Argentina

republicIndependence 9 July 1816 (from Spain)

Argentina as the 1992 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 76 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalBuenos Aires

Area2,766,890 km2

Populationas each edition published it

32.9 million July 1992 · 32.29m in 1990

Population growth% a year

Not in this edition 1.13% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 29 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 71.19 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

2.8 children per woman 1992 · 2.8 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

34 deaths per 1,000 live births 1992 · 32 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

Not in this edition $3,400 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

Not in this edition 7% in 1993

Geography

13 fields

Total area

2,766,890km2

Comparative area: slightly more than four times the size of Texas

Coastline

4,989km

Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitationExclusive economic zone: nm limits unknownTerritorial sea: 12 nm (overflight and navigation permitted beyond 12 nm)

Land boundaries

9,665km total

Bolivia 832 km, Brazil 1,224 km, Chile 5,150 km, Paraguay 1,880 km, Uruguay 579 km

Disputes

short section of the boundary with Uruguay is in dispute;
short section of the boundary with Chile is indefinite;
claims British-administered Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas);
claims British- administered South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands;
territorial claim in Antarctica

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

Natural resources

fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, crude oil, uranium

Land use

arable land 9%;
permanent crops 4%;
meadows and pastures 52%;
forest and woodland 22%;
other 13%;
includes irrigated 1%

Environment

Tucuman and Mendoza areas in Andes subject to earthquakes;
pamperos are violent windstorms that can strike Pampas and northeast;
irrigated soil degradation;
desertification;
air and water pollution in Buenos Aires

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)

People

14 fields

Population

32,901,234

(July 1992), growth rate 1.1% (1992)

Per 1,000 population(1992)

Birth

20Death

Religions

nominally Roman Catholic 90% (less than 20% practicing)Protestant 2%Jewish 2%other 6%

Literacy

95%

(male 96%, female 95%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Nationality

noun - Argentine(s); adjective - Argentine

Ethnic divisions

white 85%; mestizo, Indian, or other nonwhite groups 15%

Languages

Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French

Labor force

10,900,000; agriculture 12%, industry 31%, services 57% (1985 est.)

Government

Republic

20 fields

Administrative divisions

23 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia), and 1 district** (distrito);
Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Chaco, Chubut, Cordoba, Corrientes, Distrito Federal**, 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, Tucuman;
note - the national territory is in the process of becoming a province;
the US does not recognize claims to Antarctica

Legal system

mixture of US and West European legal systems; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch

bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional) consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Senado) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados)

Leaders

Chief of State and Head of Government: President Carlos Saul MENEM (since 8 July 1989); Vice President (position vacant)

Political parties and leaders

Justicialist Party (JP), Carlos Saul MENEM, Peronist umbrella political organization;
Radical Civic Union (UCR), Mario LOSADA, moderately left of center;
Union of the Democratic Center (UCD), Jorge AGUADO, conservative party;
Intransigent Party (PI), Dr. Oscar ALENDE, leftist party;
several provincial parties

Elections

Chamber of Deputies:: last held in three phases during late 1991 for half of 254 seats, total current breakdown of seats - JP 122, UCR 85, UCD 10, other 37
President:: last held 14 May 1989 (next to be held NA May 1995); results - Carlos Saul MENEM was elected
Senate:: last held May 1989, but provincial elections in late 1991 set the stage for indirect elections by provincial senators for one-third of 46 seats in the national senate in May 1992;
total current breakdown of seats - JP 27, UCR 14, others 5

Communists

some 70,000 members in various party organizations, including a small nucleus of activists

Other political or pressure groups

Peronist-dominated labor movement, General Confederation of Labor (Peronist-leaning umbrella labor organization), Argentine Industrial Union (manufacturers' association), Argentine Rural Society (large landowners' association), business organizations, students, the Roman Catholic Church, the Armed Forces

Member of

AfDB, AG (observer), CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-6, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS, MERCOSUR, OAS, PCA, RG, UN, UNAVEM, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Carlos ORTIZ DE ROZAS;
Chancery at 1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009;
telephone (202) 939-6400 through 6403;
there are Argentine Consulates General in Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Consulates in Baltimore, Chicago, and Los Angeles

US:: Ambassador Terence A. TODMAN;
Embassy at 4300 Colombia, 1425 Buenos Aires (mailing address is APO AA 34034);
telephone [54] (1) 774- 7611 or 8811, 9911;
Telex 18156 AMEMBAR

Flag

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

17 fields

Inflation, consumer prices

83.8%

(1991)

Unemployment rate

6.4%

(October 1991)

External debt

$61billion

(January 1992)

Budget

Revenues

$13.6 billionExpenditures

$16.6 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $2.5 billion (1991)

Overview

Argentina is rich in natural resources and has a highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a diversified industrial base. Nevertheless, following decades of mismanagement and statist policies, the economy has encountered major problems in recent years, leading to escalating inflation and a recession during 1988-90.

