Argentina

Argentine RepublicRepublica Argentina

republicIndependence 9 July 1816 (from Spain)

Argentina as the 2000 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 110 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 Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay

Populationas each edition published it

36.96 million July 2000 est. · 32.29m in 1990

Population growth% a year

1.16% 2000 est. · 1.13% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 29 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

75.05 years 2000 est. · 71.19 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

2.47 children per woman 2000 est. · 2.8 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

18.31 deaths per 1,000 live births 2000 est. · 32 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$10,000 1999 est. · $3,400 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

-3% 1999 est. · 7% in 1993

Introduction

1 field

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 four free elections since then have underscored Argentina's progress in democratic consolidation.

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

6,960m

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

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 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

36,955,182

(July 2000 est.)growth rate: 1.16% (2000 est.)

Per 1,000 population(2000 est.)

Birth

18.59Death

7.59Net migration

0.65

Male · female

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years (2000 est.)75.05

71.67 · 78.61

TotalMale · femaleLiteracy (1995 est.)96.2%

96.2% · 96.2%

MaleFemaleLiteracy definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Religions

nominally Roman Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing)Protestant 2%Jewish 2%other 4%

Age structure

0-14 years:: 27% (male 5,061,588; female 4,827,582)
15-64 years:: 63% (male 11,625,574; female 11,613,358)
65 years and over:: 10% (male 1,582,861; female 2,244,219) (2000 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:: 0.71 male(s)/female
total population:: 0.98 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate

18.31 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.47 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Nationality

noun:: Argentine(s)
adjective:: Argentine

Ethnic groups

white (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%, mestizo, Amerindian, or other nonwhite groups 3%

Languages

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

Government

Republic; President Fernando DE LA RUA (since 10 December 1999); President Fernando DE LA RUA (since 10 December 1999)

19 fields

Country name

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

Data code

Government 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, 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

Executive branch

chief of state:: President Fernando DE LA RUA (since 10 December 1999);
Vice President Carlos Alberto ALVAREZ (since 10 December 1999);
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 Alberto ALVAREZ (since 10 December 1999);
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 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 a 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 (Corte Suprema), the nine Supreme Court judges are appointed by the president with approval of the Senate

Political parties and leaders

Action for the Republic or AR [Domingo CAVALLO];
Alliance (UCR, Frepaso and others) [leader NA];
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);
Armed Forces;
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, 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, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNTAET, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission:: Ambassador Guillermo GONZALEZ Enrique
chancery:: 1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone:: [1] (202) 238-6400
FAX:: [1] (202) 238-6471
consulate(s) general:: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York

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
telephone:: [54] (1) 777-4533, 4534
FAX:: [54] (1) 777-0197

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

Real growth rate

-3%

(1999 est.)industrial production growth: -7% (1999 est.)

Inflation, consumer prices

-2%

(1999 est.)

Unemployment rate

14%

(December 1999)

Population below poverty line

36%

(1998 est.)

GDP - composition by sector(1999 est.)

agriculture 7%industry 29%services 64% (1999 est.)

Trading partnersexports left, imports right

21%

28%

24%

Brazil

21%

11%

22%

Exports $23 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.)Imports $25 billion (c.i.f., 1999 est.)(1999 est.)

Budget

Revenues

$44 billionExpenditures

$48 billion (2000 est.)

expenditures including capital expenditures of $NA billion

Electricity

fossil fuel 42.71%hydro 47.55%nuclear 9.47%other 0.27% (1998)

Electricity production

75.237 billion (1998)Electricity consumption

75.57 billion (1998)Electricity exports

250 million (1998)Electricity imports

5.85 billion (1998)

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.

The new government also arranged a new $7.4 billion stand-by facility with the IMF for contingency purposes - almost three times the size of the previous arrangement. Key challenges facing the new government include reforming the country's rigid labor code and addressing the precarious financial situation of several highly indebted provinces.

GDP

purchasing power parity - $367 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $10,000 (1999 est.)

Labor force

15 million (1999)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%

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

$23 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.)

Exports - commodities

edible oils, fuels and energy, cereals, feed, motor vehicles

Imports

$25 billion (c.i.f., 1999 est.)

Imports - commodities

machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal manufactures, plastics

Debt - external

$149 billion (1999 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

8 fields

Mobile cellular

1.8 million

(1997)

Internet users

(1999)

Fixed lines

7.5 million

(1997)

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 fails 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 - 3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean);
two international gateways near Buenos Aires;
Atlantis II submarine cable (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)

Transportation

9 fields

Airports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right

over 3,047 m

2,438 to 3,047 m

1,524 to 2,437 m

914 to 1,523 m

614

under 914 m

536

Paved 142Unpaved 1,217

Networkskm

Highways

215,434Railways

38,326Waterways

10,950

Highways: paved: 63,553 km (including 734 km of expressways) · unpaved: 151,881 km (1998 est.) · Railways: (160 km electrified) · broad gauge: 24,481 km 1.676-m gauge (134 km electrified) · standard gauge: 2,765 km 1.435-m gauge (26 km electrified) · narrow gauge: 11,080 km 1.000-m gauge (1999)

Railways

total:: 38,326 km (160 km electrified)
broad gauge:: 24,481 km 1.676-m gauge (134 km electrified)
standard gauge:: 2,765 km 1.435-m gauge (26 km electrified)
narrow gauge:: 11,080 km 1.000-m gauge (1999)

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 218,540 GRT/333,413 DWT
ships by type:: cargo 9, petroleum tanker 11, rail car carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off 1, short-sea passenger 2 (1999 est.)

Airports

1,359 (1999 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 expenditures - percent of GDP

1.3%

(FY99)

Transnational Issues

2 fields

Disputes - international

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 use as a money-laundering center;
domestic consumption of drugs has skyrocketed [Country Listing] [ The World Factbook Home]

Central Intelligence Agency. “Argentina.” The World Factbook 2000. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/argentina/2000.

How to cite ← 1999 edition 2001 edition →