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Education[edit]

The state has over three million students who attend about 15,000 schools from kindergarten to high school. It is the largest school system in the country after that of Mexico City. However, as late as 1990, there were over half a million people who were illiterate over the age of 15.^[31]


The state university is the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México (UAEM) which offers 48 majors. This and other institutes of higher education have an enrollment of over 100,000 students.^[31] The beginnings of this institution go back to 1828, when the first Instituto Literario for the state was established in what is now the borough of Tlalpan in Mexico City. It was reestablished in Toluca in 1833. In 1886, the name was changed to the Instituto Científico y Literario. In 1943, the institution gained autonomy from direct state control and in 1956, it was reorganized as the UAEM. In 1964, the Ciudad Universitaria on the west side of Toluca was constructed.^[32]


Another important public university is the Universidad Autónoma de Chapingo, located in Texcoco. It is an agricultural college offering technical and bachelor's degrees.^[33] The school began as the Escuela Nacional de Agricultura (National School of Agriculture) which was founded in 1854 at the Monastery of San Jacinto in Mexico City. The school was moved in 1923 to the ex Hacienda of Chapingo President Álvaro Obregón.^[34][35] One distinguishing feature of the campus is the mural done in the old chapel, now University Ceremonies Room by Diego Rivera called "Tierra Fecundada" (Fertile Land). It is considered to be one of Rivera's best works.^[35][36] More recently, the school acquired an unnamed mural by Luis Nishizawa. This work depicts the agriculture of Mexico in both the past and the present. It is placed in a building that is commonly called "El Partenon".^[37] Other important educational institutions include the Universidad Technológica del Sur del Estado de Mexico Universidad Tecnológica del Sur del Estado de México and a campus of the ITESM Tecnológico de Monterrey Campus Toluca.


Recently, the Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Ecatepec (TESE) has become relevant due to the number of students, careers and location.

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Located in south-central Mexico, the state is divided into 125 municipalities. The state capital city is Toluca de Lerdo ("Toluca"), while its largest city is Ecatepec de Morelos ("Ecatepec"). The State of Mexico surrounds Mexico City on three sides and borders the states of Querétaro and Hidalgo to the north, Morelos and Guerrero to the south, Michoacán to the west, and Tlaxcala and Puebla to the east.^[8]


The territory that now comprises the State of Mexico once formed the core of the Pre-Hispanic Aztec Empire. During the Spanish colonial period, the region was incorporated into New Spain. After gaining independence in the 19th century, Mexico City was chosen as the capital of the new nation; its territory was separated out of the state. Years later, parts of the state were broken off to form the states of Hidalgo, Guerrero and Morelos. These territorial separations have left the state with the size and shape it has today, with the Toluca Valley to the west of Mexico City and a panhandle that extends around the north and east of this entity.


The demonym used to refer to people and things from the state is mexiquense, distinct from mexicano ('Mexican'), which describes the people or things from the country as a whole.

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