Since 1978, Argentina's external debt has nearly doubled to $58 billion, creating severe debt servicing difficulties and hurting the country's creditworthiness with international lenders. Elected in 1989, President Menem has implemented a comprehensive economic restructuring program that shows signs of reversing Argentina's economic decline and putting it on a path of stable, sustainable growth.

GDP

exchange rate conversion - $101.2 billion, per capita $3,100; real growth rate 5.5% (1991 est.)

Exports

$12 billion (f.o.b., 1991)

commodities:: meat, wheat, corn, oilseed, hides, wool
partners:: US 12%, USSR, Italy, Brazil, Japan, Netherlands

Imports

$8 billion (c.i.f., 1991)

commodities:: machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, fuels and lubricants, agricultural products
partners:: US 22%, Brazil, FRG, Bolivia, Japan, Italy, Netherlands

Industrial production

growth rate 20% (1991 est.); accounts for 30% of GDP

Electricity

17,059,000 kW capacity; 47,357 million kWh produced, 1,450 kWh per capita (1991)

Industries

food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel

Agriculture

accounts for 15% of GNP (including fishing);
produces abundant food for both domestic consumption and exports;
among world's top five exporters of grain and beef;
principal crops - wheat, corn, sorghum, soybeans, sugar beets

Illicit drugs

increasing use as a transshipment country for cocaine headed for the US and Europe

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.0 billion;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $4.4 billion;
Communist countries (1970-89), $718 million

Currency

peso (plural - pesos); 1 pesos = 100 centavos

Exchange rates

pesos per US$1 - 0.99076 (Feburary 1992), 0.95355 (1991), 0.48759 (1990), 0.04233 (1989), 0.00088 (1988), 0.00021 (1987)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

9 fields

Airports, 1,702 total, 1,473 usable

permanent-surface runways

137| runways over 3,659 m

1runways 2,440-3,659 m

31runways | 1,220-2,439 m

326

Networkskm

Highways

208,350Railroads

34,172Inland waterways

11,000

Highways: ; 47,550 km paved, 39,500 km gravel, 101,000 km improved earth, 20,300 km unimproved earth · Railroads: (includes 209 km electrified); includes a mixture of 1.435-meter standard gauge, 1.676-meter broad gauge, 1.000-meter narrow gauge, and 0.750-meter narrow gauge

Railroads

34,172 km total (includes 209 km electrified);
includes a mixture of 1.435-meter standard gauge, 1.676-meter broad gauge, 1.000-meter narrow gauge, and 0.750-meter narrow gauge

Highways

208,350 km total; 47,550 km paved, 39,500 km gravel, 101,000 km improved earth, 20,300 km unimproved earth

Pipelines

crude oil 4,090 km;
petroleum products 2,900 km;
natural gas 9,918 km

Ports

Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Necochea, Rio Gallegos, Rosario, Santa Fe

Merchant marine

98 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,235,385 GRT/1,952,307 DWT;
includes 35 cargo, 6 refrigerated cargo, 6 container, 1 railcar carrier, 33 oil tanker, 4 chemical tanker, 3 liquefied gas, 10 bulk;
in addition, 2 naval tankers and 1 military transport are sometimes used commercially

Civil air

56 major transport aircraft

Telecommunications

extensive modern system;
2,650,000 telephones (12,000 public telephones);
microwave widely used;
broadcast stations - 171 AM, no FM, 231 TV, 13 shortwave;
2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations;
domestic satellite network has 40 earth stations

Defense Forces

Argentine Army, Navy of the Argentine Republic, Argentine Air Force, | National Gendarmerie, Argentine Naval Prefecture (Coast Guard only), | National Aeronautical Police Force

3 fields

Branches

Argentine Army, Navy of the Argentine Republic, Argentine Air Force, National Gendarmerie, Argentine Naval Prefecture (Coast Guard only), National Aeronautical Police Force

Manpower availability

males 15-49, 8,101,856;
6,568,885 fit for military service;
276,457 reach military age (20) annually

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $700 million, 1.5% of GDP (1991)

Central Intelligence Agency. “Argentina.” The World Factbook 1992. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/argentina/1992.

How to cite ← 1991 edition 1993 edition →