Argentina

§1. Argentina Introduction

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 authoritarian rule and interference in subsequent governments was
  followed by a military junta that took power in 1976. Democracy returned in
  1983, and has persisted despite numerous challenges, the most formidable of
  which was a severe economic crisis in 2001-02 that led to violent public
  protests and the resignation of several interim presidents.

§2. Argentina Geography

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:
  total: 2,766,890 km²
  land: 2,736,690 km²
  water: 30,200 km²

Area - comparative:
  slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US

Land boundaries:
  total: 9,665 km
  border countries: Bolivia 832 km, Brazil 1,224 km, Chile 5,150 km, Paraguay
    1,880 km, Uruguay 579 km

Coastline:
  4,989 km

Maritime claims:
  territorial sea: 12 nm
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

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:
  lowest point: Laguna del Carbon -105 m (located between Puerto San Julian
    and Comandante Luis Piedra Buena in the province of Santa Cruz)
  highest point: Cerro Aconcagua 6,960 m (located in the northwestern corner
    of the province of Mendoza)

Natural resources:
  fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese,
  petroleum, uranium

Land use:
  arable land: 10.03%
  permanent crops: 0.36%
  other: 89.61% (2005)

Irrigated land:
  15,610 km² (1998 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 deforestation, 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-Marine Living
    Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate
    Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered
    Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea,
    Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
  signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation

Geography - note:
  second-largest country in South America (after Brazil); strategic location
  relative to sea lanes between the South Atlantic and the South Pacific
  Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage); Cerro Aconcagua
  is South America's tallest mountain, while Laguna del Carbon is the lowest
  point in the Western Hemisphere

§3. Argentina People

Population:
  39,921,833 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 25.2% (male 5,153,164/female 4,921,625)
  15-64 years: 64.1% (male 12,804,376/female 12,798,731)
  65 years and over: 10.6% (male 1,740,118/female 2,503,819) (2006 est.)

Median age:
  total: 29.7 years
  male: 28.8 years
  female: 30.7 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
  0.96% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
  16.73 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
  7.55 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
  0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 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: 0.7 male(s)/female
  total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
  total: 14.73 deaths/1,000 live births
  male: 16.58 deaths/1,000 live births
  female: 12.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 76.12 years
  male: 72.38 years
  female: 80.05 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  2.16 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
  0.7% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
  130,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
  1,500 (2003 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Argentine(s)
  adjective: Argentine

Ethnic groups:
  white (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian
  ancestry), Amerindian, or other non-white groups 3%

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

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

Literacy:
  definition: age 15 and over can read and write
  total population: 97.1%
  male: 97.1%
  female: 97.1% (2003 est.)

§4. Argentina Government

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

Government type:
  republic

Capital:
  Buenos Aires

Administrative divisions:
  23 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 autonomous city*
  (distrito federal); Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires Capital Federal*, Catamarca,
  Chaco, Chubut, Cordoba, Corrientes, 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

Legal system:
  mixture of US and West European legal systems; has not accepted compulsory
  ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:
  18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Nestor KIRCHNER (since 25 May 2003); Vice
    President Daniel SCIOLI (since 25 May 2003); note - the president is both
    the chief of state and head of government
  head of government: President Nestor KIRCHNER (since 25 May 2003); Vice
    President Daniel SCIOLI (since 25 May 2003); 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 27 April 2003 (next
    election to be held in 2007)
  election results: results of the presidential election of 27 April 2003:
    Carlos Saul MENEM 24.3%, Nestor KIRCHNER 22%, Ricardo Lopez MURPHY 16.4%,
    Adolfo Rodriguez SAA 14.4%, Elisa CARRIO 14.2%, other 8.7%; the
    subsequent runoff election slated for 25 May 2003 was awarded to KIRCHNER
    by default after MENEM withdrew his candidacy on the eve of the election

Legislative branch:
  bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate (72
  seats; members are elected by direct vote; presently one-third of the
  members elected every two years to a six-year term) and the Chamber of
  Deputies (257 seats; members are elected by direct vote; one-half of the
  members elected every two years to a four-year term)
  elections: Senate - last held 23 October 2005 (next to be held in 2007);
    Chamber of Deputies - last held last held 23 October 2005 (next to be
    held in 2007)
  election results: Senate - percent of vote by bloc or party - FV 45.1%, FJ
    17.2%, UCR 7.5%, other 30.2%; seats by bloc or party - FV 14, FJ 3, UCR
    2, other 5; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by bloc or party - FV
    29.9%, UCR 8.9%, ARI 7.2%, PJ 6.7%, PRO 6.2%, FJ 3.9%, other 37.2%; seats
    by bloc or party - FV 50, UCR 10, ARI 8, PJ 9, PRO 9, FJ 7, other 34

