Mexico GDP by Sector: Where Manufacturing Fits

By Ricardo Rascon, Director of Marketing at Tetakawi · Updated April 14, 2026

Mexico operates as a mixed economy with active primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors, but its secondary sector, driven by manufacturing, is the engine that attracted a record $36.87 billion in foreign direct investment in 2024. For manufacturers running site-selection analysis or building a business case for a Mexico operation, understanding how GDP breaks down by sector is foundational — it tells you whether the industrial ecosystem can support your production at scale, whether the trade infrastructure exists to move product efficiently, and whether the macro environment favors long-term investment. The data below uses 2024 figures (the most recent full-year data available as of April 2026, since INEGI and the World Bank typically publish full-year GDP data 12–18 months after the reporting period) with directional commentary on 2025 and 2026 trends where reliable estimates exist.

Quick Answer: Mexico's Three Economic Sectors

Mexico's GDP divides across three economic sectors that every economy shares. Here is the breakdown based on 2024 data from the World Bank and INEGI:

1. Primary sector (agriculture, fishing, forestry, mining): approximately 3.8% of GDP, employing about 12% of the workforce
2. Secondary sector (manufacturing, construction, energy, utilities): approximately 32% of GDP, employing about 25% of the workforce
3. Tertiary sector (services, commerce, finance, tourism, transportation): approximately 59% of GDP, employing about 63% of the workforce

The secondary sector warrants the most attention for foreign manufacturers because it is where Mexico's competitive advantages, including geographic proximity to the United States, 14 free trade agreements covering 50+ countries (including the USMCA), and fully fringed manufacturing labor costs that run 70–80% below U.S. equivalents based on Tetakawi campus payroll benchmarks, translate into measurable economic output.

Is Mexico a Secondary or Tertiary Economy?

Mexico is technically a tertiary economy because services generate the largest share of GDP at approximately 59%. However, classifying Mexico as simply a "tertiary economy" understates the country's industrial reality. The secondary sector contributes 32% of GDP, well above the global average for upper-middle-income countries, and it is this secondary sector that distinguishes Mexico from service-dominated peers in Latin America.

The distinction matters for manufacturing decision-makers. A country where services dominate GDP but industry still accounts for nearly a third of economic output has the infrastructure, supply chains, workforce training systems, and trade frameworks required to support large-scale manufacturing. Mexico is not choosing between secondary and tertiary; it operates as both simultaneously, and the balance between the two is what gives the economy its resilience.

Consider the comparison: Brazil's industrial sector accounts for roughly 20% of GDP, Argentina's sits at about 23%, and Colombia's is near 26%. Mexico's 32% industrial share reflects decades of deliberate investment in manufacturing infrastructure, trade agreements designed to support cross-border production, and a geographic position that no other emerging economy can replicate. According to World Bank data on manufacturing value-added, Mexico's manufacturing output as a percentage of GDP consistently ranks among the highest in Latin America. Mexico is where the tertiary economy meets a secondary economy capable of building products that ship to major U.S. distribution centers within one to two days by ground freight from northern border-adjacent manufacturing hubs.

So is Mexico a secondary or tertiary economy? The most accurate answer is that Mexico is a mixed economy with a tertiary-dominant GDP structure and a secondary sector that punches well above its weight class in employment quality, export value, and foreign investment attraction. For manufacturers evaluating the country, the secondary economy is the one that matters — it is where your operation will sit, where your supply chain will connect, and where the trade agreements generate the cost advantages that justify the move.

How Much Does Manufacturing Contribute to Mexico's GDP?

Manufacturing alone contributes approximately 20% of Mexico's GDP, according to the World Bank's most recent value-added measurements. That makes manufacturing the single largest sub-sector within Mexico's secondary economy, ahead of construction (approximately 7%), mining (2%), and energy and utilities (1.3% for oil and gas extraction alone, down from 1.9% in 2022).

In dollar terms, 20% of a $1.85 trillion economy means Mexican factories generate approximately $370 billion in annual value-added output. That figure is supported by export data: Mexico's total merchandise exports reached $617 billion in 2024, with manufactured goods accounting for approximately 90% of that total. The INEGI quarterly GDP reports provide the most granular sector-level data for researchers tracking manufacturing's share of Mexico's GDP composition by sector over time.

