1988 Edition

Boundary disputes

Uruguay; short section with Chile is indefinite; claims Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) which are administered by UK; territorial claim in Antarctica

Climate

mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest

Coastline

4,989 km

Comparative area

about four times the size of Texas

Continental shelf

200 meters or to depth of exploitation

Environment

Tucuman and Mendoza areas in Andes subject to earthquakes; pamperos are violent windstorms that can strike Pampas and northeast; irrigated soil degradation; desertification

Ethnic divisions

85% white, 15% mestizo, Indian, or other nonwhite groups

Infant mortality rate

36/1,000 (1983)

Labor force

16.8 million (1984 est); 15.9% agriculture, 24.3% manufacturing, 13.2% commerce, 11.5% transport and communications, 7.7% finance and banking, 4.4% utilities, 3.6% construction, 2.7% mining, 16.7% services and other; 6.3% unemployment (April 1985)

Land boundaries

9,414 km total

Land use

9% arable land; 4% permanent crops; 52% meadows and pastures; 22% forest and woodland; 13% other; includes 1% irrigated

Language

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

Life expectancy

68

Literacy

94%

Nationality

noun — Argentine(s); adjective— Argentine

Organized labor

3 million; about 33% of labor force

Population

31,144,775 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 1.27%

Religion

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

Special notes

second largest country in South America (after Brazil); strategic location relative to sea lanes between Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage)

Terrain

rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western border

Territorial sea

200 nm (overflight and navigation permitted beyond 12 nm)

Total area

2,766,890 km2; land area: 2,736,690 km2

Administrative divisions

22 provinces, 1 district (Federal Capital), and 1 territory

Branches

executive (President, Vice President, Cabinet); legislative (National Congress — Senate, Chamber of Deputies); national judiciary-

Capital

Buenos Aires

Communists

some 70,000 members in various party organizations, including a small nucleus of activists

Elections

general elections held 30 October 1983; Senate elections held November 1986; Gubernatorial and Congressional elections scheduled for 1987; next general election 1989

Government leaders

Raul ALFONSIN, President (since December 1983); Victor MARTINEZ, Vice President (since December 1983) Argentina (continued)

Legal system

mixture of US and West European legal systems; constitution adopted 1853 is in effect; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Member of

FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, IDA, IDE— Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, ISO, ITU, IWC— International Whaling Commission, IWC— International Wheat Council, LAIA, NAM, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO, WSG

National holiday

Independence Day, 25 May

Official name

Argentine Republic

Other political or pressure groups

Peronist-dominated labor movement, General Confederation of Labor (Peronistleaning umbrella labor organization), Argentine Industrial Union (manufacturers' association), Argentine Rural Society (large landowners' association), business organizations, students, the Catholic Church, the Armed Forces

Political parties

operate under statute passed in 1983 that sets out criteria for participation in national elections; Radical Civic Union (UCR) — moderately left of center; Justicialist Party (JP) — Peronist umbrella political organization; Intransigent Party (PI) — leftist party; Union of the Democratic Center — conservative party); several provincial parties

Type

republic

Agriculture

cotton (main crop), sugar, livestock

main products — cereals, oilseed, livestock products; major world exporter of temperate zone foodstuffs

Aid

bilateral commitments, ODA and OOF (1970-80) from Western (non-US) countries, $20 million

Budget

(current) revenues, $40 million; expenditures, $44 million (1984)

(1986) general government revenues $26.4 billion; current and capital expenditures $31.3 billion at average official exchange rate for 1986

Electric power

29,000 kW capacity; 63.8 million kWh produced, 780 kWh per capita (1986)

15,300,000 kW capacity; 42,790 million kWh produced, 1,370 kWh per capita (1986)

Exports

$41 million (f.o.b., 1984); clothing, rum, lobsters

$8.4 billion (f.o.b., 1985); wheat, corn, oilseed, hides, wool

Fiscal year

1 April-31 March

calendar year

Fishing

catch 377,200 metric tons; exports $127.4 million (1985)

GDP

$158 million (1984), $1,980 per capita; inflation rate 4.0% (1985)

$63.3 billion at average official exchange rate (1985), $2,090 per capita; 80% consumption, 15% investment; 5% net exports; 4.4% real GDP decline (1985); economic activity grew by 2-3% in 1986

Imports

$134 million (f.o.b., 1984); fuel, food, machinery

$4.1 billion (f.o.b., 1985); chemical products, machinery, metallurgical products, fuel and lubricants

Major industries

tourism 15.2%, construction 7.7%, manufacturing 0.5%

food processing (especially meat packing), motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles, chemicals, printing, and metallurgy

Major trade partners

exports — 47% Trinidad and Tobago, 8% Barbados, 1% US; imports— 49% US, 13% UK, 4% Jamaica, 2% Trinidad and Tobago (1983)

exports — 20% USSR, 13% US, 9% Netherlands, 5% Brazil, 5% Italy, 5% Japan, 4% FRG; imports—18% US, 16% Brazil, 14% FRG, 9% Bolivia, 7% Japan, 6% France (1985)

Monetary conversion rate

2.70 East Caribbean (EC) dollars=US$l (November 1986)

1.25 australes=US$l (31 December 1986)

Natural resources

negligible

pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron, manganese, oil, uranium

Steel

2.9 million metric tons produced, 95 kg per capita (1985)

Airfields

2 total, 1 usable; 1 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m

1,849 total, 1,689 usable; 126 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,695 m, 29 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 334 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Branches

Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force, Royal Antigua and Barbuda Police Force lOOOkm Sec regional maji IV

Argentine Army, Navy of the Argentine Republic, Argentine Air Force, National Gendarmerie, Argentine Naval Prefecture, National Aeronautical Police

Civil air

10 major transport aircraft

54 major transport aircraft

Highways

240 km main

208,350 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

Military budget

for fiscal year ending 31 December 1986, $1.1 billion; 7.3% of central government budget

Military manpower

males 15-49, 7,500,000; 6,084,000 fit for military service; 256,000 reach military age (20) annually

Pipelines

4,090 km crude oil; 2,200 km refined products; 9,918 km natural gas

Ports

1 major (St. John's), 1 minor

7 major, 30 minor

Railroads

64 km 0.760-meter narrow gauge, 13 km 0.610-meter gauge, employed almost exclusively for handling cane

39,738 km total; 3,086 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 22,788 km 1.676-meter broad gauge, 13,461 km 1.000-meter gauge, 403 km 0.750-meter gauge; of total in country, 142 km are electrified

Telecommunications

good automatic telephone system; 6,700 telephones (9.2 per 100 popl.); tropospheric scatter links with Saba and Guadeloupe; 6 AM, 2 FM, 2 TV stations; 1 coaxial submarine cable; 1 satellite ground station Defense Forces

extensive modern system; 2.45 million telephones (7.9 per 100 popl.), radio relay widely used; 2 satellite stations with 3 Atlantic Ocean antennas; 163 AM, 10 shortwave, 196 TV stations; 30-station domestic satellite network Defense Forces