Argentina




                                 Geography


Location:
     Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean between
     Chile and Uruguay
Map references:
     South America, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
     2,766,890 sq km
land area:
     2,736,690 sq km
comparative area:
     slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US
Land boundaries:
     total 9,665 km, Bolivia 832 km, Brazil 1,224 km, Chile 5,150 km,
     Paraguay 1,880 km, Uruguay 579 km
Coastline:
     4,989 km
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
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
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, petroleum, uranium
Land use:
arable land:
     9%
permanent crops:
     4%
meadows and pastures:
     52%
forest and woodland:
     22%
other:
     13%




Irrigated land:
     17,600 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues:
     erosion results from inadequate flood controls and improper land use
     practices; irrigated soil degradation; desertification; air pollution
     in Buenos Aires and other major cites; water pollution in urban areas;
     rivers becoming polluted due to increased pesticide and fertilizer use
natural hazards:
     Tucuman and Mendoza areas in the Andes subject to earthquakes;
     pamperos are violent windstorms that can strike the Pampas and
     northeast; heavy flooding
international agreements:
     party to - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Climate
     Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous
     Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
     Pollution, Whaling; signed, but not ratfied - Biodiversity, Law of the
     Sea, Marine Life Conservation
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:
     33,912,994 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     1.12% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     19.62 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     8.63 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     0.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     29.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     71.35 years
male:
     68.06 years
female:
     74.81 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     2.68 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Argentine(s)
adjective:
     Argentine
Ethnic divisions:
     white 85%, mestizo, Indian, or other nonwhite groups 15%




Religions:
     nominally Roman Catholic 90% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant
     2%, Jewish 2%, other 6%
Languages:
     Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French
Literacy:
     age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population:
     95%
male:
     96%
female:
     95%
Labor force:
     10.9 million
by occupation:
     agriculture 12%, industry 31%, services 57% (1985 est.)


                                Government


Names:
conventional long form:
     Argentine Republic
conventional short form:
local long form:
     Republica Argentina
local short form:
Digraph:
     AR
Type:
     republic
Capital:
     Buenos Aires
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, Antartida e Islas del Atlantico Sur; Tucuman
note:
     the US does not recognize any claims to Antarctica or Argentina's
     claims to the Falkland Islands
Independence:
     9 July 1816 (from Spain)
National holiday:
     Revolution Day, 25 May (1810)
Constitution:
     1 May 1853
Legal system:
     mixture of US and West European legal systems; has not accepted
     compulsory ICJ jurisdiction




Suffrage:
     18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state and head of government:
     President Carlos Saul MENEM (since 8 July 1989); Vice President
     (position vacant); election last held 14 May 1989 (next to be held
     summer 1995); results - Carlos Saul MENEM was elected
cabinet:
     Cabinet; appointed by the president
Legislative branch:
     bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional)
Senate:
     elections last held May 1989, but provincial elections in late 1991
     set the stage for indirect elections by provincial senators for
     one-third of 48 seats in the national senate in May 1992; seats (48
     total) - PJ 30, UCR 11, others 7
Chamber of Deputies:
     elections last held NA October 1993 ( next to be held October 1995);
     elections are held every two years and half of the total membership is
     elected each time for four year terms; seats--(257 total) PJ 128, UCR
     81, MODIN 7, UCD 5, other 36
Judicial branch:
     Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
Political parties and leaders:
     Justicialist Party (PJ), Carlos Saul MENEM, Peronist umbrella
     political organization; Radical Civic Union (UCR),Raul ALFONSIN,
     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; Grand Front (Frente Grande),
     Carlos ALVAREZ, center-left coalition; several provincial parties
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
Member of:
     AG (observer), Australia Group, BCIE, 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, MTCR, OAS,
     PCA, RG, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNOMOZ,
     UNOSOM, UNPROFOR, UNTAC, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Raul Enrique GRANILLO OCAMPO
chancery:
     1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone:
     (202) 939-6400 through 6403
consulate(s) general:
     Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York,
     San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)




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, 8811, 9911
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


                                  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 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. Growth slowed somewhat in
     1993 but Argentina still registered an impressive 6% advance, fueled
     largely by inflows of foreign capital and strong domestic consumption
     spending. The government's major short term objective is encouraging
     exports, e.g., by reducing domestic costs of production. Much remains
     to be done in the 1990s in dismantling the old statist barriers to
     growth and in solidifying the recent economic gains.
National product:
     GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $185 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
     6% (1993 est.)
National product per capita:
     $5,500 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     7.4% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate:
     10% (1993)
Budget:
revenues:
     $33.1 billion
expenditures:
     $35.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.5 billion (1992)
Exports:
     $12.7 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.)




commodities:
     meat, wheat, corn, oilseed, hides, wool
partners:
     US 12%, Brazil, Italy, Japan, Netherlands
Imports:
     $16 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.)
commodities:
     machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, fuels and lubricants,
     agricultural products
partners:
     US 22%, Brazil, Germany, Bolivia, Japan, Italy, Netherlands
External debt:
     $73 billion (April 1994)
Industrial production:
     growth rate 10% (1992 est.); accounts for 31% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
     17,911,000 kW
production:
     51.305 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
     1,559 kWh (1992)
Industries:
     food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles,
     chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel
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
Illicit drugs:
     increasing use as a transshipment country for cocaine headed for the
     US and Europe
Economic aid:
recipient:
     US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1 billion; Western
     (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $4.4
     billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $718 million
Currency:
     1 nuevo peso argentino = 100 centavos
Exchange rates:
     pesos per US$1 - 0.99850 (January 1994), 0.99895 (1993), 0.99064
     (1992), 0.95355 (1991), 0.48759 (1990), 0.04233 (1989)
Fiscal year:
     calendar year


                              Communications


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
Highways:
total:
     208,350 km




paved:
     57,000 km
unpaved:
     gravel 39,500 km; improved/unimproved earth 111,850 km
Inland waterways:
     11,000 km navigable
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
Merchant marine:
     57 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 656,289 GRT/1,008,792 DWT, bulk
     3, cargo 29, container 4, oil tanker 14, railcar carrier 1,
     refrigerated cargo 5, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1
Airports:
total:
     1,649
usable:
     1,394
with permanent-surface runways:
     139
with runways over 3,659 m:
     0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
     31
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
     332
Telecommunications:
     extensive modern system but many families do not have telephones;
     2,650,000 telephones (12,000 public telephones); telephone density 78
     per 1000 persons; 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


                              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 age 15-49 8,417,880; fit for military service 6,825,795; reach
     military age (20) annually 292,725 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
     $NA, NA% of GDP