PROSPEROUS MUNICIPALITY
Urban development and housing
It is essential to establish standards and principles for the planning, construction, development, management and improvement of urban areas through various national policies, and planning and design regulations. In this way, cities will follow the necessary strategies to eradicate problems that are common to urbanization processes and ensure the sustainable functioning of the entity.
The Municipality of Querétaro has several instruments for city planning and ecological ordering that, together, seek to balance the impact between productive use and urbanization.
Investment in infrastructure and equipment exceeded 1,326 million pesos during 2020, proof of this was the realization of 137 works at the municipal level. The districts that benefited the most were Santa Rosa Jáuregui with 18.9% of the total works; Epigmenio González Flores 18.2%; Félix Osores Sotomayor and Josefa Vergara y Hernández, 15.3% each; and 47.6% corresponded to the rest of the districts and to works that covered more than one of them.
Source: Municipality of Querétaro. Department of Urban Development, 2021.
The Municipality of Querétaro, with the support of the Urban Development Department, consolidated the commitment to an orderly, sustained and equitable growth during 2020, with administrative actions and regularization of land use with a total of 23,257 procedures attended.
For its part, the Department of Land Use issued 9,465 procedures related to municipal urban development.
Competitiveness
The economic performance of nations and subnational entities is usually understood in terms of the success of their productivity; however, there are other factors that must also be considered in the equation: the good management of the treasury, job stability and diversification of financial activities, among others.
According to the 2016 World Economic Forum these factors integrate the level of competitiveness, understanding it as "the set of institutions, policies and factors that determine a country’s level of productivity".
As a result of the complexity in assessing the competitiveness of economies on macro and micro scales, various agencies and public and private institutions aim to analyze information and publish measurements and rankings that help facilitate its understanding.
The Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO, for its Spanish acronym) has designed studies that allow the establishment of analysis parameters at both, state and metropolitan levels.
The State Competitiveness Index (ICE, for its Spanish acronym) is the study that analyzes the 32 states of the country using 97 indicators categorized into 10 subindexes. Unlike the 2018 edition, the 2020 version did not establish a general classification but used a system where they assigned gold, silver and bronze medals to rate the performance of the states according to each of the subindexes.
Only 5 states of the country managed to obtain at least one gold medal, among them, Querétaro, which reached the maximum medal in 3 different subscripts: "Efficient and Effective Governments", "Efficient Factor Market" and "Innovation and Sophistication in Economic Sectors".
MAP OF THE "EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE GOVERNMENTS" SUBINDEX.
Regarding the "Efficient and Effective Governments" subindex that measures "the way in which state governments are able to positively influence the competitiveness of their entities," Querétaro obtained a rating of 76.9 out of 100 and it’s the second consecutive occasion in which it takes the leading position. It is also worth mentioning that it was the second entity where a property can be most easily registered and, in the case of opening a business, the fifth.
Source: Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (2020). State Competitiveness Index, 2020.
MAP OF THE "EFFICIENT FACTOR MARKET" SUBINDEX.
The "Efficient Factor Market" subindex, on the other hand, values labor effectiveness as one of the main factors in production. It takes into account income distribution and equal pay, as well as the development of skills and knowledge through training and progress in the education sector. Querétaro's rating in this case was 73.2 out of 100, ranking first nationwide for the fourth consecutive year. Particularly noteworthy are the indicators regarding foreign population with higher education, ranking second, and having positioned itself as the entity with the lowest wage inequality in the country.
Source: Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (2020). State Competitiveness Index, 2020.
Also at an international level, Querétaro has achieved great recognition thanks to its growing economic activity and the strength of its economic sectors. This can be seen in the positions it obtained in the various rankings published by the intelligence section of the Financial Times newspaper. The aforementioned was confirmed in the study "FDi's Global Cities of the Future 2021/22", where the city of Querétaro was recognized as the 8th city with the most "Economic Potential" in the world within the category of metropolis with less than 2 million inhabitants. For the previous study, 129 locations around the world were analyzed.
Source: FDI Intelligence, FDI's Global Cities of the Future, 2020/21.
The study classifies cities into the following categories: Big (Major), Big (Large), Medium (Mid), Small (Small) and Micro (Micro). Querétaro is in the 2nd category, that is, the one that groups the cities with a direct population of over 500,000 inhabitants and a metropolitan area between 1 and 2 million inhabitants. In this category Querétaro got 5th place in the general analysis of the "Best Large Cities in America" and the 4th in "Economic Potential of Large Cities".
The IMCO also calculates the Urban Competitiveness Index (ICU, for its Spanish acronym) used to measure the "ability of Mexican cities to attract and retain talent and investments." The factor is comprised of 10 subindexes that group 70 indicators aimed at evaluating the performance of 73 cities in 392 municipalities of the Mexican Republic that concentrate 64.0% of the country's total population, 87.0% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 89.0% of gross fixed investment, according to information from the IMCO (2020).
