MEXICO CITY, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Crime and insecurity in Mexico last year cost Mexicans 299.6 billion pesos (15.74 billion U.S. dollars), the highest amount since 2011, said Mexico's National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) on Tuesday.
This vast amount is equivalent to 1.65 percent of the country's GDP, said the Mexico's official statistics body.
According to INEGI, the public security costs are at the highest level since the institute began taking records in 2011. In 2016, public security costs amounted to 1.1 percent of GDP.
More than 70 percent of these costs come from car and auto parts theft, home robbery, fraud or extortion, among other illegal acts. And crime prevention costs are responsible for the remaining 30 percent, said the institute.
Almost all crimes directly affecting individuals or their homes, such as robbery, kidnapping or sexual assault, had risen since 2016, Santaella added.
Around 64.5 percent of the population believe insecurity to be the most pressing issue they face, ahead of corruption and poverty, according to INEGI.
In his final government report, President Enrique Pena Nieto said his administration had built foundations upon which Mexico can become a safer place. However, he admitted that there are still security challenges to be overcome.
"I am aware that we have not achieved the goal of recovering peace and security for Mexicans in every area of the country," he said.
