|
| Background: |
Following
independence from Spain in 1816, Argentina experienced
periods of internal political conflict between conservatives
and liberals and between civilian and military factions.
After World War II, a long period of Peronist dictatorship
was followed by a military junta that took power in 1976.
Democracy returned in 1983, and numerous elections since
then have underscored Argentina's progress in democratic
consolidation. |
| Location: |
Southern South
America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile
and Uruguay |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
34 00 S, 64 00 W |
| Map
references: |
South America |
| Area: |
total:
2,766,890 sq km
land: 2,736,690 sq km
water: 30,200 sq km |
| Area
- comparative: |
slightly less
than three-tenths the size of the US |
| Land
boundaries: |
total:
9,665 km
border countries: Bolivia 832 km, Brazil 1,224
km, Chile 5,150 km, Paraguay 1,880 km, Uruguay 579 km |
| Maritime
claims: |
contiguous
zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the
continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Climate: |
mostly temperate;
arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest |
| Terrain: |
rich plains of
the Pampas in northern half, flat to rolling plateau of
Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western border |
| Elevation
extremes: |
lowest point:
Salinas Chicas -40 m (located on Peninsula Valdes)
highest point: Cerro Aconcagua 6,960 m |
| Natural
resources: |
fertile plains of
the Pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese,
petroleum, uranium |
| Land
use: |
arable land:
9%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 52%
forests and woodland: 19%
other: 19% (1993 est.) |
| Irrigated
land: |
17,000 sq km
(1993 est.) |
| Natural
hazards: |
San Miguel de
Tucuman and Mendoza areas in the Andes subject to
earthquakes; pamperos are violent windstorms that can strike
the Pampas and northeast; heavy flooding |
| Environment
- current issues: |
environmental
problems (urban and rural) typical of an industrializing
economy such as soil degradation, desertification, air
pollution, and water pollution
note: Argentina is a world leader in setting
voluntary greenhouse gas targets |
| Environment
- international agreements: |
party to:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living
Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
| Geography
- note: |
second-largest
country in South America (after Brazil); strategic location
relative to sea lanes between South Atlantic and South
Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake
Passage) |
| Population: |
37,384,816 (July
2001 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years:
26.54% (male 5,077,593; female 4,842,811)
15-64 years: 63.04% (male 11,795,282; female
11,773,855)
65 years and over: 10.42% (male 1,609,672;
female 2,285,603) (2001 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
1.15% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
18.41
births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
7.58 deaths/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
0.64 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001
est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
17.75
deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 75.26 years
male: 71.88 years
female: 78.82 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
2.44 children
born/woman (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
0.69% (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
130,000 (1999
est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- deaths: |
1,800 (1999 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun:
Argentine(s)
adjective: Argentine |
| Ethnic
groups: |
white (mostly
Spanish and Italian) 97%, mestizo, Amerindian, or other
nonwhite groups 3% |
| Religions: |
nominally Roman
Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%,
Jewish 2%, other 4% |
| Languages: |
Spanish
(official), English, Italian, German, French |
| Literacy: |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.2%
male: 96.2%
female: 96.2% (1995 est.) |
| Country
name: |
conventional
long form: Argentine Republic
conventional short form: Argentina
local long form: Republica Argentina
local short form: Argentina |
| Government
type: |
republic |
| Administrative
divisions: |
23 provinces (provincias,
singular - provincia), and 1 autonomous city* (distrito
federal); Buenos Aires; Buenos Aires Capital Federal*;
Catamarca; Chaco; Chubut; Cordoba; Corrientes; Entre Rios;
Formosa; Jujuy; La Pampa; La Rioja; Mendoza; Misiones;
Neuquen; Rio Negro; Salta; San Juan; San Luis; Santa Cruz;
Santa Fe; Santiago del Estero; Tierra del Fuego, Antartica e
Islas del Atlantico Sur; Tucuman
note: the US does not recognize any claims to
Antarctica |
| Independence: |
9 July 1816 (from
Spain) |
| National
holiday: |
Revolution Day,
25 May (1810) |
| Constitution: |
1 May 1853;
revised August 1994 |
| Legal
system: |
mixture of US and
West European legal systems; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction |
| Suffrage: |
18 years of age;
universal and mandatory |
| Executive
branch: |
chief of
state: President Fernando DE LA RUA (since 10
December 1999); Vice President Carlos "Chacho"
ALVAREZ resigned 6 October 2000 and a replacement has not
yet been named; note - the president is both the chief of
state and head of government
head of government: President Fernando DE LA
RUA (since 10 December 1999); Vice President Carlos "Chacho"
ALVAREZ resigned 6 October 2000 and a replacement has not
yet been named; note - the president is both the chief of
state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections: president and vice president elected
