Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.2%
male: 96.2%
female: 96.2% (1995 est.)
Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Argentine Republic
conventional short form: Argentina
local long form: Republica Argentina
local short form: Argentina
Data code: AR
Government 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
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
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Carlos Saul MENEM (since 8 July 1989);
Vice President Carlos RUCKAUF (since 8 July 1995); note—the
president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Carlos Saul MENEM (since 8 July 1989);
Vice President Carlos RUCKAUF (since 8 July 1995); note—the
president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket
by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 14 May 1995
(next to be held NA October 1999)
election results: Carlos Saul MENEM reelected president; percent of
vote—NA
Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate (72 seats; formerly, three members appointed by each of the provincial legislatures; presently transitioning to one-third of the members being elected every two years to a six-year term) and the Chamber of Deputies (257 seats; one-half of the members elected every two years to four-year terms) elections: Senate—transition phase will continue through 2001 elections when all seats will be fully contested; winners will randomly draw to determine whether they will serve a two-year, four-year, or full six-year term; Chamber of Deputies—last held 26 October 1997 (next to be held NA October 1999) election results: Senate—percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party—PJ 39, UCR 1, others 32; Chamber of Deputies—percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party—PJ 119, UCR 69, Frepaso 36, other 33
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema), the nine Supreme
Court judges are appointed by the president with approval of the
Senate
Political parties and leaders: Justicialist Party or PJ [Carlos
Saul MENEM] (Peronist umbrella political organization); Radical
NA]; Front for a Country in Solidarity or Frepaso (a four-party
Political pressure groups and leaders: Peronist-dominated labor movement; General Confederation of Labor or CGT (Peronist-leaning umbrella labor organization); Argentine Industrial Union (manufacturers' association); Argentine Rural Society (large landowners' association); Argentine Association of Pharmaceutical Labs (CILFA); business organizations; students; the Roman Catholic Church; the Armed Forces
International organization participation: AfDB, Australia Group,
BCIE, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G- 6, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IADB,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO,
IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES,
LAIA, Mercosur, MINURSO, MIPONUH, MTCR, NSG, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA,
RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR,
UNMIBH, UNMOP, UNPREDEP, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Diego Ramiro GUELAR
chancery: 1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami,
New York, and San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
embassy: 4300 Colombia, 1425 Buenos Aires
mailing address: international mail: use street address; APO
address: Unit 4334, APO AA 34034
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. However, when President Carlos MENEM took office in 1989, the country had piled up huge external debts, inflation had reached 200% per month, and output was plummeting. To combat the economic crisis, the government embarked on a path of trade liberalization, deregulation, and privatization. In 1991, it implemented radical monetary reforms which pegged the peso to the US dollar and limited the growth in the monetary base by law to the growth in reserves. Inflation fell sharply in subsequent years. The Mexican peso crisis produced capital flight, the loss of banking system deposits, and a severe, but short-lived, recession in 1995; a series of reforms to bolster the domestic banking system followed. Real GDP growth recovered strongly, reaching almost 9% in 1997. In 1998, increasing investor anxiety over Brazil, its largest trading partner, produced the highest domestic interest rates in more than three years and slowed growth to 4.3%. Despite the relatively high level of growth in recent years, double-digit unemployment rates have persisted, largely because of rigidities in Argentina's labor laws.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$374 billion (1998 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: 4.3% (1998 est.)
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity?$10,300 (1998 est.)
GDP—composition by sector: agriculture: 7% industry: 37% services: 56% (1997 est.)
Population below poverty line: 25.5% (1991 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1% (1998 est.)
Labor force: 14 million (1997)
Labor force—by occupation: agriculture 12%,