Mexico has 32 federal entities in total: 31 states plus Mexico City, which is a separate federal entity with state-like status.

Quick Scoop

  • Mexico is officially called the United Mexican States and is organized as a federation.
  • Politically, people often say “31 states and Mexico City,” but in practice there are 32 top-level entities.
  • Mexico City used to be the Federal District but became a fully autonomous entity on par with the states in 2016.

Extra context

If you see different answers online, it is usually because:

  • Some sources count only the 31 traditional states and mention Mexico City separately.
  • Others talk about “32 states” informally, treating Mexico City like a state because of its similar powers and autonomy.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.