographics of these people? Well, the median age in the USA is currently
37.8 years old. Life expectancy in the U.S. is currently 79.8
for both sexes, which is the 42nd highest in the world. The highest is Monaco, at the ripe old age
of 89.5. Average life expectancy in Mexico is 75.9,
the 93rd highest in the world. The median age in Mexico is 27.9 years old. As for what we look like, the average American
man is 5 feet 9 or 9 and a half inches (178.8 or 179.8 cm). He weighs 195.5 pounds (88.6 kilos), according
to the Center for Disease Control. The average American woman according to the
same source is five feet four inches (164.5 cm) and she weighs on average 168.5 pounds
(76.5 kilos). The average Mexican man stands at 5 feet 5
1⁄2 inches (167 cm) and weighs around 165 pounds (74.8 kilos). We must point out here that sources are all
over the place on this average. The average Mexican woman stands at around
5 feet 2 inches (158.4 cm) and weighs 151 pounds (68.4 kilos). Both countries are considered fat. According to the World Health Organization
in 2017, 33 percent of American adults were obese and in Mexico 32.1 percent of adults
were obese. It’s seems one thing these nations have
in common is a love of over-eating. As for how we live, we know that the USA is
a far richer country and we know from all our other shows on the topic that the USA
has the most billionaires in the world. But what about the average Joe? The median annual individual income in the
U.S. with both men and women taken into account for a 40 hour work week is $44,148 per year,
according to a 2017 Bureau of Labor statistics report. Mexico’s median income was closer to 12,000
dollars per year. Mexico may have 15 billionaires (some sources
say 16) but the country has widespread poverty. A 2015 report stated that 20% of Mexicans
are worth no more than 80 dollars, with half of the population living in poverty. That 20 percent, it was reported, don’t
have the money to eat three meals a day. The same report stated that, “From 34 member
countries of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, the gap between
wages and hours worked is larger in Mexico than in any other member country.” To rub salt in the wounds, according to OECD,
that year Mexicans worked on average 2,327 hours, while Americans worked 1,796 hours. The United States is seen as a very hardworking
country, too, in terms of hours worked and holidays taken. According to the Center for Poverty Research
in 2015, the official poverty rate in the U.S. was 13.5 percent. Financially, Mexicans seem to have it much
harder, but what about happiness levels? According to the World Happiness Index in
2016, which takes into account money, work, lifestyle, safety, freedom, etc., Denmark
is the place to be. The USA came 13th on the list and Mexico came
21st on the list. That isn’t bad, considering that Mexico
ranked higher than the UK. In 2017, though, Mexico and the UK basically
changed places and United States dropped one place. In spite of low wages and some parts of Mexico
being notoriously dangerous, it does seem that “subjective well-being” is pretty
good. And that’s what counts, right? In fact, in 2014, a Pew research study found
that Mexicans were the happiest people of the 43 participating countries, which included
Germany, France, South Korea, Japan, the US, and the UK. One Mexican news media outlet wrote a story
with the headline, “Mexicans: fat and happy, hard-working.” People have actually addressed this phenomenon
and said one factor is that Mexicans have much stronger family ties, but also live a
more active public life. While we hear a lot of negative news about
Mexico, we don’t generally hear about the warm climate, community spirit, rich history,
beautiful beaches; the streets often full of music and celebrations, the general daily
joie de vivre. Speaking of living the good life, be sure
to check out and subscribe to our new Youtube channel called Fuzzy and Nutz! This week, Fuzzy wins the lottery, and as
you might expect, his arch-nemesis Nutz laughs and looks on as chaos ensues! Give it a watch and learn a thing or two,
cos we think you’re gonna love the show just as much as we loved making it. See ya next time!
