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Guide
Introduction
| |
| 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 |
|