on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms;
election last held 24 October 1999 (next to be held NA
October 2003)
election results: Fernando DE LA RUA elected
president; percent of vote - 48.5% |
| Legislative
branch: |
bicameral
National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the
Senate (72 seats; formerly, three members appointed by each
of the provincial legislatures; presently transitioning to
one-third of the members being elected every two years to
six-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies (257 seats;
one-half of the members elected every two years to four-year
terms)
elections: Senate - transition phase will begin
in the 2001 elections when all seats will be fully
contested; winners will randomly draw to determine whether
they will serve a two-year, four-year, or full six-year
term, beginning a rotating cycle renovating one-third of the
body every two years; Chamber of Deputies - last held 24
October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2001)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by
bloc or party - NA%; seats by bloc or party - Peronist 40,
UCR 20, Frepaso 1, other 11; Chamber of Deputies - percent
of vote by bloc or party - NA%; seats by bloc or party -
Alliance 124 (UCR 85, Frepaso 36, others 3), Peronist 101,
AR 12, other 20 |
| Judicial
branch: |
Supreme Court or
Corte Suprema (the nine Supreme Court judges are appointed
by the president with approval by the Senate) |
| Political
parties and leaders: |
Action for the
Republic or AR [Domingo CAVALLO]; Front for a Country in
Solidarity or Frepaso (a four-party coalition) [Carlos
ALVAREZ]; Justicialist Party or PJ [Carlos Saul MENEM] (Peronist
umbrella political organization); Radical Civic Union or UCR
[Raul ALFONSIN]; several provincial parties |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
Argentine
Association of Pharmaceutical Labs (CILFA); Argentine
Industrial Union (manufacturers' association); Argentine
Rural Society (large landowners' association); business
organizations; General Confederation of Labor or CGT (Peronist-leaning
umbrella labor organization); Peronist-dominated labor
movement; Roman Catholic Church; students |
| International
organization participation: |
AfDB, Australia
Group, BCIE, BIS, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-6, G-11, G-15, G-19,
G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat,
Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MINURSO,
MIPONUH, MTCR, NSG, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK,
UNMOP, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO,
WTrO, ZC |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
chief of
mission: Ambassador Guillermo Enrique GONZALEZ
chancery: 1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 238-6400
FAX: [1] (202) 332-3171
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago,
Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
chief of
mission: Ambassador James D. WALSH
embassy: Avenida Colombia 4300, 1425 Buenos
Aires
mailing address: international mail: use street
address; APO address: Unit 4334, APO AA 34034
telephone: [54] (11) 4777-4533/4534
FAX: [54] (11) 4511-4997 |
| Flag
description: |
three equal
horizontal bands of light blue (top), white, and light blue;
centered in the white band is a radiant yellow sun with a
human face known as the Sun of May |
| Economy
- overview: |
Argentina
benefits from rich natural resources, a highly literate
population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a
diversified industrial base. However, when President Carlos
MENEM took office in 1989, the country had piled up huge
external debts, inflation had reached 200% per month, and
output was plummeting. To combat the economic crisis, the
government embarked on a path of trade liberalization,
deregulation, and privatization. In 1991, it implemented
radical monetary reforms which pegged the peso to the US
dollar and limited the growth in the monetary base by law to
the growth in reserves. Inflation fell sharply in subsequent
years. In 1995, the Mexican peso crisis produced capital
flight, the loss of banking system deposits, and a severe,
but short-lived, recession; a series of reforms to bolster
the domestic banking system followed. Real GDP growth
recovered strongly, reaching 8% in 1997. In 1998,
international financial turmoil caused by Russia's problems
and increasing investor anxiety over Brazil produced the
highest domestic interest rates in more than three years,
halving the growth rate of the economy. Conditions worsened
in 1999 with GDP falling by 3%. President Fernando DE LA RUA,
who took office in December 1999, sponsored tax increases
and spending cuts to reduce the deficit, which had ballooned
to 2.5% of GDP in 1999. Growth in 2000 was a disappointing
0.8%, as both domestic and foreign investors remained
skeptical of the government's ability to pay debts and
maintain its fixed exchange rate with the US dollar. One
bright spot at the start of 2001 was the IMF's offer of
$13.7 billion in support. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power
parity - $476 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
0.8% (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power
parity - $12,900 (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
6%
industry: 32%
services: 62% (2000 est.) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
37% (1999 est.) |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%:
NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
-0.9% (2000 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
15 million (1999) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
