Argentina

republicIndependence 9 July 1816 (from Spain)

Argentina as the 1994 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 123 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
LocationSouthern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean between
1994

Every edition of Argentina

Populationas each edition published it
33.91 million July 1994 est. · 32.29m in 1990
Population growth% a year
1.12% 1994 est. · 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
2.68 children per woman 1994 est. · 2.8 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
29.4 deaths per 1,000 live births 1994 est. · 32 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$5,500 1993 est. · $3,400 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
6% 1993 est. · 7% in 1993

Geography

Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean between | Chile and Uruguay

25 fields
Coastline
4,989km
Land boundaries
9,665km
total · Bolivia 832 km, Brazil 1,224 km, Chile 5,150 km, Paraguay 1,880 km, Uruguay 579 km
Irrigated land
17,600sq km
(1989 est.)

Location

Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean between Chile and Uruguay

Map references

South America, Standard Time Zones of the World

total area

2,766,890 sq km

land area

2,736,690 sq km

comparative area

slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US

contiguous zone

24 nm

continental shelf

200-m depth or to depth of exploitation

exclusive economic zone

not specified

territorial sea

200 nm; overflight and navigation permitted beyond 12 nm

International 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, petroleum, uranium

arable land

9%

permanent crops

4%

meadows and pastures

52%

forest and woodland

22%

other

13%

current issues

  • erosion results from inadequate flood controls and improper land use practices;
  • irrigated soil degradation;
  • desertification;
  • air pollution in Buenos Aires and other major cites;
  • water pollution in urban areas;
  • rivers becoming polluted due to increased pesticide and fertilizer use

natural hazards

  • Tucuman and Mendoza areas in the Andes subject to earthquakes;
  • pamperos are violent windstorms that can strike the Pampas and northeast;
  • heavy flooding

international agreements

  • party to - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling;
  • signed, but not ratfied - Biodiversity, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation

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

21 fields
Population
33,912,994
(July 1994 est.)growth rate: 1.12% (1994 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1994 est.)

Birth
19.62Death
8.63Net migration
0.21

Religions

nominally Roman Catholic 90% (less than 20% practicing)Protestant 2%Jewish 2%other 6%
Labor force
10.9million
Literacy
15and over can read and write
age · (1990 est.)

Infant mortality rate

29.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

total population

71.35 years

male

68.06 years

female

74.81 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.68 children born/woman (1994 est.)

noun

Argentine(s)

adjective

Argentine

Ethnic divisions

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

Languages

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

total population

95%

male

96%

female

95%

by occupation

agriculture 12%, industry 31%, services 57% (1985 est.)

Government

Republic

33 fields

Legislature, 257 seatsone dot, one seat

-(257 total) PJ 128UCR 81MODIN 7UCD 5other 36

conventional long form

Argentine Republic

conventional short form

Argentina

local long form

Republica Argentina

local short form

Argentina

Type

republic

Capital

Buenos Aires

Administrative divisions

  • 23 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia), and 1 federal district* (distrito federal);
  • 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, Antartida e Islas del Atlantico Sur;
  • Tucuman

note

the US does not recognize any claims to Antarctica or Argentina's claims to the Falkland Islands

Independence

9 July 1816 (from Spain)

National holiday

Revolution Day, 25 May (1810)

Constitution

1 May 1853

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

chief of state and head of government

  • President Carlos Saul MENEM (since 8 July 1989);
  • Vice President (position vacant);
  • election last held 14 May 1989 (next to be held summer 1995);
  • results - Carlos Saul MENEM was elected

cabinet

Cabinet; appointed by the president

Legislative branch

bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional)

Senate

  • elections last held May 1989, but provincial elections in late 1991 set the stage for indirect elections by provincial senators for one-third of 48 seats in the national senate in May 1992;
  • seats (48 total) - PJ 30, UCR 11, others 7

Chamber of Deputies

  • elections last held NA October 1993 ( next to be held October 1995);
  • elections are held every two years and half of the total membership is elected each time for four year terms;
  • seats--(257 total) PJ 128, UCR 81, MODIN 7, UCD 5, other 36

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)

