| >Argentina |
|
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.
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 Area: Area—comparative: slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US Land boundaries: Coastline: 4,989 km Maritime claims: 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 Elevation extremes: Natural resources: fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium Land use: 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: 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)
|
Population: 36,737,664 (July 1999 est.) Age structure: Population growth rate: 1.29% (1999 est.) Birth rate: 19.91 births/1,000 population (1999 est.) Death rate: 7.64 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.) Net migration rate: 0.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.) Sex ratio: Infant mortality rate: 18.41 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.) Life expectancy at birth: Total fertility rate: 2.66 children born/woman (1999 est.) Nationality: Ethnic groups: white 85%, mestizo, Amerindian, or other nonwhite groups 15% Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 90% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 6% Languages: Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French Literacy: |
|
Country name: Data code: AR 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, Antartida e Islas del Atlantico Sur; Tucuman
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: 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) 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 Civic Union or UCR [Fernando DE LA RUA]; Union of the Democratic Center or UCD (conservative party) [leader NA]; Dignity and Independence Political Party or MODIN (right-wing party) [leader NA]; Front for a Country in Solidarity or Frepaso (a four-party coalition) [Carlos ALVAREZ]; Action for the Republic [Domingo CAVALLO]; New Leadership [Gustavo BELIZ]; several provincial parties 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: Diplomatic representation from the US: 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—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.) GDP—real growth rate: 4.3% (1998 est.) GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$10,300 (1998 est.) GDP—composition by sector: Population below poverty line: 25.5% (1991 est.) Household income or consumption by percentage share: Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1% (1998 est.) Labor force: 14 million (1997) Labor force—by occupation: agriculture 12%, industry 31%, services 57% (1985 est.) Unemployment rate: 12% (October 1998) Budget: Industries: food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel Industrial production growth rate: 2% (1998) Electricity—production: 64.669 billion kWh (1996) Electricity—production by source: Electricity—consumption: 67.509 billion kWh (1996) Electricity—exports: 330 million kWh (1996) Electricity—imports: 3.17 billion kWh (1996) 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 Exports—partners: Brazil 31%, US 8%, Chile 7.0%, China 3%, Uruguay 3% (1997 est.) Imports: $32 billion (c.i.f., 1998 est.) Imports—commodities: motor vehicles, motor vehicle parts, organic chemicals, telecommunications equipment, plastics Imports—partners: Brazil 23%, US 20%, Italy 6%, Germany 5%, France 5% (1997) 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
Telephones: 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 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.)
Railways: Highways: Waterways: 11,000 km navigable 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: Airports: 1,374 (1998 est.) Airports—with paved runways: Airports—with unpaved runways:
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—military age: 20 years of age Military manpower—availability: Military manpower—fit for military service: Military manpower—reaching military age annually: Military expenditures—dollar figure: $4.6 billion (1998) Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 1.4% (1998)
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 |