Oaxaca Today

• Its name comes from the Nahuatl word "Huaxyacac", which refers to a tree called "guaje" (Leucaena Leucocephala) found around the capital city. 
• The state has a total population of about 3.5 million, distributed in 570 municipalities. 
• While there are officially 16 indigenous groups in Oaxaca, every group actually has hundreds of subgroups, each distinguished by unique linguistic and social traditions.
• The historical center of Oaxaca and the archeological site called Monte Alban were recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987. The prehistorical caves in Yagul and Mitla in the Valley of Oaxaca, were also recognized with this title in 2010 for the "earliest known evidence of demesticated plants in the continent, while corn cob fragments from the same cave are said to be the earliest documented evidence for the domestication of maize."
• Oaxaca's principal industry is tourism.
• Oaxaca is considered one of the poorest states of Mexico - in average income, in modern and efficient services of water, drainage, electricity, health care, and quality of education.