Map of Jalisco

History

Nomadic peoples moving south arrived in the Jalisco area around 15,000 years ago. Some of oldest evidence of human occupation is found around Zacoalco and Chapala lakes, which used to be connected. This evidence includes human and animal bones and tools made of bone and stone. Other signs of human habitation include petroglyphs and cave paintings found at Cabo Corrientes, San Gabriel, Jesús María, La Huerta, Puerto Vallarta, Mixtlán, Villa Purificación, Casimiro Castillo, Zapotlán el Grande and Pihuamo.

Agriculture began in the same region around 7,000 years ago, giving rise to the first permanent settlements in western Mexico. Ceramics began to be produced about 3,500 years ago for both utilitarian and ceremonial purposes.

Geography

With a total area of 78,599 square kilometers (30,347 sq mi), Jalisco is the seventh-largest state in Mexico, accounting for 4.1% of the country's territory. The state is in the central western coast of the country, bordering the states of Nayarit, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Guanajuato, Colima and Michoacán with 342 kilometers (213 mi) of coastline on the Pacific Ocean to the west.

Jalisco is made up of a diverse terrain that includes forests, beaches, plains, and lakes. Altitudes in the state vary from 0 to 4,300 meters (0 to 14,110 ft) above sea level, from the coast to the top of the Nevado de Colima.

Economy

The economy of the state accounts for 6.3% of Mexico's GDP. It is ranked third in socioeconomic indicators behind Nuevo León and the Federal District of Mexico City. The main sectors of the economy are commerce, restaurants and hotels at 26.1%, services at 21.5%, manufacturing (food processing, bottling and tobacco) at 19.4%, transport, storage and communications at 11.8%, financial services and real estate at 11.2%, agriculture, forestry and fishing at 5.5%, and construction at 4.4%. Jalisco earns just under six percent of Mexico foreign earnings from tourism and employment from the various multinational corporations located in the state, exporting more than $5 billion annually to 81 countries and ranks first among the states in agribusiness, computers and the manufacturing of jewelry.

Demographics

As of 2020, the state population was 8,348,151, the third most populated federal entity in Mexico—after the State of Mexico and Mexico City—with 6.5% of Mexico's total population. Over half of the state's population lives in the Guadalajara metro area. Of the over 12,000 communities in the state, over 8,700 have a population of under fifty. 87% of the population lives in urban centers compared to 78% nationally.

Despite the fact that the number of children per woman has dropped by more than half from a high of 6.8 in 1970, the total population has grown from 5,991,175 in 1995 to the present number.