The Raster Based GIS Coverage of Mexican Population is a gridded coverage (1 x 1 km) of Mexican population. The data were converted from vector into raster. The population figures were derived based on available point data (the population of known localities - 30,000 in all). Cell values were derived using a weighted moving average function (Burrough, 1986), and then calculated based on known population by state. The result from this conversion is a coverage whose population data is based on square grid cells rather than a series of vectors. This data set is produced by the Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) in collaboration with the Instituto Nacional de Estadistica Geografia e Informatica (INEGI).