Argentina

Argentine RepublicRepublica Argentina

republicIndependence 9 July 1816 (from Spain)

Argentina as the 1999 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 108 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
Position34 00 S, 64 00 W
Area2,766,890 sq km
LocationSouthern South America, bordering the South Atlantic
1999

Every edition of Argentina

Populationas each edition published it
36.74 million July 1999 est. · 32.29m in 1990
Population growth% a year
1.29% 1999 est. · 1.13% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 29 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
74.76 years 1999 est. · 71.19 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
2.66 children per woman 1999 est. · 2.8 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
18.41 deaths per 1,000 live births 1999 est. · 32 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$10,300 1998 est. · $3,400 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
4.3% 1998 est. · 7% in 1993

Introduction

1 field

Background

A part of the Spanish empire until independence in 1816, Argentina subsequently experienced periods of internal political conflict between conservatives and liberals and between civilian and military factions. Meantime, thanks to rich natural resources and foreign investment, a modern agriculture and a diversified industry were gradually developed. After World War II, a long period of Peronist dictatorship was followed by rule by a military junta. Democratic elections finally came in 1983, but both the political and economic atmosphere remain susceptible to turmoil.

Geography

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

18 fields
Area
2,766,890sq km
land: 2,736,690 sq kmwater: 30,200 sq kmslightly 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
Highest point
6,962m
Cerro Aconcagualowest point: Salinas Chicas -40 m (located on Peninsula Valdes)
Land boundaries
9,665km
border countries: 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

Geographic coordinates

34 00 S, 64 00 W

Map references

South America

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

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

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

Environment--international agreements

party to:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, 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)

People

15 fields
Population
36,737,664
(July 1999 est.)growth rate: 1.29% (1999 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1999 est.)

Birth
19.91Death
7.64Net migration
0.65

Male · female

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years (1999 est.)74.76
71.13 · 78.56
TotalMale · femaleLiteracy (1995 est.)96.2%
96.2% · 96.2%
MaleFemaleLiteracy definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Religions

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

Age structure

0-14 years:
27% (male 5,124,087; female 4,932,060)
15-64 years:
62% (male 11,457,399; female 11,469,346)
65 years and over:
11% (male 1,553,158; female 2,201,614) (1999 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
1 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.71 male(s)/female
total population:
0.97 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate

18.41 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.66 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Nationality

noun:
Argentine(s)
adjective:
Argentine

Ethnic groups

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

Languages

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

Government

Republic; President Carlos Saul MENEM (since 8 July 1989); President Carlos Saul MENEM (since 8 July 1989)

19 fields

Legislature, 257 seatsone dot, one seat

-PJ 119UCR 69Frepaso 36other 33

Country name

conventional long form:
Argentine Republic
conventional short form:
Argentina
local long form:
Republica Argentina
local short form:
Argentina

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

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:
  • President Carlos Saul MENEM (since 8 July 1989);
  • Vice President Carlos RUCKAUF (since 8 July 1995);
  • note--the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government:
  • President Carlos Saul MENEM (since 8 July 1989);
  • Vice President Carlos RUCKAUF (since 8 July 1995);
  • 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 14 May 1995 (next to be held NA October 1999)
election results:
Carlos Saul MENEM reelected president; percent of vote--NA

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 a six-year term) 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 continue through 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;
  • Chamber of Deputies--last held 26 October 1997 (next to be held NA October 1999)
election results:
  • Senate--percent of vote by party--NA;
  • seats by party--PJ 39, UCR 1, others 32;
  • Chamber of Deputies--percent of vote by party--NA;
  • seats by party--PJ 119, UCR 69, Frepaso 36, other 33

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (Corte Suprema), the nine Supreme Court judges are appointed by the president with approval of the Senate

Political parties and leaders

  • Justicialist Party or PJ [Carlos Saul MENEM] (Peronist umbrella political organization);
  • Radical NA];
  • Front for a Country in Solidarity or Frepaso (a four-party

Political pressure groups and leaders

  • Peronist-dominated labor movement;
  • General Confederation of Labor or CGT (Peronist-leaning umbrella labor organization);
  • Argentine Industrial Union (manufacturers' association);
  • Argentine Rural Society (large landowners' association);
  • Argentine Association of Pharmaceutical Labs (CILFA);
  • business organizations;
  • students;
  • the Roman Catholic Church;
  • the Armed Forces

International organization participation

AfDB, Australia Group, BCIE, 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, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMOP, UNPREDEP, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission:
Ambassador Diego Ramiro GUELAR
chancery:
1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
consulate(s) general:
Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant)
embassy:
4300 Colombia, 1425 Buenos Aires
mailing address:
international mail: use street address; APO
address:
Unit 4334, APO AA 34034

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

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

31 fields
GDP per capita, PPP
$10,300
purchasing power parity? · (1998 est.)
Real growth rate
4.3%
(1998 est.)industrial production growth: 2% (1998)
Unemployment rate
12%
(October 1998)

GDP--composition by sector(1997 est.)

agriculture 7%industry 37%services 56% (1997 est.)