agriculture NA%,
industry NA%, services NA% |
| Unemployment
rate: |
15% (December
2000) |
| Budget: |
revenues:
$44 billion
expenditures: $48 billion, including capital
expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
| Industries: |
food processing,
motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles, chemicals and
petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
1% (2000 est.) |
| Electricity
- production: |
77.087 billion
kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel:
60.3%
hydro: 30.7%
nuclear: 8.75%
other: 0.25% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
77.111 billion
kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
1.08 billion kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
6.5 billion kWh
(1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
sunflower seeds,
lemons, soybeans, grapes, corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea,
wheat; livestock |
| Exports: |
$26.5 billion
(f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
edible oils,
fuels and energy, cereals, feed, motor vehicles |
| Exports
- partners: |
Brazil 24%, EU
21%, US 11% (1999 est.) |
| Imports: |
$25.2 billion
(f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
machinery and
equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal manufactures,
plastics |
| Imports
- partners: |
EU 28%, US 22%,
Brazil 21% (1999 est.) |
| Debt
- external: |
$154 billion
(2000 est.) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
IMF offer of
$13.7 billion (January 2001) |
| Currency: |
Argentine peso (ARS) |
| Exchange
rates: |
Argentine pesos
per US dollar - 1.000 (fixed rate pegged to the US dollar) |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
7.5 million
(1998) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
3 million
(December 1999) |
| Telephone
system: |
general
assessment: by opening the telecommunications
market to competition and foreign investment with the
"Telecommunications Liberalization Plan of 1998",
Argentina encouraged the growth of modern telecommunication
technology; fiber-optic cable trunk lines are being
installed between all major cities; the major networks are
entirely digital and the availability of telephone service
is being improved; however, telephone density is presently
minimal, and making telephone service universally available
will take some time
domestic: microwave radio relay, fiber-optic
cable, and a domestic satellite system with 40 earth
stations serve the trunk network; more than 110,000 pay
telephones are installed and mobile telephone use is rapidly
expanding
international: satellite earth stations - 8
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); Atlantis II and Unisur submarine
cables; two international gateways near Buenos Aires (1999) |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM 260 (including
10 inactive stations), FM NA (probably more than 1,000,
mostly unlicensed), shortwave 6 (1998) |
| Radios: |
24.3 million
(1997) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
42 (plus 444
repeaters) (1997) |
| Televisions: |
7.95 million
(1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.ar |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
33 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
900,000 (2000) |
| Railways: |
total:
33,744 km (167 km electrified)
broad gauge: 20,594 km 1.676-m gauge (141 km
electrified)
standard gauge: 2,739 km 1.435-m gauge (26 km
electrified)
narrow gauge: 10,154 km 1.000-m gauge; 257 km
0.750-m gauge (2000) |
| Highways: |
total:
215,434 km
paved: 63,553 km (including 734 km of
expressways)
unpaved: 151,881 km (1998 est.) |
| Pipelines: |
crude oil 4,090
km; petroleum products 2,900 km; natural gas 9,918 km |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Bahia Blanca,
Buenos Aires, Comodoro Rivadavia, Concepcion del Uruguay, La
Plata, Mar del Plata, Necochea, Rio Gallegos, Rosario, Santa
Fe, Ushuaia |
| Merchant
marine: |
total:
26 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 185,355 GRT/281,475
DWT
ships by type: cargo 9, petroleum tanker 11,
railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 1,
short-sea passenger 2 (2000 est.) |
| Airports: |
1,359 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total:
143
over 3,047 m: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 25
1,524 to 2,437 m: 57
914 to 1,523 m: 48
under 914 m: 9 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total:
1,216
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 56
914 to 1,523 m: 601
under 914 m: 555 (2000 est.) |
| Military
branches: |
Argentine Army,
Navy of the Argentine Republic (includes Naval Aviation,
Marines, and Coast Guard), Argentine Air Force, National
Gendarmerie, National Aeronautical Police Force |
| Military
manpower - military age: |
20 years of age |
| Military
manpower - availability: |
males age
15-49: 9,404,434 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - fit for military service: |
males age
15-49: 7,625,425 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - reaching military age annually: |
males:
335,085 (2001 est.) |
| Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
$4.3 billion
(FY99) |
| Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
1.3% (FY99) |
| Disputes
- international: |
claims
UK-administered Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas); claims
UK-administered South Georgia and the South Sandwich
Islands; territorial claim in Antarctica partially overlaps
British and Chilean claims |
| Illicit
drugs: |
use as a
transshipment country for cocaine headed for Europe and the
US; increasing use as a money-laundering center; domestic
consumption of drugs in urban centers is increasing |
|
