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 Transnational Issues

This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005


Map of Argentina



Legend: DefinitionDefinition Field ListingField Listing Rank OrderRank Order
   Introduction    Argentina Top of Page
Background:
Definition Field Listing
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 numerous elections since then have underscored Argentina's progress in democratic consolidation.
   Geography    Argentina Top of Page
Location:
Definition Field Listing
Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay
Geographic coordinates:
Definition Field Listing
34 00 S, 64 00 W
Map references:
Definition Field Listing
South America
Area:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 2,766,890 sq km
land: 2,736,690 sq km
water: 30,200 sq km
Area - comparative:
Definition Field Listing
slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US
Land boundaries:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing
4,989 km
Maritime claims:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing
mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest
Terrain:
Definition Field Listing
rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western border
Elevation extremes:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing
fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium
Land use:
Definition Field Listing
arable land: 12.31%
permanent crops: 0.48%
other: 87.21% (2001)
Irrigated land:
Definition Field Listing
15,610 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing
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
   People    Argentina Top of Page
Population:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
39,537,943 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
Definition Field Listing
0-14 years: 25.6% (male 5,170,721/female 4,938,171)
15-64 years: 63.9% (male 12,626,711/female 12,627,026)
65 years and over: 10.6% (male 1,712,117/female 2,463,197) (2005 est.)
Median age:
Definition Field Listing
total: 29.42 years
male: 28.52 years
female: 30.4 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate:
Definition Field Listing
0.98% (2005 est.)
Birth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
16.9 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
7.56 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate:
Definition Field Listing
0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio:
Definition Field Listing
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 (2005 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 15.18 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 17.07 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 13.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total population: 75.91 years
male: 72.17 years
female: 79.85 years (2005 est.)
Total fertility rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
2.19 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0.7% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
130,000 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1,500 (2003 est.)
Nationality:
Definition Field Listing
noun: Argentine(s)
adjective: Argentine
Ethnic groups:
Definition Field Listing
white (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry), Amerindian, or other non-white groups 3%
Religions:
Definition Field Listing
nominally Roman Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4%
Languages:
Definition Field Listing
Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French
Literacy:
Definition Field Listing
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.1%
male: 97.1%
female: 97.1% (2003 est.)
   Government    Argentina Top of Page
Country name:
Definition Field Listing
conventional long form: Argentine Republic
conventional short form: Argentina
local long form: Republica Argentina
local short form: Argentina
Government type:
Definition Field Listing
republic
Capital:
Definition Field Listing
Buenos Aires
Administrative divisions:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing
9 July 1816 (from Spain)
National holiday:
Definition Field Listing
Revolution Day, 25 May (1810)
Constitution:
Definition Field Listing
1 May 1853; revised August 1994
Legal system:
Definition Field Listing
mixture of US and West European legal systems; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
Definition Field Listing
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch:
Definition Field Listing
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 NA 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:
Definition Field Listing
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 intermittently by province during the 2nd half of 2003 (next to be held NA 2005); Chamber of Deputies - last held intermittently by province during the 2nd half of 2003 (next to be held NA 2005)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA%; seats by bloc or party - PJ 41, UCR 16, provincial parties 15; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA%; seats by bloc or party - PJ 133, UCR 46, IF 23, ARI 11, Socialist 6, other/provincial parties 38
Judicial branch:
Definition Field Listing
Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (the nine Supreme Court judges are appointed by the president with approval by the Senate)
Political parties and leaders:
Definition Field Listing
Action for the Republic or AR [Domingo CAVALLO]; Alternative for a Republic of Equals or ARI [Elisa CARRIO]; Federal Recreate Movement or RECREAR [Ricardo LOPEZ MURPHY]; Front for a Country in Solidarity or Frepaso (a four-party coalition) [Dario Pedro ALESSANDRO]; Interbloque Federal or IF (a broad coalition of approximately 12 parties including RECREAR) [leader NA]; Justicialist Party or PJ (Peronist umbrella political organization) [leader NA]; Radical Civic Union or UCR [Angel ROZAS]; Socialist Party or PS [Ruben GIUSTINIANI]; Union For All [Patricia BULLRICH]; several provincial parties
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Definition Field Listing
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; Roman Catholic Church; students
International organization participation:
Definition Field Listing
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, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, NSG, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMOVIC, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing
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 Top of Page
Economy - overview:
Definition Field Listing
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 more than 8% in 2003 and again in 2004, with unemployment falling and inflation remaining in single digits.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$483.5 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
8.3% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
purchasing power parity - $12,400 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
Definition Field Listing
agriculture: 10.6%
industry: 35.9%
services: 53.5% (2004 est.)
Labor force:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
15.04 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
Definition Field Listing
agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
