A Mexican State (Spanish: Estado), officially the Free and Sovereign State (Spanish: Estado libre y soberano), is a constituent federative entity of Mexico according to the Constitution of Mexico.
In the hierarchy of Mexican administrative divisions, states are further divided into municipalities.
Although not formally a state, Mexico City (Spanish: Ciudad de México), the capital city of United Mexican States and a metropolitan area within the State of Mexico since February 5, 2016.
The current Mexican governmental publications usually lists 32 federative entity (31 states and Mexico City), and 2,478 municipalities (includes the 16 boroughs of Mexico City).
Mexico City, though not formally a state, is added for comparison.