Carmen is one of the 11 municipalities

Municipalities of Mexico

Municipalities are the second-level administrative division in Mexico . There are 2,438 municipalities in Mexico, making the average municipality population 45,616...

 that make up the Mexican

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 state of Campeche

Campeche

Campeche is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Located in Southeast Mexico, it is bordered by the states of Yucatán to the north east, Quintana Roo to the east, and Tabasco to the south west...

. It is situated at the south-west of the state, on and around the Laguna de Términos

Laguna de Términos

Laguna de Términos is made up of a series of rich, sediment-laden lagoons and tidal estuaries connected by two channels to the Bay of Campeche in the southern part of Gulf of Mexico, in Carmen Municipality in the southwestern part of the Mexican state of Campeche. Its shores are swampy and support...

. The municipal seat, and largest settlement, is Ciudad del Carmen

Ciudad del Carmen

Ciudad del Carmen is a city in the southwest of the Mexican state of Campeche. Ciudad del Carmen is located at on the southwest of Carmen Island, which stands in the Laguna de Términos on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The 2005 census population was 154,197 people...

.

The name "Carmen" is in honour of 16 July, the feast of Nuestra Señora del Carmen, after the date in 1717 when Spanish colonial authorities finally expelled the pirates from the island now known as Isla del Carmen.

History and geography

The municipality of Carmen borders to the north with the Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

; to the west with the municipality of Palizada

Palizada

Palizada is a city in the Mexican state of Campeche.It is situated in the south-west the state.It serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name.Palizada was named a "Pueblo Mágico" in 2010.-References:...

; and to the east with the municipalities of Champotón

Champotón

Champotón is a small city in Champotón Municipality in the Mexican state of Campeche, located at , about 60 km south of the city of Campeche where the small Champotón river meets the coast of the Gulf of Mexico...

, Escárcega

Escárcega

Escárcega is a small city in the Mexican state of Campeche,located at in the central part of the state. The population of the city at the 2005 census was 27,214 people, the fourth-largest community in the state....

 and Candelaria

Candelaria (municipality)

Candelaria is one of the 11 municipalities that make up the Mexican state of Campeche. It is situated at the south of the state, and the municipal seat, and largest settlement, is the city of Candelaria....

. It covers a total surface area of 9,720.09 km².

Demographics

The 2005 census reported a population of 199,988 persons. Of these, 4,151 spoke one of 25 indigenous languages

Languages of Mexico

The government of Mexico recognizes 68 distinct indigenous Amerindian languages as national languages in addition to Spanish. According to the Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples and National Institute of Indigenous Languages [INALI], while 10-14% of the population identifies as...

 used in the municipality, predominatly Ch'ol and Yucatec Maya.

Population centres in the municipality include:

• Ciudad del Carmen
  Ciudad del Carmen
  Ciudad del Carmen is a city in the southwest of the Mexican state of Campeche. Ciudad del Carmen is located at on the southwest of Carmen Island, which stands in the Laguna de Términos on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The 2005 census population was 154,197 people...
  
  , the municipal seat

External links

• Ayuntamiento de Carmen Official website
• Municipio de Carmen from official Campeche state government website