Mexico City Facts

Mexico City was originally built in 1521 by the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes, on the ruins of the old Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan.

The metropolitan area of Greater Mexico City has 20.2 million inhabitants, making it the second most populated metropolitan area in the world (behind Tokyo). The city's population doubles every 40 years.

The city has the largest metro system - the Sistema de Transporte Colectivo Metro - in Latin America. First opened in 1969 it has 207 kms of track and carries 4.5 million passengers daily.

80% of the city's population travel by public transport. As well as the Metro system - which only reaches a fraction of the city - there are almost 30,000 buses (28,000 of them run by private bus companies).

There are an estimated 3.5 million cars in Mexico City.

The city is served by Benito Juárez International Airport.

It was traditionally known as La Ciudad de los Palacios ("The City of Palaces.") Since 2000, however, it has been nicknamed La Ciudad de la Esperanza ("The City of Hope").

The city's main university, the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, is both the largest and most prestigious in Latin America.

The city has a unique mestizo culture blending native Indian and Spanish influences.

In September 1985 the city was hit by an earthquake measuring 8.5 on the Richter scale.

Landmarks include the Zocalo, the main central square; the golden Angel of Independence; and 28.8 km long Avenida de los Insurgentes.