A survey reported Tuesday that nearly half of all Mexicans would like to live in the United States and that the sentiment seemed as strong among Mexico’s college-educated middle class as the poor.

Some analysts said the results reflect the failure of the Mexican economy to provide good jobs and satisfactory wages, despite a decade of the North American Free Trade Agreement.



Mexican government officials, however, attacked the report’s conclusion as misleading and unrealistic.

In the survey of 1,200 Mexican adults, conducted in May by the Washington-based Pew Hispanic Center, 46 percent said they would like to live in the United States if they had the opportunity. Among college graduates, 35 percent said they would head north.



“Even at the high ends of the socioeconomic characteristics, we see that the propensity to migrate is quite strong,” said Pew Hispanic Center Director Roberto Suro in Washington. “Mexico’s economy doesn’t satisfy their expectations.”



The survey also concluded that 21 percent of Mexicans are inclined to work in the United States without proper entry documents.



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