Mexico or Russia: Which is Poorer?

It's pretty close.

According to The Economist Pocket World in Figures (with the poorer country in bold)...

Male Life Expectancy: Mexico 73.7 Russia 58.7

Female Life Expectancy: Mexico 78.6 Russia 71.8

Adult Literacy: Mexico 71.9% Russia 99.4%

GDP per Head: Mexico $6,450 Russia $4,080

Unemployment: Mexico 2.5% Russia 7.8%

Inflation: Mexico 4.0% Russia 12.7%

Doctors per 1,000 People: Mexico 1.9 Russia 4.3

Hospital Beds per 1,000 People: Mexico 1.0 Russia 10.5

Color TVs per 100 Households: Mexico 90.5 Russia 75.2

Telephone Lines per 100 People: Mexico 17.2 Russia 27.5

Mobile Phones per 100 People: Mexico 36.6 Russia 51.6

Computers per 100 People: Mexico 10.7 Russia 13.2

Mexicans are less educated, and have fewer phones and computers. But Russians have less money and fewer TVs.

The interesting statistic (to me, at least) is how Mexicans have only half as many per capita doctors and one-tenth (!) as many hospital beds, but Mexican men live fifteen years longer than their Russian counterparts.

In any case, it's pretty easy to see what the future holds for both nations:

Mexican Birth Rate: 22.4, Mexican Death Rate: 4.5

Russian Birth Rate: 8.6, Russian Death Rate: 16.0