Quintana Roo Demography

According to the latest population census run across the nation in the year 2005, the state of Quintana Roo reported 1'135,309 inhabitants, with a high growth rate of 5,9%, due to the intense migration taking place every year, mostly of people looking for better employment opportunities. Despite the rather rapid growth in the population, density in the state only reaches 21 persons per sq. kilometer, a situation explained by the fact that as much as 87% of the inhabitants are concentrated along or near the coasts, close to the tourist compounds that represent the major employers in the area.

Other demographic particulars include a life expectancy of 75 years of age, equal to the national average; all those over 15 years old do finish secondary school which implies a schooling rate of 8,5 years; almost 20% of the population over five years of age speak the Maya dialect, only natural since Yucatan was the place were this civilization flourished in the post-Classical period; and finally, in terms of distribution and concentration of population, 76% lives in urban areas, and the rest mainly consists of small and marginalized indigenous communities settled in rural areas.