Political parties and leaders

  • Justicialist Party (PJ), Carlos Saul MENEM, Peronist umbrella political organization;
  • Radical Civic Union (UCR),Raul ALFONSIN, moderately left-of-center party;
  • Union of the Democratic Center (UCD), Jorge AGUADO, conservative party;
  • Intransigent Party (PI), Dr. Oscar ALENDE, leftist party;
  • Dignity and Independence Political Party (MODIN), Aldo RICO, right-wing party;
  • Grand Front (Frente Grande), Carlos ALVAREZ, center-left coalition;
  • several provincial parties

Other political or pressure groups

  • Peronist-dominated labor movement;
  • General Confederation of Labor (CGT; 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

AG (observer), Australia Group, BCIE, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-6, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, AfDB, 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, MINURSO, MTCR, OAS, PCA, RG, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNOMOZ, UNOSOM, UNPROFOR, UNTAC, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

chief of mission

Ambassador Raul Enrique GRANILLO OCAMPO

chancery

1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone

(202) 939-6400 through 6403

consulate(s) general

Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)

chief of mission

Ambassador James CHEEK (since 28 May 1993)

embassy

4300 Colombia, 1425 Buenos Aires

mailing address

APO AA 34034

telephone

[54] (1) 774-7611, 8811, 9911

FAX

[54] (1) 775-4205

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

Argentina is rich in natural resources and has a highly literate | population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a diversified | industrial base.

26 fields
GDP per capita, PPP
$5,500
(1993 est.)
Real growth rate
6%
(1993 est.)industrial production growth: growth rate 10% (1992 est.); accounts for 31% of GDP

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 in the late 1980s was plagued with huge external debts and recurring bouts of hyperinflation.

Elected in 1989, in the depths of recession, President MENEM has implemented a comprehensive economic restructuring program that shows signs of putting Argentina on a path of stable, sustainable growth. Argentina's currency has traded at par with the US dollar since April 1991, and inflation has fallen to its lowest level in 20 years.

Argentines have responded to the relative price stability by repatriating flight capital and investing in domestic industry. Growth slowed somewhat in 1993 but Argentina still registered an impressive 6% advance, fueled largely by inflows of foreign capital and strong domestic consumption spending.

The government's major short term objective is encouraging exports, e.g., by reducing domestic costs of production. Much remains to be done in the 1990s in dismantling the old statist barriers to growth and in solidifying the recent economic gains.

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $185 billion (1993 est.)

revenues

$33.1 billion

expenditures

$35.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.5 billion (1992)

Exports

$12.7 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.)

commodities

meat, wheat, corn, oilseed, hides, wool

partners

US 12%, Brazil, Italy, Japan, Netherlands

Imports

$16 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.)

commodities

machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, fuels and lubricants, agricultural products

partners

US 22%, Brazil, Germany, Bolivia, Japan, Italy, Netherlands

External debt

$73 billion (April 1994)

capacity

17,911,000 kW

production

51.305 billion kWh

consumption per capita

1,559 kWh (1992)

Industries

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

Agriculture

  • accounts for 8% of GDP (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

recipient

  • US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1 billion;
  • Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $4.4 billion;
  • Communist countries (1970-89), $718 million

Currency

1 nuevo peso argentino = 100 centavos

Exchange rates

pesos per US$1 - 0.99850 (January 1994), 0.99895 (1993), 0.99064 (1992), 0.95355 (1991), 0.48759 (1990), 0.04233 (1989)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

15 fields

Networkskm

Railroads
34,172Inland waterways
11,000
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

total

208,350 km

paved

57,000 km

unpaved

gravel 39,500 km; improved/unimproved earth 111,850 km

Pipelines

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

Ports

Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Comodoro Rivadavia, La Plata, Rosario, Santa Fe

Merchant marine

57 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 656,289 GRT/1,008,792 DWT, bulk 3, cargo 29, container 4, oil tanker 14, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 5, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1

total

1,649

usable

1,394

with permanent-surface runways

139

with runways over 3,659 m

0

with runways 2,440-3,659 m

31

with runways 1,220-2,439 m

332

Telecommunications

  • extensive modern system but many families do not have telephones;
  • 2,650,000 telephones (12,000 public telephones);
  • telephone density 78 per 1000 persons;
  • 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 age 15-49 8,417,880;
  • fit for military service 6,825,795;
  • reach military age (20) annually 292,725 (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures

$NA, NA% of GDP

Central Intelligence Agency. “Argentina.” The World Factbook 1994. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/argentina/1994.

How to cite ← 1993 edition 1995 edition →