 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Argentina |
 Click to enlarge |
Home Reference Maps Appendixes
| 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 numerous elections since then have underscored Argentina's progress in democratic consolidation. |
| 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 territorial sea: 12 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: Salinas Chicas -40 m (located on Peninsula Valdes) highest point: Cerro Aconcagua 6,960 m |
| Natural
resources: |
fertile plains of the Pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium |
| Land
use: |
arable land: 9.14% permanent crops: 0.8% other: 90.06% (1998 est.) |
| 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: |
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, Nuclear Test Ban, 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 the Valdes Peninsula is the lowest point on the continent |
| Population: |
38,740,807 (July 2003 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years: 26.2% (male 5,185,548; female 4,955,551) 15-64 years: 63.4% (male 12,274,625; female 12,282,772) 65 years and over: 10.4% (male 1,659,641; female 2,382,670) (2003 est.) |
| Median
age: |
total: 29 years male: 28 years female: 29.9 years (2002) |
| Population
growth rate: |
1.05% (2003 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
17.47 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
7.58 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
0.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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 (2003 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
total: 16.16 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) male: 18.14 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population: 75.48 years male: 71.72 years female: 79.44 years (2003 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
2.28 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Argentine(s) adjective: Argentine |
| Ethnic
groups: |
white (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%, mestizo, Amerindian, or other nonwhite 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.) |
| 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 recurring economic 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 inflation picked up rapidly, but by mid-2002 the economy had stabilized, albeit at a lower level. Output was 14.7% below the previous year's figure, and unemployment remained high at 21.5%. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power parity - $391 billion (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
-14.7% (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power parity - $10,200 (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture: 5% industry: 28% services: 67% (2000 est.) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
37% (2001 est.) |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
41% (2002, yearend) |
| Labor
force: |
15 million (1999) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
| Unemployment
rate: |
21.5% (May 2002) |
| Budget: |
revenues: $44 billion expenditures: $48 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
| Industries: |
food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
1% (2000 est.) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
sunflower seeds, lemons, soybeans, grapes, corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea, wheat; livestock |
| Exports: |
$25.3 billion f.o.b. (2002) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
edible oils, fuels and energy, cereals, feed, motor vehicles |
| Exports
- partners: |
Brazil 26.5%, US 11.8%, Chile 10.6%, Spain 3.5% (2000) |
| Imports: |
$9 billion f.o.b. (2002) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal manufactures, plastics |
| Imports
- partners: |
Brazil 25.1%, US 18.7%, Germany 5%, China 4.6% (2000) |
| Debt
- external: |
$155 billion (2001 est.) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$10 billion (2001 est.) |
| Currency: |
Argentine peso (ARS) |
| Currency
code: |
ARS |
| Exchange
rates: |
Argentine pesos per US dollar - 3.0633 (2002), 0.9995 (2001), 0.9995 (2000), 0.9995 (1999), 0.9995 (1998) |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year |
| |
