1982 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1982 (Wikisource)
Geography
Area
2,771,300 km2; 57% agricultural (11% crops, improved pasture and fallow, 46% natural grazing land), 25% forested, 18% mountain, urban, or waste
Coastline
4,989 km
Land boundaries
9,414 km WATER
Limits of territorial waters (claimed)
200 nm (continental shelf, including sovereignty over superjacent waters)
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
approximately 85% white, 15% mestizo, Indian, or other nonwhite groups
Labor force
10.8 million; 19% agriculture, 25% manufacturing, 20% services, 11% commerce, 6% transport and communications, 19% other; 2.2% estimated unemployment (1978 est.)
Literacy
85% (90% in Buenos Aires)
Nationality
noun—Argentine(s); adjective—Argentine
Organized labor
25% of labor force (est.)
Population
28,593,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 1.6%
Religion
90% nominally Roman Catholic (less than 20% practicing), 2% Protestant, 2% Jewish, 6% other 'Language: Spanish
Government
Branches
presidency; national judiciary
Capital
Buenos Aires
Communists
some 70,000 members in various party organizations, including a small nucleus of activists
Government leader
President, Lt. Gen. Leopoldo Fortunato GALTIERI, chosen in December 1981 by the military junta that took power on 24 March 1976
Government structure
the President and the junta, composed of the chiefs of the three armed services, retain supreme authority; active duty or retired officers fill three Cabinet posts and administer all provincial and many local governments; in addition, the military now oversees the nation's principal labor confederation and unions, as well as other civilian pressure groups; Congress has been disbanded and all political activity suspended; a five-man Legislative Council, composed of senior officers, advises the junta on lawmaking
Legal system
based on Spanish and French civil codes; constitution adopted 1853 partially superseded in 1966 by the Statute of the Revolution, which takes precedence over the constitution when the two are in conflict; further changes may be made by new government; judicial review of legislative acts; legal education at University of Buenos Aires and other public and private universities; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Member of
FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, IFAD, ICAC, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMCO, IMF, IOOC, ISO, ITU, IWC—International Whaling Commission, IWC—International Wheat Council, LAFTA, NAM, OAS, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO, WSG
National holiday
Independence Day, 25 May
Official name
Argentine Republic
Other political or pressure groups
Peronist-dominated labor movement, General Economic Confederation (Peronist-leaning association of small businessmen), Argentine Industrial Union (manufacturers' association), Argentine Rural Society (large landowners' association), business organizations, students, and the Catholic Church
Political parties
several civilian political groupings remain potentially influential, despite the suspension of all partisan activity; these include Justicialist Party (Peronist coalition that formerly governed) and the Radical Civic Union, center-left party providing the chief civilian opposition to the Peronists; the Moscow-oriented Communist Party remains legal, but extreme leftist splinter groups have been outlawed
Political subdivisions
22 provinces, 1 district (Federal Capital), and 1 territory
Type
republic; under military rule since 1976
Economy
Agriculture
main products—cereals, oilseed, livestock products; Argentina is a major world exporter of temperate zone foodstuffs Fishing: catch 537,323 metric tons (1978); exports $42 million (1976 est.)
Budget
(1980) approximately $20 billion at exchange rate of first quarter 1980
Crude steel
3.2 million metric tons produced (1979), 120 kg per capita
Electric power
10,500,000 kW capacity (1981); 40.0 billion kWh produced (1981), 1,454 kWh per capita
Exports
$8.0 billion (f.o.b., 1980); meat, corn, wheat, wool, hides, oilseed
Fiscal year
calendar year
GNP
$143 billion (1980), $5,257 per capita; 69% consumption, 26% investment, 6% net foreign demand (1979); real GDP growth rate 1980, -0.3%
Imports
$9.4 billion (f.o.b., 1980); machinery, fuel and lubricating oils, iron and steel, intermediate industrial products Major trade partners (1980): exports—9% Brazil, 9% Netherlands, 8% Italy, 9% US, 6% FRG, 5% USSR, Japan, and Spain; imports—26% US, 10% Brazil, 11% FRG, 4% Italy, 11% Japan, 3% Chile
Major industries
food processing (especially meatpacking), motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles, chemicals, printing, and metallurgy
Monetary conversion rate
1,930 pesos=US$1 (mid-September 1980)
Communications
Airfields
2,446 total, 2,147 usable; 108 with permanent-surface runways; 24 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 311 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
67 major transport aircraft including 2 leased in
Highways
208,100 km total, of which 47,550 km paved, 39,500 km gravel, 101,000 km improved earth, 20,300 km unimproved earth
Inland waterways
11,000 km navigable
Pipelines
4,090 km crude oil; 2,200 km refined products; 8,172 km natural gas
Ports
7 major, 21 minor
Railroads
39,738 km total; 3,086 km standard gauge (1.435 m), 22,788 km broad gauge (1.676 m), 13,461 km meter gauge (1.000 m), 403 km 0.750-meter gauge; of total in country, 260 km are electrified
Telecommunications
extensive modern system; telephone network has 2.76 million sets (10.3 per 100 popl.), radio relay widely used; 1 satellite station with 2 Atlantic Ocean antennas; 160 AM, 12 FM, and 74 TV stations
Military and Security
Military budget
proposed for fiscal year ending 31 December 1981, $3,426,600; about 16.6% of total central government budget
Military manpower
males 15-49, 7,040,000; 5,715,000 fit for military service; 236,000 reach military age (20) annually