Argentina (2001) | Greece (2002) | |
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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, Antartica e Islas del Atlantico Sur; Tucuman
note: the US does not recognize any claims to Antarctica |
51 prefectures (nomoi, singular - nomos)and 1 autonomous region*; Agion Oros* (Mt. Athos), Achaia, Aitolia kai Akarmania, Argolis, Arkadia, Arta, Attiki, Chalkidiki, Chanion, Chios, Dodekanisos, Drama, Evros, Evrytania, Evvoia, Florina, Fokidos, Fthiotis, Grevena, Ileia, Imathia, Ioannina, Irakleion, Karditsa, Kastoria, Kavala, Kefallinia, Kerkyra, Kilkis, Korinthia, Kozani, Kyklades, Lakonia, Larisa, Lasithi, Lefkas, Lesvos, Magnisia, Messinia, Pella, Pieria, Preveza, Rethynnis, Rodopi, Samos, Serrai, Thesprotia, Thessaloniki, Trikala, Voiotia, Xanthi, Zakynthos |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
26.54% (male 5,077,593; female 4,842,811) 15-64 years: 63.04% (male 11,795,282; female 11,773,855) 65 years and over: 10.42% (male 1,609,672; female 2,285,603) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 14.8% (male 814,605; female 765,613)
15-64 years: 67.1% (male 3,579,945; female 3,564,068) 65 years and over: 18.1% (male 851,087; female 1,070,025) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sunflower seeds, lemons, soybeans, grapes, corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea, wheat; livestock | wheat, corn, barley, sugar beets, olives, tomatoes, wine, tobacco, potatoes; beef, dairy products |
Airports | 1,359 (2000 est.) | 79 (note - new Athens airport at Spata opened in March 2001) (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
143 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 25 1,524 to 2,437 m: 57 914 to 1,523 m: 48 under 914 m: 9 (2000 est.) |
total: 66
over 3,047 m: 6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 15 1,524 to 2,437 m: 19 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 9 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1,216 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 56 914 to 1,523 m: 601 under 914 m: 555 (2000 est.) |
total: 13 14
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 10 (2002) |
Area | total:
2,766,890 sq km land: 2,736,690 sq km water: 30,200 sq km |
total: 131,940 sq km
land: 130,800 sq km water: 1,140 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US | slightly smaller than Alabama |
Background | Following independence from Spain in 1816, Argentina experienced periods of internal political conflict between conservatives and liberals and between civilian and military factions. After World War II, a long period of Peronist dictatorship was followed by a military junta that took power in 1976. Democracy returned in 1983, and numerous elections since then have underscored Argentina's progress in democratic consolidation. | Greece achieved its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1829. During the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, it gradually added neighboring islands and territories with Greek-speaking populations. Following the defeat of Communist rebels in 1949, Greece joined NATO in 1952. A military dictatorship, which in 1967 suspended many political liberties and forced the king to flee the country, lasted seven years. Democratic elections in 1974 and a referendum created a parliamentary republic and abolished the monarchy; Greece joined the European Community or EC in 1981 (which became the EU in 1992). |
Birth rate | 18.41 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.82 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$44 billion expenditures: $48 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $45 billion
expenditures: $47.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
Capital | Buenos Aires | Athens |
Climate | mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest | temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers |
Coastline | 4,989 km | 13,676 km |
Constitution | 1 May 1853; revised August 1994 | 11 June 1975; amended March 1986 and April 2001 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Argentine Republic conventional short form: Argentina local long form: Republica Argentina local short form: Argentina |
conventional long form: Hellenic Republic
conventional short form: Greece local long form: Elliniki Dhimokratia local short form: Ellas or Ellada former: Kingdom of Greece |
Currency | Argentine peso (ARS) | euro (EUR); drachma (GRD)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries |
Death rate | 7.58 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.79 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $154 billion (2000 est.) | $63.4 billion (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador James D. WALSH embassy: Avenida Colombia 4300, 1425 Buenos Aires mailing address: international mail: use street address; APO address: Unit 4334, APO AA 34034 telephone: [54] (11) 4777-4533/4534 FAX: [54] (11) 4511-4997 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas J. MILLER
embassy: 91 Vasilissis Sophias Avenue, 101 60 Athens mailing address: PSC 108, APO AE 09842-0108 telephone: [30] (210) 721-2951 FAX: [30] (210) 725-3025 consulate(s) general: Thessaloniki |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Guillermo Enrique GONZALEZ 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Yeoryious SAVVAIDES
chancery: 2221 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-1300 FAX: [1] (202) 939-1324 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco consulate(s): Atlanta, Houston, and New Orleans |
Disputes - international | claims UK-administered Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas); claims UK-administered South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; territorial claim in Antarctica partially overlaps British and Chilean claims | Greece and Turkey have resumed discussions to resolve their complex maritime, air, territorial, and boundary disputes in the Aegean Sea; Cyprus question with Turkey; dispute with The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia over its name |