During 2020 the ICU placed Querétaro within the group of cities with "more than one million inhabitants" listing it in the 5th position, that is, two levels below what was established in the 2018 report. It should be noted that, due to methodological modifications, the IMCO itself establishes that the comparison between the two editions is not conclusive in general terms.
Source: Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (2020). Urban Competitiveness Index, 2020. Retrieved from: www.imco.org.mx.
For the purposes of this study, the city of Querétaro is composed of five municipalities: Querétaro, Corregidora, El Marqués, Huimilpan and Apaseo el Alto (Guanajuato); altogether they have 1,594,212 inhabitants. The aforementioned municipalities of Querétaro account for 64.6% of the total population of the state.
The subindexes that are analyzed for this classification and the position of the city of Querétaro in each of them are:
Regarding the study "fDi American Cities of the Future 2019/20", for which 218 cities of the American continent were analyzed, Querétaro ranked 7th as the best Latin American city of the future.
Querétaro ranks 10th place in terms of performance of the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). For the realization of this study, 54 locations around the world were considered, a fact that confirms Querétaro as the protagonist of this industry.
FDI IN QUERÉTARO PER COUNTRY OF ORIGIN, 2016-2020.
Between 1999 and the first quarter of 2021, Querétaro has received a FDI of 18,198.1 million dollars. The United States and Spain stand out as the main investors with 34.1% and 18.2% of the total, respectively. Completing the list of the 5 countries with the highest FDI during the last 5 years are Canada, Germany and Switzerland.
Source: Ministry of Economy, 2021. (1) Numbers in million dollars.
IED IN QUERÉTARO PER COUNTRY OF ORIGIN (2020).
During 2020, FDI exhibited an unusual behavior due to the economic instability caused by the global health emergency due to COVID-19. Even so, 845.7 million dollars entered the entity during this period, from which the investments of the United States and Spain who, together, accumulated 78.0% of the total, can be pointed out.
Source: Ministry of Economy, 2021. (1) Numbers in million dollars.
Work environment and job placement services
An encouraging work environment impacts employee productivity in a direct and positive way, it benefits the organization’s finances, and it strengthens the country’s economy.
Pursuant to article 15 of the Social Security Law, employers are obliged to notify the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS for its Spanish acronym) of their workers’ registrations and discharges, changes to their wages and other related information.
QUARTERLY UNEMPLYMENT RATE, 2020. (2020).
Source: : INEGI. National Occupation and Employment Survey (ENOE), 2021. *For the 2nd quarter of 2020, no ENOE results were published, only information from the Telephone Occupation and Employment Survey, ETOE, was provided. This information is not broken down at the city or state level.
The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI for its Spanish cronym), through the National Occupation and Employment Survey (ENOE for its Spanish acronym), measures employment in Mexico quarterly. This enables the calculation of the Unemployment Rate (TD for its Spanish acronym), which is defined as the percentage of the Economically Active Population (PEA for its Spanish acronym) that is not working but is looking for a job. The following table shows the figures regarding Querétaro:
ECONOMICALLY ACTIVE POPULATION, 2016-2020.
Source: : INEGI. National Occupation and Employment Survey (ENOE), 2021.
Internal trade
The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI, for its Spanish abbreviation) reported that, in annual terms, the Global Indicator of Economic Activity (IGAE, for its Spanish abbreviation) had a decrease of 3.8% as of December 2020. Primary activities increased 1.5%, while tertiary and secondary activities decreased 4.3% and 3.2% respectively.
Regarding the inflation obtained through the National Consumer Price Index, the national average was 3.2% and, in the city of Querétaro, the annual accumulated inflation was 3.0%.
NATIONAL MONTHLY INFLATION AND THE CITY OF QUERÉTARO, 2020.
Source: INEGI. National Consumer Price Index, 2021.
MUNICIPAL OPERATING LICENSES
The Municipality of Querétaro authorizes or denies the necessary permits to carry out legal economic activities according to the urban planning and under safe conditions. The formality of businesses before public and private entities is certified through these licenses to favor their access to commercial life, guaranteeing the free development of their economic activity.
Licenses are issued in favor of the business owner, who can request the authorization of one or more lines of business as long as they are related or complementary.
CENSUS OF OPERATING LICENSES IN THE MUNICIPALITY PER DISTRICT, 2020.
REGISTRY OF OPERATING LICENSES PER TYPE OF LICENSE, 2020.
REGISTRY OPERATING LICENSES PER TYPE OF ACTIVITY, 2020.
Foreign trade
It involves the exchanges, transactions, sale (import and export) of properties, intermediate goods, raw materials, final products and/or services between two or more countries, regions and/or blocks. It is regulated by international standards, treaties, agreements and conventions between the interested countries to simplify their processes and cover the internal demand which can’t be met by national production.
