Map of Baja California Sur

History

Japanese archaeologist Harumi Fujita, who has been excavating the Cape Region since 1985, has carbon-dated human remains from the Babisuri Shelter on the Isla Espíritu Santo to 40,000 years ago, placing the earliest habitation in the Archaic period, though the majority of remains indicate continuous human occupation of the area beginning 10,000 to 21,000 years ago.

Evidence of human habitation is found in primitive rock and cave paintings dating to 1700 BCE that were created by hunting and gathering societies who lived in rock shelters. The state is one of five areas in the world with important concentrations of cave paintings. These paintings have an identifiable style and tend to be on a monumental scale with some figures as tall as 4 metres (13 ft).

Geography

The state is located on the southern part of the narrow Baja California Peninsula, which is in the northwest of Mexico and is part of the larger The Californias region of North America. The peninsula was formed about two million years ago when tectonic activity caused the land to break away from the mainland.

The state is about 750 kilometres (470 mi) long, averages about 100 kilometres (60 mi) wide, and encompasses 73,909 square kilometres or 28,536 square miles.

The territory is primarily mountains and coastal plains. The mountain ranges, which run parallel to the coastline, are of volcanic rock. The local name for the main mountain range is the Sierra de la Giganta; its highest peak is the Sierra de la Laguna, 2,080 metres or 6,824 feet above sea level.

Economy

The state's economy has been based mostly on tourism, sport fishing, salt production, and mining. In 2012 the state's GDP accounted for only 0.73% of the national GDP, but it had grown 3.13% since the prior year and increased 7.8% in 2013. Unemployment was 5.1% in 2013, when the economy showed a shift to mining and industry (up 19.9%) and commerce (up 4.9%) from agriculture, fishing and forestry, which accounted for only 3.89% of the state's GDP.

Commerce and services account for 69.5% of the GDP. La Paz was ranked 31st in Mexico by the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation in ease of doing business and 23rd as a place to open a business.

Demographics

59% of the state population is mestizos, 40% whites, and 1% indigenous. As of 2010, 86% of the population lived in urban areas. According to the 2020 Census, 3.3% of Baja California Sur's population identified as Black, Afro-Mexican, or of African descent.

Those over age 15 have had 9.6 years of schooling on average, compared to the national average of 8.9. The state's illiteracy rate is 3%, compared to the national rate of 6.1%.