This section tracks how often things go wrong in Mexico, and whether it is getting better or worse. Each page gives a short trend summary, the numbers behind it, recent cases, up to 20 years of official press releases and a credited photo list. Figures come from national sources first: INEGI’s death registrations and crime-victim survey, the Ministry of Health and its road-safety secretariat, CENAPRED, the National Seismological Service at UNAM, CONAFOR, the Navy and CONDUSEF. International agencies, Congress, researchers and news reports fill the gaps, and we say when a figure comes from a news report.
Where the trends point
- Getting worse: road deaths (especially motorcyclists), fraud, measles and screwworm, extreme heat, and wildfire area in recent record years.
- Getting better: COVID-19 deaths, recorded drowning rates, and deaths from heart disease and diabetes since their 2020–21 peaks.
- No clear trend: earthquakes, which come often and can be deadly, building fires and blasts, and air accidents, mostly in small aircraft.
MixedFire
Home fires, building fires and wildfires.
More quakes loggedEarthquakes
39,871 earthquakes located in 2025, a record; the 2017 quakes killed 468.
Road deaths risingTransport accidents
Road, maritime and aviation.
Fraud risingFinancial fraud
About 8.1 million frauds in 2025, now Mexico’s most common crime; 80.6% happened online.
MixedDisease
Infectious and chronic disease.
Steady tollInjuries
39,919 accidental deaths in 2024; heat killed 421 in the 2023 season.
How this page is built. Figures come from the official statistical releases and research linked above; where agencies publish provisional numbers we say so, because they are revised. National death data come from INEGI’s death registrations, which are finalised the year after; preliminary figures are labelled. Some figures come from news reports quoting officials, and we name the outlet. Money is given in Mexican pesos (MX$). Headlines and quotes are our translations from Spanish. Photos are public-domain or Creative Commons images credited in each caption; file photos are illustrative and are not from the events described unless the caption says so. This page tracks trends and is not personal safety, medical, legal or financial advice.