Middle-class Mexico arrives

For the first time in its history, Mexico has more people in its middle class than those living in poverty. These are World Bank categories measuring multidimensional poverty for an upper middle income country. More important than the categories is the trend. World Bank data show the Mexican middle class grew by more than 12 percentage points between 2018 and 2024. In that same period, the ranks of the poor in Mexico shrank by 13.4 million people, according to the Mexican government.

Mexico surpassed China in 2023 as America’s largest trading partner and consolidated that lead through 2025, although it remains second to the European Union as a multination trading bloc.

Sources: The Economist; Mexico News Daily