diversified industrial base. Over the past decade, however, the
country has suffered recurring economic 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 inflation picked up rapidly, but by mid-2002 the
economy had stabilized, albeit at a lower level. Strong demand for
the peso compelled the Central Bank to intervene in foreign exchange
markets to curb its appreciation in 2003. Led by record exports, the
economy began to recover with output up 8% in 2003, unemployment
falling, and inflation reduced to under 4% at year-end.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $435.5 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
8.7% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $11,200 (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 11.1% industry: 34.8% services: 54.1% (2003 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
15.1% of GDP (2003)
Population below poverty line:
51.7% (May 2003)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
13.4% (2003)
Labor force:
14.92 million (2003)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA
Unemployment rate:
17.3% (2003)
Budget:
revenues: $26.62 billion
expenditures: $26 billion, including capital expenditures of NA
(2003 est.)
Public debt:
65.7% of GDP (2003 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:
16.2% (2003 est.)
Electricity - production:
97.17 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - consumption:
92.12 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
5.662 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
7.417 billion kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
828,600 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
486,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA (2001)
Oil - imports:
NA (2001)
Oil - proved reserves:
2.927 billion bbl (1 January 2002)
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 (1 January 2002)
Current account balance:
$7.855 billion (2003)
Exports:
$29.57 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Exports - commodities:
edible oils, fuels and energy, cereals, feed, motor vehicles
Exports - partners:
Brazil 15.8%, Chile 12%, US 10.6%, China 8.4%, Spain 4.7% (2003)
Imports:
$13.27 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal
manufactures, plastics
Imports - partners:
Brazil 34%, US 16.4%, Germany 5.6%, China 5.2% (2003)
Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$14.16 billion (2003)
Debt - external:
$145.6 billion (2003 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
$10 billion (2001 est.)
Currency:
Argentine peso (ARS)
Currency code:
ARS
Exchange rates:
Argentine pesos per US dollar - 2.9003 (2003), 3.0633 (2002),
0.9995 (2001), 0.9995 (2000), 0.9995 (1999)
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 being installed between all major cities; the major networks are
entirely digital and the availability of telephone service is being
improved; however, telephone density