Guide to Argentina Introduction 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.
Geography 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
Area - comparative: slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US
Land boundaries: total
Coastline: 4,989 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea
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
Natural resources: fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium
Land use: arable land
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
Environment - international agreements: party to
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
People Population: 39,537,943 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years
Median age: total
Population growth rate: 0.98% (2005 est.)
Birth rate: 16.9 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: 7.56 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth
Infant mortality rate: total
Life expectancy at birth: total population
Total fertility rate: 2.19 children born/woman (2005 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
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
Government Country name: conventional long form
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
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
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
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: Action for the Republic or AR [Domingo CAVALLO]; Alternative for a Republic of Equals or ARI [Elisa CARRIO]; Federal Recreate Movement or RECREAR [Ricardo LOPEZ MURPHY]; Front for a Country in Solidarity or Frepaso (a four-party coalition) [Dario Pedro ALESSANDRO]; Interbloque Federal or IF (a broad coalition of approximately 12 parties including RECREAR) [leader NA]; Justicialist Party or PJ (Peronist umbrella political organization) [leader NA]; Radical Civic Union or UCR [Angel ROZAS]; 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; Roman Catholic Church; students
International organization participation: 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, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, NSG, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMOVIC, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission
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 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 more than 8% in 2003 and again in 2004, with unemployment falling and inflation remaining in single digits.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $483.5 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 8.3% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $12,400 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture
Labor force: 15.04 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
Unemployment rate: 14.8% (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line: 44.3% (June 2004)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.1% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): 18.3% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget: revenues
Public debt: 118% of GDP (June 2004 est.)
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: 12% (2004 est.)
Electricity - production: 81.39 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel
Electricity - consumption: 81.65 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports: 2.818 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports: 8.775 billion kWh (2002)
Oil - production: 755,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - consumption: 486,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: NA
Oil - imports: NA
Oil - proved reserves: 2.9 billion bbl (2004 est.)
Natural gas - production: 37.15 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: 31.1 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports: 6.05 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: 768 billion cu m (2004)
Current account balance: $5.473 billion (2004 est.)
Exports: $33.78 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities: edible oils, fuels and energy, cereals, feed, motor vehicles
Exports - partners: Brazil 15.3%, Chile 10.7%, US 10.2%, China 8.7%, Spain 4.4% (2004)
Imports: $22.06 billion f.o.b. (2004 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: $19.47 billion (2004 est.)
Debt - external: $157.7 billion (2004 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $10 billion (2001 est.)
Currency (code): Argentine peso (ARS)
Currency code: ARS
Exchange rates: Argentine pesos per US dollar - 2.9233 (2004), 2.9006 (2003), 3.0633 (2002), 0.9995 (2001), 0.9995 (2000)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Telephones - main lines in use: 8,009,400 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 6.5 million (2002)
Telephone system: general assessment
Radio broadcast stations: AM 260 (including 10 inactive stations), FM NA (probably more than 1,000, mostly unlicensed), shortwave 6 (1998)
Radios: 24.3 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 42 (plus 444 repeaters) (1997)
Televisions: 7.95 million (1997)
Internet country code: .ar
Internet hosts: 742,358 (2003)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 33 (2000)
Internet users: 4.1 million (2002)
Transportation Railways: total
Highways: total
Waterways: 11,000 km (2004)
Pipelines: gas 27,166 km; liquid petroleum gas 41 km; oil 3,668 km; refined products 2,945 km; unknown (oil/water) 13 km (2004)
Ports and harbors: Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Concepcion del Uruguay, La Plata, Punta Colorada, Rosario, San Lorenzo-San Martin, San Nicolas
Merchant marine: total
Airports: 1,334 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total
Airports - with unpaved runways: total
Military Military branches: Argentine Army, Navy of the Argentine Republic (includes Naval Aviation and Marines), Argentine Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Argentina, FAA)
Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2001)
Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49
Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49
Manpower reaching military service age annually: males
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $4.3 billion (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.3% (FY00)
Military - note: the Argentine military is a well-organized force constrained by the country's prolonged economic hardship; the country has recently experienced a strong recovery, and the military is now implementing "Plan 2000," aimed at making the ground forces lighter and more responsive (2005)
Transnational Issues Disputes - international: Argentina claims the UK-administered Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in its constitution; it briefly occupied the Falklands in 1982, but in 1995 agreed no longer to seek settlement by force; territorial claim in Antarctica partially overlaps UK and Chilean claims (see Antarctic disputes); unruly region at convergence of Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay borders is locus of money laundering, smuggling, arms and illegal narcotics trafficking, and fundraising for extremist organizations; uncontested dispute between Brazil and Uruguay over Braziliera Island in the Quarai/Cuareim River leaves the tripoint with Argentina in question
Illicit drugs: used as a transshipment country for cocaine headed for Europe and the US; some money-laundering activity, especially in the Tri-Border Area; domestic consumption of drugs in urban centers is increasing
Last updated: 20 October, 2005
| Weather Statistics | Salta |
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | | Mean | 22 C | 21 C | 20 C | 17 C | 14 C | 11 C | 11 C | 13 C | 16 C | 19 C | 21 C | 22 C | | Prcp | 177mm | 146mm | 109mm | 32mm | 7mm | 3mm | 3mm | 4mm | 6mm | 26mm | 58mm | 129mm |
| Source: Global Historical Climatology Network |
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