Judicial branch:
  Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (the nine Supreme Court judges are appointed
  by the president with approval by the Senate)

Political parties and leaders:
  Alternative for a Republic of Equals or ARI [Elisa CARRIO]; Front for
  Victory or FV [Nestor KIRCHNER]; Interbloque Federal or IF (a broad
  coalition of approximately 12 parties including RECREAR) [leader NA];
  Justicialist Front or FJ [Eduardo DUHALDE]; Justicialist Party or PJ
  (Peronist umbrella political organization) [leader NA]; Radical Civic Union
  or UCR [Roberto IGLESIAS]; Republican Initiative Alliance or PRO (including
  Federal Recreate Movement or RECREAR [Ricardo LOPEZ MURPHY] and Commitment
  for Change or CPC [Mauricio MACRI]); Socialist Party or PS [Ruben
  GIUSTINIANI]; Union For All [Patricia BULLRICH]; 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); business organizations; Central of Argentine
  Workers or CTA (a radical union for employed and unemployed workers);
  General Confederation of Labor or CGT (Peronist-leaning umbrella labor
  organization); Peronist-dominated labor movement; Piquetero groups (popular
  protest organizations that can be either pro or anti-government); Roman
  Catholic Church; students

International organization participation:
  ABEDA, AfDB, Australia Group, BCIE, BIS, CSN, FAO, G-6, G-15, G-24, G-77,
  IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO,
  ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur,
  MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, NSG, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UN Security
  Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMOVIC, UNTSO,
  UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Jose Octavio BORDON
  chancery: 1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
  telephone: [1] (202) 238-6400
  FAX: [1] (202) 332-3171
  consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New
    York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Lino GUTIERREZ
  embassy: Avenida Colombia 4300, C1425GMN Buenos Aires
  mailing address: international mail: use street address; APO address: Unit
    4334, APO AA 34034
  telephone: [54] (11) 5777-4533
  FAX: [54] (11) 5777-4240

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

§5. Argentina Economy

Economy - overview:
  Argentina benefits from rich natural resources, a highly literate
  population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a diversified
  industrial base. Over the past decade, however, the country has suffered
  problems of inflation, external debt, capital flight, and budget deficits.
  Growth in 2000 was a negative 0.8%, as both domestic and foreign investors
  remained skeptical of the government's ability to pay debts and maintain
  the peso's fixed exchange rate with the US dollar. The economic situation
  worsened in 2001 with the widening of spreads on Argentine bonds, massive
  withdrawals from the banks, and a further decline in consumer and investor
  confidence. Government efforts to achieve a "zero deficit," to stabilize
  the banking system, and to restore economic growth proved inadequate in the
  face of the mounting economic problems. The peso's peg to the dollar was
  abandoned in January 2002, and the peso was floated in February. The
  exchange rate plunged and real GDP fell by 10.9% in 2002, but by mid-year
  the economy had stabilized, albeit at a lower level. GDP expanded by about
  9% per year from 2003 to 2005. Growth is being led by a revival in domestic
  demand, solid exports, and favorable external conditions. The government
  boosted spending ahead of the October 2005 midterm congressional elections,
  but strong revenue performance allowed Argentina to maintain a budget
  surplus. Inflation has been rising steadily and reached 12.3 percent in
  2005.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
  $542.8 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
  $182 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
  8.7% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
  $13,700 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 10.5%
  industry: 35.8%
  services: 53.7% (2004 est.)

Labor force:
  15.34 million (2005 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
  agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%

Unemployment rate:
  11.1% (September 2005)

Population below poverty line:
  38.5% (June 2005)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
  lowest 10%: NA
  highest 10%: NA

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
  52.2 (2001)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  12.3% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
  19.4% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $42.63 billion
  expenditures: $39.98 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005
    est.)

Public debt:
  69% of GDP (June 2005)

Agriculture - products:
  sunflower seeds, lemons, soybeans, grapes, corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea,
  wheat; livestock

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

Industrial production growth rate:
  7.7% (2005 est.)

Electricity - production:
  87.16 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - consumption:
  82.97 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports:
  2.07 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports:
  1.561 billion kWh (2004)

Oil - production:
  745,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption:
  450,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
  NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
  NA bbl/day

Oil - proved reserves:
  2.95 billion bbl (2005 est.)

Natural gas - production:
  41.04 billion m³ (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
  34.58 billion m³ (2003 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
  6.05 billion m³ (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
  0 m³ (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
  663.5 billion m³ (2005)

Current account balance:
  $3.9 billion (2005 est.)