Unemployment rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
14.8% (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line:
Definition Field Listing
44.3% (June 2004)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
Definition Field Listing
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
6.1% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
18.3% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget:
Definition Field Listing
revenues: $29.15 billion
expenditures: $26.84 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Public debt:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
118% of GDP (June 2004 est.)
Agriculture - products:
Definition Field Listing
sunflower seeds, lemons, soybeans, grapes, corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea, wheat; livestock
Industries:
Definition Field Listing
food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel
Industrial production growth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
12% (2004 est.)
Electricity - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
81.39 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
81.65 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports:
Definition Field Listing
2.818 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports:
Definition Field Listing
8.775 billion kWh (2002)
Oil - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
755,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
486,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
NA
Oil - imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
NA
Oil - proved reserves:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
2.9 billion bbl (2004 est.)
Natural gas - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
37.15 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
31.1 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
6.05 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
768 billion cu m (2004)
Current account balance:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$5.473 billion (2004 est.)
Exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$33.78 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities:
Definition Field Listing
edible oils, fuels and energy, cereals, feed, motor vehicles
Exports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
Brazil 15.3%, Chile 10.7%, US 10.2%, China 8.7%, Spain 4.4% (2004)
Imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$22.06 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities:
Definition Field Listing
machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal manufactures, plastics
Imports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
Brazil 36.2%, US 16.6%, Germany 5.7%, China 4.3% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$19.47 billion (2004 est.)
Debt - external:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$157.7 billion (2004 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
Definition Field Listing
$10 billion (2001 est.)
Currency (code):
Definition Field Listing
Argentine peso (ARS)
Exchange rates:
Definition Field Listing
Argentine pesos per US dollar - 2.9233 (2004), 2.9006 (2003), 3.0633 (2002), 0.9995 (2001), 0.9995 (2000)
Fiscal year:
Definition Field Listing
calendar year
   Communications    Argentina Top of Page
Telephones - main lines in use:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
8,009,400 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
6.5 million (2002)
Telephone system:
Definition Field Listing
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 telecommunication 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 being improved; 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 - 8 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); Atlantis II and Unisur submarine cables; two international gateways near Buenos Aires (1999)
Radio broadcast stations:
Definition Field Listing
AM 260 (including 10 inactive stations), FM NA (probably more than 1,000, mostly unlicensed), shortwave 6 (1998)
Television broadcast stations:
Definition Field Listing
42 (plus 444 repeaters) (1997)
Internet country code:
Definition Field Listing
.ar
Internet hosts:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
742,358 (2003)
Internet users:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
4.1 million (2002)
   Transportation    Argentina Top of Page
Railways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
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)
Highways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 215,471 km
paved: 63,348 km (including 734 km of expressways)
unpaved: 152,123 km (1999)
Waterways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
11,000 km (2004)
Pipelines:
Definition Field Listing
gas 27,166 km; liquid petroleum gas 41 km; oil 3,668 km; refined products 2,945 km; unknown (oil/water) 13 km (2004)
Ports and harbors:
Definition Field Listing
Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Concepcion del Uruguay, La Plata, Punta Colorada, Rosario, San Lorenzo-San Martin, San Nicolas
Merchant marine:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 26 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 149,007 GRT/212,620 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 9, chemical tanker 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 7, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 1
foreign-owned: 2 (Chile 1, Uruguay 1)
registered in other countries: 23 (2005)
Airports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1,334 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
Definition Field Listing
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 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 1,190
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: 567 (2004 est.)
   Military    Argentina Top of Page
Military branches:
Definition Field Listing
Argentine Army, Navy of the Argentine Republic (includes Naval Aviation and Marines), Argentine Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Argentina, FAA)
Military service age and obligation:
Definition Field Listing
18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2001)
Manpower available for military service:
Definition Field Listing
males age 18-49: 8,981,886 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
Definition Field Listing
males age 18-49: 7,316,038 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
Definition Field Listing
males: 344,575 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$4.3 billion (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1.3% (FY00)
Military - note:
Definition Field Listing
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)
   Transnational Issues    Argentina Top of Page
Disputes - international:
Definition Field Listing
Argentina claims the UK-administered Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in its constitution; it briefly occupied 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:
Definition Field Listing
used as a transshipment country for cocaine headed for Europe and the US; some money-laundering activity, especially in the Tri-Border Area; domestic consumption of drugs in urban centers is increasing

This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005


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