ARGENTINA
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 2,766,890 km2; land area: 2,736,690 km2
Comparative area: slightly more than four times the size of Texas
Land boundaries: 9,665 km total; Bolivia 832 km, Brazil 1,224 km,
Chile 5,150 km, Paraguay 1,880 km, Uruguay 579 km
Coastline: 4,989 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;
Territorial sea: 200 nm (overflight and navigation permitted beyond
12 nm)
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
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
Natural resources: fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc,
tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, crude oil, uranium
Land use: arable land 9%; permanent crops 4%; meadows and
pastures 52%; forest and woodland 22%; other 13%; includes irrigated
1%
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
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)
PEOPLE
Population: 32,663,983 (July 1991), growth rate 1.1% (1991)
Birth rate: 20 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 31 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 68 years male, 74 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 2.7 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Argentine(s); adjective--Argentine
Ethnic divisions: white 85%; mestizo, Indian, or other nonwhite
groups 15%
Religion: nominally Roman Catholic 90% (less than 20% practicing),
Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 6%
Language: Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French
Literacy: 95% (male 96%, female 95%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force: 10,900,000; agriculture 12%, industry 31%, services
57% (1985 est.)
Organized labor: 3,000,000; 28% of labor force
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: Argentine Republic
Type: republic
Capital: Buenos Aires (tentative plans to move to Viedma by
1990 indefinitely postponed)
Administrative divisions: 22 provinces (provincias,
singular--provincia), 1 national territory* (territorio nacional), and 1
district** (distrito); 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,
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
Independence: 9 July 1816 (from Spain)
Constitution: 1 May 1853
Legal system: mixture of US and West European legal systems; has
not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: Revolution Day, 25 May (1810)
Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet
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)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Carlos Saul
MENEM (since 8 July 1989); Vice President Eduardo DUHALDE (since 8 July
1989)
Political parties and leaders:
Justicialist Party (JP), Carlos Saul MENEM, Peronist umbrella political
organization;
Radical Civic Union (UCR), Raul ALFONSIN, moderately left of center;
Union of the Democratic Center (UCD), Alvaro ALSOGARAY, conservative
party;
Intransigent Party (PI), Dr. Oscar ALENDE, leftist party;
several provincial parties
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
President--last held 14 May 1989 (next to be held May 1995);
results--Carlos Saul MENEM was elected;
Chamber of Deputies--last held 14 May 1989 (next to be
held October 1991); results--JP 47%, UCR 30%, UCD 7%, other 16%;
seats--(254 total); JP 122, UCR 93, UCD 11, other 28
Communists: some 70,000 members in various party organizations,
including a small nucleus of activists
Other political or pressure groups: Peronist-dominated labor
movement, General Confederation of Labor (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
Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-6, G-11,
G-19, G-24, 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, NAM, OAS, PCA, RG, UN, UNAVEM, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Ortiz de ROZAS;
Chancery at 1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone
(202) 939-6400 through 6403; there are Argentine Consulates General in
Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan
(Puerto Rico), and Consulates in Baltimore, Chicago, and Los Angeles;
US--Ambassador Terence A. TODMAN; Embassy at 4300 Colombia,
1425 Buenos Aires (mailing address is APO Miami 34034);
telephone 54 (1) 774-7611 or 8811, 9911
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
ECONOMY
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 has encountered
major problems in recent years, leading to escalating inflation and
a recession in 1988-90. A widening public-sector deficit and a
multidigit inflation rate have dominated the economy over the past
three years; retail prices rose nearly 5,000% in 1989 and another
1,345% in 1990. Since 1978, Argentina's external debt has nearly doubled
to $60 billion, creating severe debt-servicing difficulties and hurting
the country's creditworthiness with international lenders.
GNP: $82.7 billion, per capita $2,560; real growth rate - 3.5%
(1990 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1,350% (1990)
Unemployment rate: 8.6% (May 1990)
Budget: revenues $12.2 billion; expenditures $17.3 billion,
including capital expenditures of $2.8 billion (1989)
Exports: $12.4 billion (f.o.b., 1990);
commodities--meat, wheat, corn, oilseed, hides, wool;
partners--US 12%, USSR, Italy, Brazil, Japan, Netherlands
Imports: $4.1 billion (c.i.f., 1990);
commodities--machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, fuels and
lubricants, agricultural products;
partners--US 22%, Brazil, FRG, Bolivia, Japan, Italy, Netherlands
External debt: $60 billion (December 1990)
Industrial production: growth rate 5% (1991 est.); accounts for
30% of GDP
Electricity: 16,749,000 kW capacity; 45,580 million kWh produced,
1,410 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries: food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables,
textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel
Agriculture: accounts for 15% of GNP (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; 1987 fish catch estimated at 500,000 tons
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.0
billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $4.0 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $718 million
Currency: austral (plural--australes); 1 austral (A) = 100
centavos
Exchange rates: australes (A) per US$1--9,900 (April 1991),
4,707 (1990), 423 (1989), 8.7526 (1988), 2.1443 (1987), 0.9430 (1986),
0.6018 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads: 34,172 km total (includes 169 km electrified); includes
a mixture of 1.435-meter standard gauge, 1.676-meter broad gauge,
1.000-meter gauge, and 0.750-meter gauge
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
Pipelines: 4,090 km crude oil; 2,900 km refined products; 9,918 km
natural gas
Ports: Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Necochea, Rio Gallegos, Rosario,
Santa Fe
Merchant marine: 129 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,663,884
GRT/2,689,645 DWT; includes 42 cargo, 7 refrigerated cargo, 6 container,
1 railcar carrier, 47 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker,
4 chemical tanker, 4 liquefied gas, 18 bulk; additionally, 2 naval
tankers and 1 military transport are sometimes used commercially
Civil air: 54 major transport aircraft
Airports: 1,763 total, 1,575 usable; 135 with permanent-surface
runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 31 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 336
with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: extensive modern system; 2,650,000 telephones
(12,000 public telephones); radio relay widely used; stations--171 AM,
no FM, 231 TV, 13 shortwave; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations;
domestic satellite network has 40 stations
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Argentine Army, Navy of the Argentine Republic, Argentine
Air Force, National Gendarmerie, Argentine Naval Prefecture (Coast Guard
only), National Aeronautical Police Force
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 7,992,140; 6,478,730 fit for
military service; 285,047 reach military age (20) annually
Defense expenditures: $700 million, 1% of GNP (1990)