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. Over the past decade, however, the
country has suffered problems of inflation, external debt, capital
flight, and budget deficits. Growth in 2000 was a negative 0.8%, as
both domestic and foreign investors remained skeptical of the
government's ability to pay debts and maintain the peso's fixed
exchange rate with the US dollar. The economic situation worsened in
2001 with the widening of spreads on Argentine bonds, massive
withdrawals from the banks, and a further decline in consumer and
investor confidence. Government efforts to achieve a "zero deficit,"
to stabilize the banking system, and to restore economic growth
proved inadequate in the face of the mounting economic problems. The
peso's peg to the dollar was abandoned in January 2002, and the peso
was floated in February; the exchange rate plunged and real GDP fell
by 10.9% in 2002, but by mid-year the economy had stabilized, albeit
at a lower level. GDP expanded by more than 8% in 2003 and again in
2004, with unemployment falling and inflation remaining in single
digits.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$483.5 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
8.3% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $12,400 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 10.6% industry: 35.9% services: 53.5% (2004 est.)
Labor force:
15.04 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
Unemployment rate:
14.8% (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line:
44.3% (June 2004)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
6.1% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
18.3% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $29.15 billion
expenditures: $26.84 billion, including capital expenditures of NA
(2004 est.)
Public debt:
118% of GDP (June 2004 est.)
Agriculture - products:
sunflower seeds, lemons, soybeans, grapes, corn, tobacco, peanuts,
tea, wheat; livestock
Industries:
food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles,
chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel
Industrial production growth rate:
12% (2004 est.)
Electricity - production:
81.39 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 52.2% hydro: 40.8% nuclear: 6.7% other: 0.2% (2001)
Electricity - consumption:
81.65 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports:
2.818 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports:
8.775 billion kWh (2002)
Oil - production:
755,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - consumption:
486,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA
Oil - imports:
NA
Oil - proved reserves:
2.9 billion bbl (2004 est.)
Natural gas - production:
37.15 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
31.1 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
6.05 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
768 billion cu m (2004)
Current account balance:
$5.473 billion (2004 est.)
Exports:
$33.78 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities:
edible oils, fuels and energy, cereals, feed, motor vehicles
Exports - partners:
Brazil 15.3%, Chile 10.7%, US 10.2%, China 8.7%, Spain 4.4% (2004)
Imports:
$22.06 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal
manufactures, plastics
Imports - partners:
Brazil 36.2%, US 16.6%, Germany 5.7%, China 4.3% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$19.47 billion (2004 est.)
Debt - external:
$157.7 billion (2004 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
$10 billion (2001 est.)
Currency (code):
Argentine peso (ARS)
Currency code:
ARS
Exchange rates:
Argentine pesos per US dollar - 2.9233 (2004), 2.9006 (2003),
3.0633 (2002), 0.9995 (2001), 0.9995 (2000)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Communications Argentina
Telephones - main lines in use:
8,009,400 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
6.5 million (2002)
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 telecommunication technology; fiber-optic cable trunk lines
are