Within manufacturing, the largest sub-sectors by GDP contribution are:

Automotive is the anchor. With nearly 5% of national GDP and $104.8 billion in 2024 exports to the U.S. alone, the automotive industry represents roughly one-fifth of all manufacturing output. For a deeper breakdown of how Mexico's top manufacturing industries perform individually, see our industry-by-industry guide.

What this means for your factory decision: Manufacturing's 20% GDP share is not an abstract number. It reflects a functioning industrial ecosystem with 5,821 active IMMEX programs registered with Mexico's Secretaría de Economía, employing more than 3 million workers, and $617 billion in total exports. Companies exploring a Mexico operation are entering an ecosystem that already produces at scale. For details on how the IMMEX program supports that ecosystem, see our complete guide to the IMMEX program.

What Does Mexico's Primary Sector Look Like?

Mexico's primary sector, encompassing agriculture, livestock, fishing, forestry, and mining, accounts for approximately 3.8% of GDP but employs about 12% of the workforce. That gap between economic output and employment share reflects the sector's lower productivity per worker compared to manufacturing and services, which is a common pattern across middle-income economies transitioning toward industrial and service-based output.

Agriculture and livestock are the primary sector's largest components. Mexico is the world's top producer of avocados, a leading exporter of tomatoes, berries, peppers, and tequila, and a significant livestock producer. Agricultural and livestock exports reached $23.3 billion in 2024, growing 7.1% year-over-year according to INEGI. However, total agricultural production declined 2.1% in volume during 2024 compared to the prior year, a reminder that the sector remains vulnerable to climate variability and water scarcity.

Mining contributes approximately 2% of GDP and 8.6% of industrial GDP. Mexico holds the world's largest silver reserves and ranks among the top global producers of gold, copper, zinc, and fluorite. The sector faces policy uncertainty following the nationalization of lithium reserves in 2022, which created the state company LitioMx with exclusive extraction rights. However, LitioMx has received minimal funding (approximately $1.9 million) and no commercially viable extraction method has been deployed, leaving lithium's economic contribution near zero for now.

Oil and gas extraction contributed 1.3% of GDP in 2023, down from 1.9% in 2022 and well below the 6–8% levels that characterized Mexico's economy in the early 2000s. Mexico produced an average of 1.48 million barrels per day in 2024, ranking fourth in the Americas. While hydrocarbons still account for roughly 30% of federal government revenues, the sector's direct share of GDP has steadily declined as manufacturing and services have grown. The U.S. International Trade Administration publishes detailed analysis of Mexico's energy sector, including the ongoing regulatory framework under the Dos Bocas refinery expansion and private investment rules.

What this means for manufacturing operations: The primary sector's relatively small GDP footprint means Mexico's economy is not resource-dependent in the way that some Latin American peers are. For manufacturers, this translates to a more diversified and stable macro environment, one where industrial policy, trade agreements, and workforce development drive the economic story rather than commodity price cycles.

How Big Is Mexico's Services Sector?

Mexico's tertiary sector is the economy's largest segment at approximately 59% of GDP and 63% of total employment. The services sector encompasses wholesale and retail commerce (contributing up to 19% of GDP on its own), financial services, telecommunications, transportation and logistics, tourism, education, and healthcare.

Tourism and financial services are significant components. The financial sector includes 48 private-sector banks, with seven institutions controlling 78% of market share, most of them foreign-owned. Tourism revenues support millions of jobs and make Mexico one of the most-visited countries globally, though for manufacturers the more relevant services are logistics, customs brokerage, and professional services infrastructure.

U.S.–Mexico services trade reached $95.6 billion in 2024, with U.S. services exports to Mexico totaling $50.4 billion, a 9.2% year-over-year increase. This growing services relationship complements the goods trade, as more U.S. companies establish management, engineering, and design functions in Mexico alongside manufacturing operations. According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, combined goods and services trade between the two countries approached $1 trillion in 2024, underscoring the depth of economic integration between the two economies.

The tertiary sector's size also reflects Mexico's internal consumption economy. With a population of 131 million, Mexico has the second-largest consumer market in Latin America. Retail, telecommunications, and financial services serve this domestic market while simultaneously providing the infrastructure that foreign manufacturers depend on for daily operations.

What this means for manufacturing operations: A large services sector benefits manufacturers directly. It means available logistics and transportation infrastructure, a functional banking system for payroll and vendor payments, telecommunications networks that support real-time production monitoring, and a deep pool of professional services from customs brokers to shelter service providers that exist specifically to support foreign manufacturing operations.

