Argentina

.ar

3.813 million (2008)

9.309 million (2007)

AM 260 (includes 10 inactive stations), FM (probably more than 1,000, mostly unlicensed), shortwave 6 (1998)

general assessment: by opening the telecommunications market to competition and foreign investment with the "Telecommunications Liberalization Plan of 1998," Argentina encouraged the growth of modern telecommunications technology; fiber-optic cable trunk lines are being installed between all major cities; major networks are entirely digital and the availability of telephone service is improving; fixed-line telephone density is gradually increasing reaching nearly 25 lines per 100 people in 2007; mobile telephone subscribership has been increasing rapidly and has reached a level of 100 telephones per 100 persons domestic: microwave radio relay, fiber-optic cable, and a domestic satellite system with 40 earth stations serve the trunk network; more than 110,000 pay telephones are installed and mobile telephone use is rapidly expanding; broadband services are gaining ground international: country code - 54; landing point for the Atlantis-2, UNISUR, and South America-1 optical submarine cable systems that provide links to Europe, Africa, South and Central America, and US; satellite earth stations - 112; 2 international gateways near Buenos Aires (2007)

9.5 million (2007)

40.402 million (2007)

42 (plus 444 repeaters) (1997)

sunflower seeds, lemons, soybeans, grapes, corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea, wheat; livestock

revenues: $48.99 billion expenditures: $61.23 billion (2007 est.)

NA

11.05% (31 December 2007)

Argentine peso (ARS)

$7.438 billion (2007 est.)

$135.8 billion (31 December 2007)

49 (2006)

Argentina benefits from rich natural resources, a highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a diversified industrial base. Although one of the world's wealthiest countries 100 years ago, Argentina suffered during most of the 20th century from recurring economic crises, persistent fiscal and current account deficits, high inflation, mounting external debt, and capital flight. A severe depression, growing public and external indebtedness, and a bank run culminated in 2001 in the most serious economic, social, and political crisis in the country's turbulent history. Interim President Adolfo RODRIGUEZ SAA declared a default - the largest in history - on the government's foreign debt in December of that year, and abruptly resigned only a few days after taking office. His successor, Eduardo DUHALDE, announced an end to the peso's decade-long 1-to-1 peg to the US dollar in early 2002. The economy bottomed out that year, with real GDP 18% smaller than in 1998 and almost 60% of Argentines under the poverty line. Real GDP rebounded to grow by an average 9% annually over the subsequent five years, taking advantage of previously idled industrial capacity and labor, an audacious debt restructuring and reduced debt burden, excellent international financial conditions, and expansionary monetary and fiscal policies. Inflation, however, reached double-digit levels in 2006 and the government of President Nestor KIRCHNER responded with "voluntary" price agreements with businesses, as well as export taxes and restraints. Multi-year price freezes on electricity and natural gas rates for residential users stoked consumption and kept private investment away, leading to restrictions on industrial use and blackouts in 2007.

97.72 billion kWh (2006 est.)

2.628 billion kWh (2007 est.)

10.27 billion kWh (2007 est.)

109.4 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Argentine pesos (ARS) per US dollar - 3.1105 (2007), 3.0543 (2006), 2.9037 (2005), 2.9233 (2004), 2.9006 (2003)

$55.78 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

soybeans and derivatives, petroleum and gas, vehicles, corn, wheat

Brazil 19.1%, China 9.4%, US 7.9%, Chile 7.6% (2007)

$260 billion (2007 est.)

$526.4 billion (2007 est.)

agriculture: 9.5% industry: 34% services: 56.5% (2007 est.)

$13,100 (2007 est.)

8.7% (2007 est.)

lowest 10%: 1% highest 10%: 35% (January-March 2007)

$42.53 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

machinery, motor vehicles, petroleum and natural gas, organic chemicals, plastics

Brazil 34.6%, US 12.6%, China 12%, Germany 5% (2007)

7.5% (2007 est.)

food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel

8.8% official rate; actual rate may be double the official rate (2007 est.)

24.2% of GDP (2007 est.)

16.03 million note: urban areas only (2007 est.)

agriculture: 1% industry: 23% services: 76% (2007 est.)

$79.73 billion (2006)

44.1 billion cu m (2007 est.)

2.6 billion cu m (2007 est.)

1.9 billion cu m (2007 est.)

44.8 billion cu m (2007 est.)

446 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)

525,100 bbl/day (2006 est.)

339,900 bbl/day (2005)

23,380 bbl/day (2005)

790,800 bbl/day (2007 est.)

2.587 billion bbl (1 January 2008 est.)

56.1% of GDP (2007 est.)

$46.12 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

$26.26 billion (2007 est.)

$65.31 billion (2007 est.)

