Introduction

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

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 sq km
land: 2,736,690 sq km
water: 30,200 sq km

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

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: Salinas Chicas -40 m (located on Peninsula Valdes)
highest point: Cerro Aconcagua 6,962 m

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

Population: 36,737,664 (July 1999 est.)

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.)

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:
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.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 74.76 years
male: 71.13 years
female: 78.56 years (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%

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

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

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.2%
male: 96.2%
female: 96.2% (1995 est.)

Government

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

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
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 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 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:
chief of mission: Ambassador Diego Ramiro GUELAR
chancery: 1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 939-6400
FAX: [1] (202) 238-6471
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
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

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

Population below poverty line: 25.5% (1991 est.)

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

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:
revenues: $56 billion
expenditures: $60 billion, including capital expenditures of $4 billion (1998 est.)

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:
fossil fuel: 45%
hydro: 44.3%
nuclear: 10.7%
other: 0% (1996)

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

Communications

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
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

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.)

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:
total: 29 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 233,856 GRT/363,335 DWT
ships by type: cargo 10, container 1, oil tanker 13, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1, short-sea passenger 1 (1998 est.)

Airports: 1,374 (1998 est.)

Airports—with paved runways:
total: 141
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
under 914 m: 7 (1998 est.)

Airports—with unpaved runways:
total: 1,233
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
under 914 m: 541 (1998 est.)

Military

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

Military manpower—fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 7,435,551 (1999 est.)

Military manpower—reaching military age annually:
males: 343,038 (1999 est.)

Military expenditures—dollar figure: $4.6 billion (1998)

Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 1.4% (1998)

Transnational Issues

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

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