Argentina

Argentine RepublicRepublica Argentina

republicIndependence 9 July 1816 (from Spain)

Argentina as the 1995 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 83 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 sq km
LocationSouthern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean,
1995

Every edition of Argentina

Populationas each edition published it
34.29 million July 1995 est. · 32.29m in 1990
Population growth% a year
1.11% 1995 est. · 1.13% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 29 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
71.51 years 1995 est. · 71.19 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
2.65 children per woman 1995 est. · 2.8 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
28.8 deaths per 1,000 live births 1995 est. · 32 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$7,990 1994 est. · $3,400 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
6% 1994 est. · 7% in 1993

Geography

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

14 fields

Land useshare of 2,766,890 sq km

arable land 9%permanent crops 4%meadows and pastures 52%forest and woodland 22%other 13%irrigated 17,600 sq km (1989 est.)
Area
2,766,890sq km
land area: 2,736,690 sq kmcomparative area: slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US
Coastline
4,989km
contiguous zone: 24 nmcontinental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental marginexclusive economic zone: 200 nmterritorial sea: 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

Location

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

Map references

South America

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

Environment

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, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling;
  • signed, but not ratified - Desertification, 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

15 fields
Population
34,292,742
(July 1995 est.)growth rate: 1.11% (1995 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1995 est.)

Birth
19.51Death
8.62Net migration
0.19

Male · female(1995 est.)

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years71.51
68.22 · 74.97
TotalMale · femaleLiteracy95%
96% · 95%
MaleFemaleLiteracy age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Religions

nominally Roman Catholic 90% (less than 20% practicing)Protestant 2%Jewish 2%other 6%
Labor force
10.9million
by occupation: agriculture 12%, industry 31%, services 57% (1985 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years:
28% (female 4,706,793; male 4,903,589)
15-64 years:
62% (female 10,680,074; male 10,689,728)
65 years and over:
10% (female 1,922,552; male 1,390,006) (July 1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate

28.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.65 children born/woman (1995 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

Government

Republic

22 fields

Legislature, 257 seatsone dot, one seat

PJ 122UCR 83MODIN 7UCD 5other 40

Names

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; revised August 1994

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

chief of state and head of government:
  • President Carlos Saul MENEM (since 8 July 1989);
  • Vice President (position vacant);
  • election last held 14 May 1995 (next to be held NA May 1999);
  • results - Carlos Saul MENEM was reelected
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 29, UCR 11, others 7, vacant 1

Chamber of Deputies

  • elections last held 3 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 122, UCR 83, MODIN 7, UCD 5, other 40

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;
  • 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

AfDB, AG (observer), Australia Group, BCIE, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G- 6, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, MERCOSUR, MINURSO, MTCR, NSG (observer), OAS, ONUSAL, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIH, UNOMOZ, UNPROFOR, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission:
Ambassador Raul Enrique GRANILLO OCAMPO
chancery:
1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone:
[1] (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)

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission:
Ambassador James R. CHEEK
embassy:
4300 Colombia, 1425 Buenos Aires
mailing address:
Unit 4334; APO AA 34034
telephone:
[54] (1) 777-4533, 4534

FAX

[54] (1) 777-0197

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, rich in natural resources, benefits also from a | highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, | and a diversified industrial base.

19 fields
GDP per capita, PPP
$7,990
(1994 est.)
Real growth rate
6%
(1994 est.)industrial production growth: growth rate 12.5% accounts for 31% of GDP (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate
12%
(1994 est.)

Budget

Revenues
$48.46 billionExpenditures
$46.5 billion (1994 est.)
expenditures including capital expenditures of $3.5 billion

Installed generating capacity, 17,330,000 kW

Electricity production
54.8 billionElectricity consumption per capita
1,610 (1993)

Overview

Argentina, rich in natural resources, benefits also from 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. The economy registered an impressive 6% advance in 1994, 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.

At the start of 1995, the government had to deal with the spillover from international financial movements associated with the devaluation of the Mexican peso. In addition, unemployment had become a serious issue for the government. Despite average annual 7% growth in 1991-94, unemployment surprisingly has doubled - due mostly to layoffs in government bureaus and in privatized industrial firms and utilities and, to a lesser degree, to illegal immigration.

Much remains to be done in the 1990s in dismantling the old statist barriers to growth, extending the recent economic gains, and bringing down the rate of unemployment.

National product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $270.8 billion (1994 est.)

Exports

$15.7 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)

commodities:
meat, wheat, corn, oilseed, manufactures
partners:
US 12%, Brazil, Italy, Japan, Netherlands

Imports

$21.4 billion (c.i.f., 1994 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)

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

Economic aid

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 - 0.99870 (December 1994), 0.99901 (1994), 0.99895 (1993), 0.99064 (1992), 0.95355 (1991), 0.48759 (1990)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Transportation

7 fields

Airports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right · 1,602 in all

5
over 3,047 m
2
25
2,438 to 3,047 m
1
55
1,524 to 2,437 m
48
914 to 1,523 m
693
703
under 914 m
1,524 to 2,438 m
70
PavedUnpaved

Networkskm

Highways
208,350Railroads
34,572Inland waterways
11,000
Highways: paved: 57,000 km · unpaved: gravel 39,500 km; improved/unimproved earth 111,850 km · Railroads: broad gauge: NA km 1.676-m gauge · standard gauge: NA km 1.435-m · narrow gauge: 400 km 0.750-m gauge; NA km 1.000-m gauge (209 km electrified)

Railroads

total:
34,572 km
broad gauge:
NA km 1.676-m gauge
standard gauge:
NA km 1.435-m
narrow gauge:
400 km 0.750-m gauge; NA km 1.000-m gauge (209 km electrified)

Highways

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, Concepcion del Uruguay, La Plata, Mar del Plata, Necochea, Rio Gallegos, Rosario, Santa Fe, Ushuaia

Merchant marine

total:
44 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 434,525 GRT/667,501 DWT
ships by type:
bulk 3, cargo 21, chemical tanker 1, container 4, oil tanker 8, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 5, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1

Communications

3 fields

Telephone system

  • 2,650,000 telephones;
  • 12,000 public telephones;
  • 78 telephones/1,000 persons;
  • extensive modern system but many families do not have telephones;
  • microwave widely used;
  • however, during rainstorms, the telephone system frequently grounds out, even in Buenos Aires
local:
NA
intercity:
microwave radio relay and domestic satellite network with 40 earth stations
international:
2 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth stations

Radio

broadcast stations:
AM 171, FM 0, shortwave 13
radios:
NA

Television

broadcast stations:
231
televisions:
NA

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 8,573,780;
  • males fit for military service 6,954,584;
  • males reach military age (20) annually 301,166 (1995 est.)

Defense expenditures

$NA, NA% of GDP ARMENIA

Central Intelligence Agency. “Argentina.” The World Factbook 1995. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/argentina/1995.

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