1993 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1993 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Area
total area: 2,766,890 km2 land area: 2,736,690 km2 comparative area: slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US
Climate
mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest
Coastline
4,989 km
Environment
Tucuman and Mendoza areas in Andes subject to earthquakes; pamperos are violent windstorms that can strike Pampas and northeast; irrigated soil degradation; desertification; air and water pollution in Buenos Aires
International disputes
short section of the boundary with Uruguay is in dispute; short section of the boundary with Chile is indefinite; claims British-administered Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas); claims British-administered South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; territorial claim in Antarctica
Irrigated land
17,600 km2 (1989 est.)
Land boundaries
total 9,665 km, Bolivia 832 km, Brazil 1,224 km, Chile 5,150 km, Paraguay 1,880 km, Uruguay 579 km
Land use
arable land: 9% permanent crops: 4% meadows and pastures: 52% forest and woodland: 22% other: 13%
Location
Eastern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean between Chile and Uruguay
Map references
South America, Standard Time Zones of the World
Maritime claims
contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: not specified territorial sea: 200 nm; overflight and navigation permitted beyond 12 nm
Natural resources
fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium
Note
second-largest country in South America (after Brazil); strategic location relative to sea lanes between South Atlantic and South 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
People and Society
Birth rate
19.75 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate
8.64 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Ethnic divisions
white 85%, mestizo, Indian, or other nonwhite groups 15%
Infant mortality rate
30 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Labor force
10.9 million by occupation: agriculture 12%, industry 31%, services 57% (1985 est.)
Languages
Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 71.19 years male: 67.91 years female: 74.65 years (1993 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 95% male: 96% female: 95%
Nationality
noun: Argentine(s) adjective: Argentine
Net migration rate
0.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Population
33,533,256 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate
1.13% (1993 est.)
Religions
nominally Roman Catholic 90% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 6%
Total fertility rate
2.72 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Government
Administrative divisions
23 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia), and 1 federal district*, (distrito federal); Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Chaco, Chubut, Cordoba, Corrientes, Distrito Federal*, 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 (Territorio Nacional de la Tierra del Fuego, Antartida e Islas del Atlantico Sur), Tucuman note: the national territory is in the process of becoming a province; the US does not recognize claims to Antarctica
Capital
Buenos Aires
Chamber of Deputies
last held in three phases during late 1991 for half of 254 seats; seats (254 total) - JP 122, UCR 85, UCD 10, other 37 (1993)
Chief of State and Head of Government
President Carlos Saul MENEM (since 8 July 1989); Vice President (position vacant)
Constitution
1 May 1853
Digraph
AR
Diplomatic representation in US
chief of mission: Ambassador Carlos ORTIZ DE ROZAS chancery: 1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: (202) 939-6400 through 6403 consulates general: Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) consulates: Baltimore, Chicago, and Los Angeles
Executive branch
president, vice president, Cabinet
FAX
[54] (1) 775-4205
Flag
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
Independence
9 July 1816 (from Spain)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
Legal system
mixture of US and West European legal systems; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch
bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional) consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Senado) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados)
Member of
AG (observer), Australian Group, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-6, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, AfDB, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS, MERCOSUR, MINURSO, OAS, PCA, RG, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNOMOZ, UNPROFOR, UNTAC, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Names
conventional long form: Argentine Republic conventional short form: Argentina local long form: Republica Argentina local short form: Argentina
National holiday
Revolution Day, 25 May (1810)
Other political or pressure groups
Peronist-dominated labor movement; General Confederation of Labor (CGT; Peronist-leaning umbrella labor organization); Argentine Industrial Union (manufacturers' association); Argentine Rural Society (large landowners' association); business organizations; students; the Roman Catholic Church; the Armed Forces
Political parties and leaders