Exports:
  $40 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities:
  edible oils, fuels and energy, cereals, feed, motor vehicles

Exports - partners:
  Brazil 15.4%, Chile 10.4%, US 10.2%, China 8.7%, Spain 4.4% (2004)

Imports:
  $28.8 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities:
  machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal manufactures,
  plastics

Imports - partners:
  Brazil 36.2%, US 16.6%, Germany 5.7%, China 4.3% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
  $28.07 billion (December 2005)

Debt - external:
  $119 billion (June 2005 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
  $10 billion (2001 est.)

Currency (code):
  Argentine peso (ARS)

Exchange rates:
  Argentine pesos per US dollar - 2.9037 (2005), 2.9233 (2004), 2.9006
  (2003), 3.0633 (2002), 0.9995 (2001)

Fiscal year:
  calendar year

§6. Argentina Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  8.7 million (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  13,512,400 (2004)

Telephone system:
  general assessment: by opening the telecommunications market to competition
    and foreign investment with the "Telecommunications Liberalization Plan
    of 1998," Argentina encouraged the growth of modern telecommunications
    technology; fiber-optic cable trunk lines are being installed between all
    major cities; the major networks are entirely digital and the
    availability of telephone service is improving; however, telephone
    density is presently minimal, and making telephone service universally
    available will take time
  domestic: microwave radio relay, fiber-optic cable, and a domestic
    satellite system with 40 earth stations serve the trunk network; more
    than 110,000 pay telephones are installed and mobile telephone use is
    rapidly expanding
  international: country code - 54; satellite earth stations - 112; Atlantis
    II and Unisur submarine cables; two international gateways near Buenos
    Aires (2005)

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

Television broadcast stations:
  42 (plus 444 repeaters) (1997)

Internet country code:
  .ar

Internet hosts:
  1,233,175 (2005)

Internet users:
  10 million (2005)

§7. Argentina Transportation

Airports:
  1,333 (2005)

Airports - with paved runways:
  total: 144
  over 3,047 m: 4
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 26
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 62
  914 to 1,523 m: 44
  under 914 m: 8 (2005)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
  total: 1,189
  over 3,047 m: 2
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 50
  914 to 1,523 m: 569
  under 914 m: 566 (2005)

Pipelines:
  gas 27,166 km; liquid petroleum gas 41 km; oil 3,668 km; refined products
  2,945 km; unknown (oil/water) 13 km (2004)

Railways:
  total: 34,091 km (167 km electrified)
  broad gauge: 20,594 km 1.676-m gauge (141 km electrified)
  standard gauge: 2,885 km 1.435-m gauge (26 km electrified)
  narrow gauge: 10,375 km 1.000-m gauge; 237 km 0.750-m gauge (2004)

Roadways:
  total: 229,144 km
  paved: 68,809 km (including 734 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 160,335 km (2004)

Waterways:
  11,000 km (2005)

Merchant marine:
  total: 37 ships (1000 GRT or over) 379,788 GRT/609,005 DWT
  by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 10, chemical tanker 1, passenger 1,
    passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 17, refrigerated cargo 2, roll
    on/roll off 1
  foreign-owned: 9 (Chile 4, UK 4, Uruguay 1)
  registered in other countries: 23 (Bolivia 1, Liberia 8, Panama 9, Paraguay
    2, Uruguay 3) (2005)

Ports and terminals:
  Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Concepcion del Uruguay, La Plata, Punta
  Colorada, Rosario, San Lorenzo-San Martin, San Nicolas

§8. Argentina Military

Military branches:
  Argentine Army, Navy of the Argentine Republic (includes Naval Aviation and
  Naval Infantry), Argentine Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Argentina, FAA) (2005)

Military service age and obligation:
  18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2001)

Manpower available for military service:
  males age 18-49: 8,981,886 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
  males age 18-49: 7,316,038 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
  males: 344,575 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  $4.3 billion (FY99)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  1.3% (FY00)

Military - note:
  the Argentine military is a well-organized force constrained by the
  country's prolonged economic hardship; the country has recently experienced
  a strong recovery, and the military is now implementing "Plan 2000," aimed
  at making the ground forces lighter and more responsive (2005)

§9. Argentina Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:
  Argentina continues to assert its claims to the UK-administered Falkland
  Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
  in its constitution, forcibly occupying the Falklands in 1982, but in 1995
  agreed no longer to seek settlement by force; territorial claim in
  Antarctica partially overlaps UK and Chilean claims (see Antarctic
  disputes); unruly region at convergence of Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay
  borders is locus of money laundering, smuggling, arms and illegal narcotics
  trafficking, and fundraising for extremist organizations; uncontested
  dispute between Brazil and Uruguay over Braziliera Island in the
  Quarai/Cuareim River leaves the tripoint with Argentina in question

Illicit drugs:
  used as a transshipment country for cocaine headed for Europe; some
  money-laundering activity, especially in the Tri- Border Area; domestic
  consumption of drugs in urban centers is increasing


<Factbook 2006>