$72.55 billion (31 December 2007)

$33.93 billion (31 December 2007)

$45.92 billion (31 December 2007)

8.5% (2007 est.)

total: 2,766,890 sq km land: 2,736,690 sq km water: 30,200 sq km

slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US

mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest

4,989 km

lowest point: Laguna del Carbon -105 m (located between Puerto San Julian and Comandante Luis Piedra Buena in the province of Santa Cruz) highest point: Cerro Aconcagua 6,960 m (located in the northwestern corner of the province of Mendoza)

environmental problems (urban and rural) typical of an industrializing economy such as deforestation, soil degradation, desertification, air pollution, and water pollution note: Argentina is a world leader in setting voluntary greenhouse gas targets

party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation

total: 29.19 cu km/yr (17%/9%/74%) per capita: 753 cu m/yr (2000)

34 00 S, 64 00 W

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); diverse geophysical landscapes range from tropical climates in the north to tundra in the far south; Cerro Aconcagua is the Western Hemisphere's tallest mountain, while Laguna del Carbon is the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere

15,500 sq km (2003)

total: 9,861 km border countries: Bolivia 832 km, Brazil 1,261 km, Chile 5,308 km, Paraguay 1,880 km, Uruguay 580 km

arable land: 10.03% permanent crops: 0.36% other: 89.61% (2005)

Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay

South America

territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

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

fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium

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

814 cu km (2000)

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: the US does not recognize any claims to Antarctica

name: Buenos Aires geographic coordinates: 34 36 S, 58 40 W time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in October; ends third Saturday in March; note - a new policy of daylight saving time was initiated by the government on 30 December 2007

1 May 1853; amended many times starting in 1860

conventional long form: Argentine Republic conventional short form: Argentina local long form: Republica Argentina local short form: Argentina

chief of mission: Ambassador Earl Anthony WAYNE embassy: Avenida Colombia 4300, C1425GMN Buenos Aires mailing address: international mail: use embassy street address; APO address: US Embassy Buenos Aires, Unit 4334, APO AA 34034 telephone: [54] (11) 5777-4533 FAX: [54] (11) 5777-4240

chief of mission: Ambassador Hector Marcos TIMERMAN chancery: 1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 238-6400 FAX: [1] (202) 332-3171 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York

chief of state: President Cristina FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER (since 10 December 2007); Vice President Julio COBOS (since 10 December 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Cristina FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER (since 10 December 2007); Vice President Julio COBOS (since 10 December 2007) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 28 October 2007 (next election to be held in 2011) election results: Cristina FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER elected president; percent of vote - Cristina FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER 45%, Elisa CARRIO 23%, Roberto LAVAGNA 17%, Alberto Rodriguez SAA 8%

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

republic

9 July 1816 (from Spain)

AfDB (nonregional members), Australia Group, BCIE, BIS, CAN (associate), FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, NSG, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina (observer), UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (the nine Supreme Court judges are appointed by the president with approval of the Senate) note: the Supreme Court currently has two unfilled vacancies, and the Argentine Congress is considering a bill to reduce the number of Supreme Court judges to five

mixture of US and West European legal systems; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

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 serve six-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies (257 seats; members are elected by direct vote; one-half of the members elected every two years to serve four-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 28 October 2007 (next to be held in 2009); Chamber of Deputies - last held last held 28 October 2007 (next to be held in 2009) election results: Senate - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA; seats by bloc or party - FV 12, UCR 4, CC 4, other 4; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA; seats by bloc or party - FV 5, UCR 10, PJ 10, PRO 6, CC 16, FJ 2, other 31; note - Senate and Chamber of Deputies seating reflect the number of replaced senators and deputies, rather than the whole Senate and Chamber of Deputies

Revolution Day, 25 May (1810)

Coalicion Civica (a broad coalition loosely affiliated with Elisa CARRIO); Front for Victory or FV (a broad coalition, including elements of the UCR and numerous provincial parties) [Cristina FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER]; Interbloque Federal or IF (a broad coalition of approximately 12 parties including PRO); Justicialist Front or FJ; Justicialist Party or PJ (Peronist umbrella political organization); Radical Civic Union or UCR [Gerardo MORALES]; Republican Proposal or PRO (including Federal Recreate Movement or RECREAR [Ricardo LOPEZ MURPHY] and Commitment for Change or CPC [Mauricio MACRI]); Socialist Party or PS [Ruben GIUSTINIANI]; Union For All [Patricia BULLRICH]; several provincial parties

Argentine Association of Pharmaceutical Labs (CILFA); Argentine Industrial Union (manufacturers' association); Argentine Rural Confederation or CRA (small to medium landowners' association); Argentine Rural Society (large landowners' association); 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); Roman Catholic Church other: business organizations; Peronist-dominated labor movement; Piquetero groups (popular protest organizations that can be either pro or anti-government); students

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

In 1816, the United Provinces of the Rio Plata declared their independence from Spain. After Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay went their separate ways, the area that remained became Argentina. The country's population and culture were heavily shaped by immigrants from throughout Europe, but most particularly Italy and Spain, which provided the largest percentage of newcomers from 1860 to 1930. Up until about the mid-20th century, much of Argentina's history was dominated by periods of internal political conflict between Federalists and Unitarians and between civilian and military factions. After World War II, an era 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 has persisted despite numerous challenges, the most formidable of which was a severe economic crisis in 2001-02 that led to violent public protests and the resignation of several interim presidents. The economy has recovered strongly since bottoming out in 2002.

males age 16-49: 10,029,488 females age 16-49: 9,889,002 (2008 est.)

males age 16-49: 8,352,147 females age 16-49: 8,366,781 (2008 est.)

male: 348,310 female: 332,944 (2008 est.)