How Mexico's GDP Compares: Growth Trajectory and Global Ranking

Mexico's nominal GDP reached $1.85 trillion in 2024, making it the 12th-largest economy in the world according to the IMF. According to the IMF World Economic Outlook (October 2025), that ranking places Mexico behind the United States, China, Germany, Japan, India, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Brazil, Canada, and Russia — and ahead of Australia and, in the IMF WEO ranking, South Korea. The IMF World Economic Outlook database provides the underlying dataset for these rankings and projections.

GDP growth has moderated from the post-pandemic recovery years. After expanding 3.2% in 2023, Mexico's economy grew 1.4% in 2024 according to INEGI. INEGI's timely estimate (published January 30, 2026) put full-year 2025 GDP growth at 0.7%, broadly in line with earlier IMF and OECD projections. For 2026, the IMF projects 1.5% growth and the OECD projects 1.2–1.3%, reflecting a modest acceleration as monetary policy eases and fiscal consolidation stabilizes.

The slower headline growth masks a structural story that matters more for manufacturing. While overall GDP growth is decelerating, FDI into the manufacturing sector has accelerated. According to Mexico's Secretaría de Economía, the country received $36.87 billion in total FDI in 2024 — the highest preliminary total on record and a 2.3% increase over 2023. U.S. companies accounted for $16.5 billion (45% of total inflows), followed by Japan ($4.3 billion), Germany ($3.8 billion), and Canada ($3.2 billion). Manufacturing captured the largest share. Full-year 2025 data extended the trajectory: Mexico received a record $40.87 billion in FDI, a 10.8% increase over 2024 according to Secretaría de Economía data released February 25, 2026, with more than one-third flowing to manufacturing.

Why we use 2024 data: Full-year 2025 GDP figures from INEGI and the World Bank are typically not published until 12–18 months after the reporting period. As of April 2026, 2024 represents the most recent complete annual data set. INEGI's timely estimate puts 2025 GDP growth at 0.7%. The direction for 2026 is cautiously positive, with both the IMF and OECD projecting a modest acceleration as monetary policy eases and fiscal consolidation stabilizes.

What this means for your factory decision: Slower GDP growth is not the same as a shrinking manufacturing sector. The two are moving in opposite directions. Foreign manufacturers are investing more capital in Mexican production capacity even as the broader economy cools. The macro slowdown is driven by fiscal tightening and monetary restriction, not by industrial weakness. Manufacturing's share of Mexico's GDP by sector continues to hold steady or grow, even in periods of slower overall expansion.

Why Mexico's Manufacturing GDP Is Growing

Four structural forces are driving manufacturing's growing share of Mexico's economy, and none of them are short-term trends.

1. Nearshoring and supply chain diversification. The shift of production from Asia to North America accelerated after 2020 and has become a permanent feature of global supply chain strategy. Mexico is the primary beneficiary in the Western Hemisphere. FDI into manufacturing reached record levels in both 2024 and 2025, with transport equipment (automotive and aerospace), electronics, and food processing attracting the largest investment flows. Morgan Stanley has estimated that if nearshoring opportunities are fully captured, Mexico's manufacturing sector could see a 2.4 percentage-point increase in its GDP contribution, creating 1.1 million additional jobs.

2. The USMCA framework. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement provides the trade architecture that makes Mexico manufacturing competitive. U.S.–Mexico goods trade reached $840 billion in 2024, making Mexico the top U.S. trading partner for the first time. Approximately 85% of goods crossing the border qualify under USMCA rules of origin. For manufacturers, this means qualifying products face zero tariffs when entering the U.S. market. For a visual overview, explore Tetakawi's interactive FTA map, or read our detailed guide to Mexico's free trade agreements.

3. The IMMEX program and maquiladora infrastructure. Mexico's IMMEX program allows qualified manufacturers to temporarily import raw materials, components, and machinery duty-free, provided finished products are exported. With 5,821 active IMMEX programs registered with the Secretaría de Economía and employing more than 3 million workers, the program accounts for more than half of Mexico's total exports. The maquiladora model that IMMEX formalized has been operational for over 60 years, providing a proven framework that reduces the cost and complexity of establishing manufacturing operations.

