Communications and Transportation The progress made in recent years in communications and transportation development has permitted Mexico to satisfy the needs of the economy with greater efficiency. The Govern-ments economic guidelines are directed toward tightening the country's physical integration and improving international air and maritime services. These objectives are clearly reflected in the growth rate experienced by the communi-cations and transportation sector, which exhibited a mean annual rise of 5.0 percent in real terms from 1965 to 1967 and rose by 10.8 and 8.7 percent in 1968 and 1969, respectively, measured at constant prices. The communications and transportation sector's share in GNP thus increased from 3.0 percent in 1965 to 3.2 percent in 1969. The increment for highway transportation coincides with a general upward trend ob-served in most Latin American countries. The ratio of kilometers of road per 10,000 inhab-itants rose from 9.2 in 1960 to 14.5 in 1969. The relationship between kilometers of paved highway per 1,000 square kilometers of territory increased from 15.4 to 20.9 over the 1960-69 period, reflecting a rise of 35.9 percent. Mexico currently occupies third place on the American continent, following the United States and Canada, in miles of paved highways. With respect to railway transportation, the Mexican Government has steadily emphasized its rehabilitation program to update rolling stock, replace track, correct layout deficiencies, and generally improve services. Since emphasis has been placed on modernization rather than expansion, the rail mileage has remained more or less unchanged. In 1930, Mexico's railway system was fairly well developed, extending over some 23,500 kilometers or slightly under the present figure of 24,119.8 kilometers on December 31,1969; see Table 4. The trend, particularly since 1950, has been toward updating instal-lations and rolling stock and reducing route lengths. Table 4 Railroads in Operation 1969 Terminal Track Length (km. Coahuila y Zacatecas* Saltillo, Coahuila 193.9 Chihuahua-Pacifico Chihuahua 1,752.0 Pacifico Guadalajara, Jalisco 2,737.6 Nacionales de Mexico Federal District 17,213.4 Occidental de Mexico Culiacan, Sinaloa 38.3 Sonora-Baja California Mexicali, Baja California 624.7 Tijuana y Tecate Tijuana, Baja California 79.1 Unidos del Sureste Merida, Yucatan 1,480.8 Total 24,119.8 * Incorporated into Nacionales de Mexico. Source: Direccion General de Ferrocarriles en Operacion, Ministry of Communica-tions and Transportation. In 1967, Mexico held fourteenth place in the world and second in Latin America for the volume of services provided by its railway system. Regional studies of the three Latin American countries with the largest railway systems indicate that Mexico has the highest proportion in relation to its territory 12.2 kilometers of track for each 1,000 square kilometers of territory as of 1969. 11