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 implementing a modernization plan aimed at making the ground forces lighter and more responsive (2008)

Argentine Army (Ejercito Argentino), Navy of the Argentine Republic (Armada Republica; includes naval aviation and naval infantry), Argentine Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Argentina, FAA) (2008)

1.3% of GDP (2005 est.)

18-24 years of age for voluntary military service (18-21 requires parental permission); no conscription (2001)

0-14 years: 25.8% (male 5,341,642/female 5,095,325) 15-64 years: 63.5% (male 12,807,458/female 12,884,745) 65 years and over: 10.8% (male 1,784,652/female 2,568,176) (2008 est.)

18.11 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

7.43 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

3.8% of GDP (2004)

white (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry), Amerindian, or other non-white groups 3%

0.7% (2001 est.)

1,500 (2003 est.)

130,000 (2001 est.)

total: 11.78 deaths/1,000 live births male: 13.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 10.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

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

total population: 76.36 years male: 73.11 years female: 79.77 years (2008 est.)

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.2% male: 97.2% female: 97.2% (2001 census)

degree of risk: intermediate food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A water contact disease: leptospirosis (2008)

total: 29.7 years male: 28.8 years female: 30.8 years (2008 est.)

noun: Argentine(s) adjective: Argentine

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

40.482 million (July 2008 est.)

1.068% (2008 est.)

nominally Roman Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4%

total: 15 years male: 14 years female: 16 years (2005)

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

2.37 children born/woman (2008 est.)

Argentina continues to assert its claims to the UK-administered Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), South Georgia, and the South Sandwich Islands in its constitution, forcibly occupying 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; 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/Brasiliera Island in the Quarai/Cuareim River leaves the tripoint with Argentina in question; in 2006, Argentina went to the ICJ to protest, on environmental grounds, the construction of two pulp mills in Uruguay on the Uruguay River, which forms the boundary; both parties presented their pleadings in 2007 with Argentina's reply in January and Uruguay's rejoinder in July 2008; the joint boundary commission, established by Chile and Argentina in 2001 has yet to map and demarcate the delimited boundary in the inhospitable Andean Southern Ice Field (Campo de Hielo Sur)

a transshipment country for cocaine headed for Europe; some money-laundering activity, especially in the Tri-Border Area; law enforcement corruption; a source for precursor chemicals; increasing domestic consumption of drugs in urban centers, especially cocaine base and synthetic drugs

current situation: Argentina is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor; most victims are trafficked within the country, from rural to urban areas; child sex tourism is a problem; foreign women and children, primarily from Paraguay, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic, are trafficked to Argentina for commercial sexual exploitation; Argentine women and girls are also trafficked to neighboring countries, Mexico, and Western Europe for sexual exploitation; a significant number of Bolivians, Peruvians, and Paraguayans are trafficked into the country for forced labor in sweatshops, agriculture, and as domestic servants tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - despite some progress, Argentina remains on the Tier 2 Watch List for the third consecutive year for its failure to show evidence of increasing efforts to combat human trafficking, particularly in terms of providing adequate assistance to victims and curbing official complicity with trafficking activity, especially on the provincial and local levels; the Argentine Congress has demonstrated progress by enacting much-needed and first-ever federal anti-trafficking legislation (2008)

1,272 (2007)

total: 154 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 26 1,524 to 2,437 m: 65 914 to 1,523 m: 50 under 914 m: 9 (2007)

total: 1,118 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 44 914 to 1,523 m: 515 under 914 m: 556 (2007)

1 (2007)

total: 46 by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 9, chemical tanker 2, container 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 24, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 14 (Brazil 1, Chile 7, Spain 2, UK 4) registered in other countries: 19 (Liberia 3, Panama 8, Paraguay 5, Uruguay 3) (2008)

gas 28,657 km; liquid petroleum gas 41 km; oil 5,607 km; refined products 3,052 km; unknown (oil/water) 13 km (2007)

Arroyo Seco, Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, La Plata, Punta Colorada, Rosario, San Lorenzo-San Martin

total: 31,902 km broad gauge: 20,858 km 1.676-m gauge (141 km electrified) standard gauge: 2,885 km 1.435-m gauge (26 km electrified) narrow gauge: 7,922 km 1.000-m gauge; 237 km 0.750-m gauge (2006)

total: 231,374 km paved: 69,412 km (includes 734 km of expressways) unpaved: 161,962 km (2004)

11,000 km (2006)