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.
Geography
Argentina
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: 2,766,890 sq km
land: 2,736,690 sq km water: 30,200 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly less than three-tenths
the size of the US
Land boundaries:
total: 9,861 km
border countries: Bolivia 832 km, Brazil 1,261 km, Chile 5,308
km, Paraguay 1,880 km, Uruguay 580 km
Coastline:
4,989 km
Maritime claims:
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
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: 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)
Natural resources:
fertile plains of the pampas,
lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium
total: 29.19 cu km/yr
(17%/9%/74%) per capita: 753 cu m/yr (2000)
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: Argentina is a world leader in setting voluntary
greenhouse gas targets
Environment - international agreements:
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
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); 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
total: 30.3 years
male: 29.3 years female: 31.3 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.917% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
16.32 births/1,000 population
(2008 est.)
Death rate:
7.54 deaths/1,000 population
(2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
0.39 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2008 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05
male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64
years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7
male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2008
est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 13.87
deaths/1,000 live births male: 15.65 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 11.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 76.52
years male: 72.81 years female: 80.43 years (2008
est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.09 children born/woman (2008
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.)
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk:
intermediate food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea,
hepatitis A water contact disease: leptospirosis (2008)
Nationality:
noun: Argentine(s)
adjective: Argentine
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), Italian,
English, German, French
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and
over can read and write total population: 97.2%
male: 97.2% female: 97.2% (2001 census)
Government
Argentina
Country name:
conventional long form:
Argentine Republic conventional short form: Argentina
local long form: Republica Argentina local short
form: Argentina
Government type:
republic
Capital:
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
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: the US does not recognize any
claims to Antarctica
Independence:
9 July 1816 (from Spain)
National holiday:
Revolution Day, 25 May (1810)
Constitution:
1 May 1853; amended many times
starting in 1860
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:
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%
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
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
Judicial branch:
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
Political parties and leaders:
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
Political pressure groups and leaders:
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); 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; Piquetero groups
(popular protest organizations that can be either pro or anti-government);
Roman Catholic Church; students
International organization participation:
ABEDA, AfDB, Australia Group,
BCIE, BIS, CAN (associate), CPLP (associate), CSN, 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, UN
Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union
Latina (observer), UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO,
ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
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
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Earl Anthony WAYNE embassy: Avenida Colombia 4300,
C1425GMN Buenos Aires mailing address: international mail: use
embassy street address; APO address: Unit 4334, APO AA 34034
telephone: [54] (11) 5777-4533 FAX: [54] (11)
5777-4240
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
Argentina
Economy - overview:
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.
soybeans and derivatives,
petroleum and gas, vehicles, corn, wheat
Exports - partners:
Brazil 17.5%, Chile 9.5%, US
8.9%, China 7.5% (2006)
Imports:
$40.26 billion f.o.b. (2007
est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery, motor vehicles,
petroleum and natural gas, organic chemicals, plastics
Imports - partners:
Brazil 34.8%, US 12.6%, China
9.1%, Germany 4.5% (2006)
Economic aid - recipient:
$99.66 million (2005)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$46.18 billion (31 December
2007 est.)
Debt - external:
$118 billion (30 September
2007)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$60.04 billion (2006 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$25.02 billion (2006 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$79.73 billion (2006)
Currency (code):
Argentine peso (ARS)
Currency code:
ARS
Exchange rates:
Argentine pesos per US dollar -
3.1105 (2007), 3.0543 (2006), 2.9037 (2005), 2.9233 (2004), 2.9006 (2003)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Communications
Argentina
Telephones - main lines in use:
9.46 million (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
31.51 million (2006)
Telephone system:
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 2006; mobile
telephone density has been increasing rapidly and has reached a level of
80 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)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 260 (includes 10 inactive
stations), FM (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:
2.159 million (2007)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
33 (2000)
Internet users:
8.184 million (2006)
Transportation
Argentina
Airports:
1,272 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
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)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
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)
Heliports:
1 (2007)
Pipelines:
gas 28,657 km; liquid petroleum
gas 41 km; oil 5,607 km; refined products 3,052 km; unknown (oil/water) 13
km (2007)
Railways:
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)
Roadways:
total: 229,144 km
paved: 68,809 km (includes 734 km of expressways)
unpaved: 160,335 km (2004)
Waterways:
11,000 km (2006)
Merchant marine:
total: 47 ships (1000
GRT or over) 542,556 GRT/892,818 DWT by type: bulk carrier 4,
cargo 11, chemical tanker 1, container 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 3,
petroleum tanker 23, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 1
foreign-owned: 12 (Chile 7, UK 4, Uruguay 1) registered
in other countries: 19 (Bolivia 1, Chile 1, Liberia 3, Panama 8,
Paraguay 3, Uruguay 3) (2007)
Ports and terminals:
Arroyo Seco, Bahia Blanca,
Buenos Aires, La Plata, Punta Colorada, Rosario, San Lorenzo-San Martin
Military
Argentina
Military branches:
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)
Military service age and obligation:
18-24 years of age for
voluntary military service (18-21 requires parental permission); no
conscription (2001)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49:
10,029,488 females age 16-49: 9,889,002 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49:
8,352,147 females age 16-49: 8,366,781 (2008 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 16-49: 350,040
females age 16-49: 334,830 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.3% (2005 est.)
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 implementing a modernization plan aimed at making the ground
forces lighter and more responsive (2008)
Transnational Issues
Argentina
Disputes - international:
Argentina continues to assert
its claims to the UK-administered Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and
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 (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/Brasiliera Island in the Quarai/Cuareim River leaves the
tripoint with Argentina in question; in January 2007, ICJ provisionally
ruled Uruguay may begin construction of two paper mills on the Uruguay
River, which forms the border with Argentina, while the court examines
further whether Argentina has the legal right to stop such construction
with potential environmental implications to both countries; 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)
Trafficking in persons:
current situation:
Argentina is primarily a destination country for women and children
trafficked for sexual and labor exploitation with most victims trafficked
internally, from rural to urban areas, for exploitation in prostitution;
foreign women and children trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation
come primarily from Paraguay, but also from Bolivia, Brazil, the Dominican
Republic, Colombia, and Chile; Bolivians are trafficked for forced labor;
Argentine women and girls are also trafficked to neighboring countries for
sexual exploitation tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Argentina
failed to show evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking
particularly in the key area of prosecutions
Illicit drugs:
used as a transshipment country
for cocaine headed for Europe; some money-laundering activity, especially
in the Tri-Border Area; domestic consumption of drugs in urban centers is
increasing