Trading partnersexports left, imports right

31%
Brazil
23%
8%
US
20%
7.0%
Chile
Italy
6%
Germany
5%
France
5%
3%
China
3%
Uruguay
Exports $26 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)Imports $32 billion (c.i.f., 1998 est.)(1997 est.) · (1997)

Budget

Revenues
$56 billionExpenditures
$60 billion (1998 est.)
expenditures including capital expenditures of $4 billion

Electricity

fossil fuel 45%hydro 44.3%nuclear 10.7%other 0%
Electricity production
64.669 billion (1996)Electricity consumption
67.509 billion (1996)Electricity exports
330 million (1996)Electricity imports
3.17 billion (1996)

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. The Mexican peso crisis produced capital flight, the loss of banking system deposits, and a severe, but short-lived, recession in 1995; a series of reforms to bolster the domestic banking system followed. Real GDP growth recovered strongly, reaching almost 9% in 1997.

In 1998, increasing investor anxiety over Brazil, its largest trading partner, produced the highest domestic interest rates in more than three years and slowed growth to 4.3%. Despite the relatively high level of growth in recent years, double-digit unemployment rates have persisted, largely because of rigidities in Argentina's labor laws.

GDP

purchasing power parity--$374 billion (1998 est.)

Labor force

14 million (1997)

Labor force--by occupation

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

Industries

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

Agriculture--products

sunflower seeds, lemons, soybeans, grapes, corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea, wheat; livestock

Exports

$26 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)

Exports--commodities

cereals, feed, motor vehicles, crude petroleum, steel manufactures

Imports

$32 billion (c.i.f., 1998 est.)

Imports--commodities

motor vehicles, motor vehicle parts, organic chemicals, telecommunications equipment, plastics

Debt--external

$133 billion (1998 est.)

Economic aid--recipient

$2.833 billion (1995)

Currency

1 peso = 100 centavos

Exchange rates

peso is pegged to the US dollar at an exchange rate of 1 peso = $1

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

6 fields
Fixed lines
4.6 million
(1990)

Telephone system

  • 12,000 public telephones;
  • extensive modern system but many families do not have telephones;
  • despite extensive use of microwave radio relay, the telephone system frequently grounds out during rainstorms, even in Buenos Aires
domestic:
microwave radio relay and a domestic satellite system with 40 earth stations serve the trunk network
international:
satellite earth stations--2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 260 (including 10 inactive stations), FM NA (probably more than 1,000, mostly unlicensed), shortwave 6 (1998 est.)

Radios

22.3 million (1991 est.)

Television broadcast stations

42 (in addition, there are 444 repeaters) (1997)

Televisions

7.165 million (1991 est.)

Transportation

9 fields

Merchant marine, 29 ships by typeone square, one ship · (1998 est.)

cargo 10container 1oil tanker 13railcar carrier 1refrigerated cargo 2roll-on/roll-off cargo 1short-sea passenger 1

Airports by runway lengthpaved only

under 914 m
7
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 26 1,524 to 2,437 m: 58 914 to 1,523 m: 45

Airports by runway lengthunpaved only

under 914 m
541
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 67 914 to 1,523 m: 621

Networkskm

Highways
208,350Railways
37,830Waterways
11,000
Highways: paved: 47,550 km (including 567 km of expressways) · unpaved: 160,800 km (1998 est.) · Railways: broad gauge: 23,992 km 1.676-m gauge (167 km electrified) · standard gauge: 2,765 km 1.435-m gauge · narrow gauge: 11,073 km 1.000-m gauge (26 km electrified)

Railways

total:
37,830 km
broad gauge:
23,992 km 1.676-m gauge (167 km electrified)
standard gauge:
2,765 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge:
11,073 km 1.000-m gauge (26 km electrified)

Highways

total:
208,350 km
paved:
47,550 km (including 567 km of expressways)
unpaved:
160,800 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

Airports

1,374 (1998 est.)

Military

Argentine Army, Navy of the Argentine Republic | (includes Naval Aviation, Marines, and Coast Guard), Argentine Air | Force, National Gendarmerie, National Aeronautical Police Force

7 fields

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--availability

males age 15-49: 9,169,681 (1999 est.)

Military manpower--fit for military service

males age 15-49: 7,435,551 (1999 est.)

Transnational Issues

2 fields

Disputes--international

  • short section of the southwestern boundary with Chile is indefinite--process to resolve boundary issues is underway;
  • claims UK-administered Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas);
  • claims UK-administered South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands;
  • territorial claim in Antarctica

Illicit drugs

increasing use as a transshipment country for cocaine headed for Europe and the US; increasing money-laundering center

Central Intelligence Agency. “Argentina.” The World Factbook 1999. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/argentina/1999.

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