| Facts
about Argentina's Geography,
People, Government and Economy
(Information updated on March 29, 2006)
| Location: |
Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile
and Uruguay | | Geographic coordinates: |
34 00 S, 64 00 W | | 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: |
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 sq km (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: |
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 |
| 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.) |
| 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 |
| 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 cu m (2003 est.) | |
Natural gas - consumption: |
34.58
billion cu m (2003 est.) | |
Natural gas - exports: |
6.05 billion
cu m (2001 est.) | | Natural gas
- imports: |
0 cu m (2001 est.) |
| Natural gas - proved reserves: |
663.5 billion cu m (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 |
|
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