January 1, 2020 commemorated the twenty-seventh anniversary of the launch of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), an instrument that has transformed Mexico's trade relationship with the United States and Canada.
NAFTA has allowed the modernization of national manufacturing, as well as the agricultural and agro-industrial sector, thanks to the insertion of Mexico in the world economy via global value chains.
Since the treaty came into effect, Mexico has become an attractive destination for the foreign investment of numerous transnational companies, focusing on a foreign-trade oriented development model. These actions have fostered the economic growth of the three member countries and have increased the living standard of their populations.
TRADE BALANCE
The trade surplus of 6,262 million dollars reported in December 2020 compared to the 3,134 million of the same month of the previous year stands out from the information that the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI for its Spanish abbreviation) publishes on foreign trade.
The trade balance went from having a surplus of 5,409 million dollars in 2019 to 34,476 million in 2020. The increase in the period is explained by the increase in profits in non-oil products from 26,773 million to 48,471 million dollars, and the decrease in the deficit of oil products from -21,365 million to -13,995 million dollars.
EXPORTS
Foreign trade reported sales of goods with a value of 43,163.4 million dollars in 2020. Of these, 41,185.1 million corresponded to non-oil exports and 1,978.3 million to oil companies. The former reported a growth of 13.1% and the latter a decrease of 14.2% compared to 2019, resulting in a net annual increase of 11.5%.
Oil exports directed to the US market increased their annual rate by 13.9%, while those destined for the rest of the world did so by 9.1%.
Regarding the series adjusted for seasonality, in December 2020 total exports of goods registered a monthly increase of 3.4%, a figure resulting from increases of 3.1% in non-oil transactions and 10.5% in oil companies.
IMPORTS
On the other hand, international purchases of goods totaled 36,901.4 million dollars, a sum that represented an increase of 3.7% from 2019 to 2020. The figure is the result of the combination of the 5.5% increase in non-oil imports and the 12.5% decrease in oil imports.
According to the type of import, intermediate-use goods showed an increase of 6.7%, while consumer and capital goods presented decreases of 6.7% and 4.9% respectively.
Considering the series adjusted for seasonality, in December 2020 total imports increased by 2.9% as a result of increases of 2.2% in non-oil transactions and 10.9% in oil transactions. Regarding the type of goods, the increase in consumer goods was 5.2%, 2.7% for intermediate-use goods and 1.0% for capital goods.
BALANCE OF TRADE OF MEXICO, 2000-2020.
Source: National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), 2021.
Tourism
TOURISTIC INFRASTRUCTURE
Global mobility restrictions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic impacted global tourism. Querétaro, being a privileged state due to its location, coverage and modern infrastructure, has incorporated alternatives to continue providing a high quality and safe offer for its visitors.
In 2020, the Ministry of Tourism of the State of Querétaro reported 181 hotels with 10,199 available rooms. The barely negative balance compared to 2019 was of 0.4%.
LODGING COMPANIES AND AVAILABLE ROOMS IN THE MUNICIPALITY, 2020.
Source: Government of the State of Querétaro. Ministry of Tourism Based on the Datatur System from the Federal Sectur, 2021.
¹Others: Economy-Class Hotels, Hostals, Suites, among others.
Communication and transport
ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE
The main objective of developing systems for communication and vehicular transport is to promote safe, efficient and quality transfers for the entity’s economic and social welfare.
Querétaro is one of the most important multimodal connectivity logistics nodes nationwide. The excellence of its road, air and rail network allows for comfortable and safe transfers to all of the country’s cardinal points.
The Municipality of Querétaro has a toll federal network of 173.1 km. Within it, highways 57 and 45 are the main communication roadways with neighboring entities such as the State of Mexico, Guanajuato, Jalisco, San Luis Potosí and Nuevo León.
DISTANCES FROM QUEREÉTARO TO THE MAIN PORTS AND BORDERS BY LAND, 2020.
Source: Ministry of Communications and Transport. General Unit of Technica Servicesl, 2021.
INTERCONTINENTAL AIRPORT OF QUERÉTARO (AIQ)
At the end of 2020, flights offered by commercial aviation airlines comprised 18 commercial routes to 14 direct destinations, including the main hubs, as well as vacation and business destinations in Mexico and the United States.
Source: International Airport of Querétaro (AIQ). Commercial Management, 2021.
Agricultural production
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER for its Spanish acronym) is the national organization responsible for coordinating and determining actions between producers, state governments, municipalities and the different areas of the ministry itself. The SADER has 33 representations, one for each state plus the districts of Mexico City and the Lagunera Region to which 192 Rural Development Districts and 713 Rural Development Support Centers are added. Each member of this network provides information and guidance in a timely manner regarding the programs and services available to them.
The SADER, through the District of Querétaro, and within the scope of its competence and territorial demarcation, coordinates its actions institutionally with the governments of the municipalities in order to achieve the fundamental objectives of the National Development Plan in relation to the agri-food sector.