4. Labor cost competitiveness. Fully fringed manufacturing labor in Mexico costs $5–$7 per hour for entry-level operators at major industrial centers, compared to $25–$35 per hour in the United States. Based on fully fringed operator benchmarks across Tetakawi's Manufacturing Campuses and client payroll data, that 70–80% cost differential drives outsized returns on production investment. Importantly, the cost advantage extends beyond wages to include lower facility costs, government incentives through programs like IMMEX, and favorable total compensation structures. The cost comparison also holds against other emerging markets: Mexico's fully fringed rates are competitive with China's manufacturing labor costs while offering the proximity, IP protections, and trade agreement coverage that China cannot.

Together, these four forces explain why manufacturing's share of Mexico's GDP has remained stable or grown over the past decade, even as services have expanded. The secondary sector is not shrinking; it is becoming more productive, more export-oriented, and more deeply integrated into North American supply chains. For companies asking whether Mexico is a secondary or tertiary economy, the answer that matters is that the secondary economy is where the growth capital is flowing.

What This Means for Manufacturing Operations

The GDP data tells a clear story: Mexico's economy is built to support manufacturing at scale. The secondary sector's 32% GDP contribution is not theoretical. It represents real factories, real supply chains, and real export volume reaching the U.S. market every day.

For manufacturers in due diligence, the macro-economic picture validates several key assumptions. The manufacturing ecosystem is mature, with 5,821 active IMMEX programs and $36.87 billion in 2024 FDI confirming that foreign companies are not just evaluating Mexico; they are operating there at scale. The trade framework is in place, with USMCA providing duty-free access for qualifying goods and $840 billion in annual bilateral goods trade demonstrating the infrastructure to move product across the border efficiently. And the cost structure is real, with fully fringed labor rates that remain 70–80% below U.S. levels — typically $5–$7 per hour for entry-level operators at Tetakawi's Manufacturing Campuses versus $25–$35 in the United States — even after recent minimum wage increases.

Tetakawi operates five Manufacturing Campuses across three Mexican states (Coahuila, Sonora, and Sinaloa), supporting 75+ manufacturers with 22,000+ employees and an average client tenure of 14.6 years. That tenure figure is itself an economic data point: manufacturers who start operations in Mexico tend to stay, expand, and deepen their investment over time. The GDP numbers explain why.

For a detailed look at the industries driving Mexico's manufacturing GDP, see our guide to Mexico's top manufacturing industries. For wage benchmarking data, explore our manufacturing labor costs guide. And for an overview of the shelter model that simplifies market entry, visit our shelter services page.

Related reading: How to solve the manufacturing labor shortage

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Mexico a secondary or tertiary economy?

Mexico is technically a tertiary economy because services account for approximately 59% of GDP. However, its secondary sector contributes 32% of GDP, well above the average for upper-middle-income countries, making manufacturing and industry a defining feature of the economy. Mexico functions as both simultaneously.

What is the GDP of Mexico in 2024?

Mexico's nominal GDP was approximately $1.85 trillion in 2024. According to the IMF World Economic Outlook (October 2025), this makes Mexico the 12th-largest economy globally, ahead of Australia and South Korea in nominal terms. GDP per capita stood at approximately $14,158.

What percentage of Mexico's GDP comes from manufacturing?

Manufacturing contributes approximately 20% of Mexico's GDP, making it the largest sub-sector within the industrial economy. In dollar terms, that represents roughly $370 billion in annual value-added output. Mexico's total merchandise exports reached $617 billion in 2024, with 90% being manufactured goods.

What are Mexico's main industries?

Mexico's main industries by economic output include automotive manufacturing (4–5% of GDP and 21% of manufacturing GDP), electronics, food and beverage processing, chemicals, aerospace, and medical devices. The automotive sector is the largest, with $104.8 billion in exports to the U.S. in 2024 and production of 4.2 million vehicles across 37 assembly plants.

How much foreign direct investment does Mexico receive?

Mexico received $36.87 billion in FDI in 2024 and a record $40.87 billion in 2025 (a 10.8% year-over-year increase), according to Secretaría de Economía data released February 25, 2026. U.S. companies accounted for 45% of 2024 inflows and remained the top origin country in 2025. More than one-third of 2025 FDI flowed to manufacturing.

What is Mexico's GDP growth forecast for 2025 and 2026?

INEGI's timely estimate (January 2026) put full-year 2025 GDP growth at 0.7%. For 2026, the IMF projects 1.5% and the OECD projects 1.2–1.3%. Slower growth reflects fiscal consolidation and trade uncertainty, but FDI into manufacturing continues to set records, indicating that the industrial sector is outperforming the broader economy.