Justicialist Party (JP), Carlos Saul MENEM, Peronist umbrella political organization; Radical Civic Union (UCR), Mario LOSADA, moderately left-of-center party; Union of the Democratic Center (UCD), Jorge AGUADO, conservative party; Intransigent Party (PI), Dr. Oscar ALENDE, leftist party; Dignity and Independence Political Party (MODIN), Aldo RICO, right-wing party; several provincial parties
President
last held 14 May 1989 (next to be held NA May 1995); results - Carlos Saul MENEM was elected
Senate
last held May 1989, but provincial elections in late 1991 set the stage for indirect elections by provincial senators for one-third of 46 seats in the national senate in May 1992; seats (46 total) - JP 27, UCR 14, others 5
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Type
republic
US diplomatic representation
chief of mission: Ambassador James CHEEK (since 28 May 1993) embassy: 4300 Colombia, 1425 Buenos Aires mailing address: APO AA 34034 telephone: [54] (1) 774-7611 or 8811, 9911
Economy
Agriculture
accounts for 8% of GDP (including fishing); produces abundant food for both domestic consumption and exports; among world's top five exporters of grain and beef; principal crops - wheat, corn, sorghum, soybeans, sugar beets
Budget
revenues $33.1 billion; expenditures $35.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.5 billion (1992)
Currency
1 peso = 100 centavos
Economic aid
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.0 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $4.4 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $718 million
Electricity
17,911,000 kW capacity; 51,305 million kWh produced, 1,559 kWh per capita (1992)
Exchange rates
pesos per US$1 - 0.99000 (January1993), 0.99064 (1992), 0.95355 (1991), 0.48759 (1990), 0.04233 (1989), 0.00088 (1988)
Exports
$12.3 billion (f.o.b., 1992 est.) commodities: meat, wheat, corn, oilseed, hides, wool partners: US 12%, Brazil, Italy, Japan, Netherlands
External debt
$54 billion (June 1992)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Illicit drugs
increasing use as a transshipment country for cocaine headed for the US and Europe
Imports
$14.0 billion (c.i.f., 1992 est.) commodities: machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, fuels and lubricants, agricultural products partners: US 22%, Brazil, Germany, Bolivia, Japan, Italy, Netherlands
Industrial production
growth rate 10% (1992 est.); accounts for 26% of GDP
Industries
food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
17.7% (1992)
National product
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $112 billion (1992 est.)
National product per capita
$3,400 (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate
7% (1992 est.)
Overview
Argentina is rich in natural resources and has a highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a diversified industrial base. Nevertheless, following decades of mismanagement and statist policies, the economy in the late 1980s was plagued with huge external debts and recurring bouts of hyperinflation. Elected in 1989, in the depths of recession, President MENEM has implemented a comprehensive economic restructuring program that shows signs of putting Argentina on a path of stable, sustainable growth. Argentina's currency has traded at par with the US dollar since April 1991, and inflation has fallen to its lowest level in 20 years. Argentines have responded to the relative price stability by repatriating flight capital and investing in domestic industry. Much remains to be done in the 1990s in dismantling the old statist barriers to growth and in solidifying the recent economic gains.
Unemployment rate
6.9% (1992)
Communications
Airports
total: 1,700 usable: 1,451 with permanet-surface runways: 137 with runways over 3,659 m: 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 31 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 326
Highways
208,350 km total; 47,550 km paved, 39,500 km gravel, 101,000 km improved earth, 20,300 km unimproved earth
Inland waterways
11,000 km navigable
Merchant marine
60 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,695,420 GRT/1,073,904 DWT; includes 30 cargo, 5 refrigerated cargo, 4 container, 1 railcar carrier, 14 oil tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 4 bulk, 1 roll-on/roll-off
Pipelines
crude oil 4,090 km; petroleum products 2,900 km; natural gas 9,918 km
Ports
Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Comodoro Rivadavia, La Plata, Rosario, Santa Fe
Railroads
34,172 km total (includes 209 km electrified); includes a mixture of 1.435-meter standard gauge, 1.676-meter broad gauge, 1.000-meter narrow gauge, and 0.750-meter narrow gauge
Telecommunications
extensive modern system; 2,650,000 telephones (12,000 public telephones); microwave widely used; broadcast stations - 171 AM, no FM, 231 TV, 13 shortwave; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations; domestic satellite network has 40 earth stations
Military and Security
Branches
Argentine Army, Navy of the Argentine Republic, Argentine Air Force, National Gendarmerie, Argentine Naval Prefecture (Coast Guard only), National Aeronautical Police Force
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 8,267,316; fit for military service 6,702,303; reach military age (20) annually 284,641 (1993 est.)