Economic aid - recipient | IMF offer of $13.7 billion (January 2001) | $5.4 billion from EU (1997 est.) |
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. In 1995, the Mexican peso crisis produced capital flight, the loss of banking system deposits, and a severe, but short-lived, recession; a series of reforms to bolster the domestic banking system followed. Real GDP growth recovered strongly, reaching 8% in 1997. In 1998, international financial turmoil caused by Russia's problems and increasing investor anxiety over Brazil produced the highest domestic interest rates in more than three years, halving the growth rate of the economy. Conditions worsened in 1999 with GDP falling by 3%. President Fernando DE LA RUA, who took office in December 1999, sponsored tax increases and spending cuts to reduce the deficit, which had ballooned to 2.5% of GDP in 1999. Growth in 2000 was a disappointing 0.8%, as both domestic and foreign investors remained skeptical of the government's ability to pay debts and maintain its fixed exchange rate with the US dollar. One bright spot at the start of 2001 was the IMF's offer of $13.7 billion in support. | Greece has a mixed capitalist economy with the public sector accounting for about half of GDP and with per capita GDP 70% of the Big Four European economies. Tourism provides 15% of GDP. Immigrants make up nearly one-fifth of the work force, mainly in menial jobs. Greece is a major beneficiary of EU aid, equal to about 3.3% of GDP. The economy has improved steadily over the last few years, as the government tightened policy in the run-up to Greece's entry into the EU's Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) on 1 January 2001. Major challenges remaining include the reduction of unemployment and further restructuring of the economy, including privatizing several state enterprises, undertaking social security reforms, overhauling the tax system, and minimizing bureaucratic inefficiencies. Economic growth is forecast at roughly 4% in 2003. |
Electricity - consumption | 77.111 billion kWh (1999) | 46.099 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 1.08 billion kWh (1999) | 1.74 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 6.5 billion kWh (1999) | 1.729 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 77.087 billion kWh (1999) | 49.581 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
60.3% hydro: 30.7% nuclear: 8.75% other: 0.25% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 92%
hydro: 7% nuclear: 0% other: 2% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Salinas Chicas -40 m (located on Peninsula Valdes) highest point: Cerro Aconcagua 6,960 m |
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Olympus 2,917 m |
Environment - current issues | environmental problems (urban and rural) typical of an industrializing economy such as soil degradation, desertification, air pollution, and water pollution
note: Argentina is a world leader in setting voluntary greenhouse gas targets |
air pollution; water pollution |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | white (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%, mestizo, Amerindian, or other nonwhite groups 3% | Greek 98%, other 2%
note: the Greek Government states there are no ethnic divisions in Greece |
Exchange rates | Argentine pesos per US dollar - 1.000 (fixed rate pegged to the US dollar) | euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001); drachmae per US dollar - 380.21 (December 2000), 365.40 (2000), 305.65 (1999), 295.53 (1998), 273.06 (1997)
note: in January 2001, the drachma became a participating currency within the Eurosystem, and the euro market rate became applicable to all transactions |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Fernando DE LA RUA (since 10 December 1999); Vice President Carlos "Chacho" ALVAREZ resigned 6 October 2000 and a replacement has not yet been named; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Fernando DE LA RUA (since 10 December 1999); Vice President Carlos "Chacho" ALVAREZ resigned 6 October 2000 and a replacement has not yet been named; 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 24 October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2003) election results: Fernando DE LA RUA elected president; percent of vote - 48.5% |
chief of state: President Konstandinos (Kostis) STEPHANOPOULOS (since 10 March 1995)
head of government: Prime Minister Konstandinos SIMITIS (since 19 January 1996) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term; election last held 8 February 2000 (next to be held by NA February 2005); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Konstandinos STEPHANOPOULOS reelected president; percent of Parliament vote - 90% |
Exports | $26.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $12.6 billion f.o.b. (2002) |
Exports - commodities | edible oils, fuels and energy, cereals, feed, motor vehicles | food and beverages, manufactured goods, petroleum products, chemicals, textiles |
Exports - partners | Brazil 24%, EU 21%, US 11% (1999 est.) | EU 51.6% (Germany 15.9%, Italy 13.5%, UK 6.4%), US 5.7% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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 | nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white; there is a blue square in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white cross; the cross symbolizes Greek Orthodoxy, the established religion of the country |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $476 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $201.1 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
6% industry: 32% services: 62% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 9%
industry: 22% services: 70% (2000) (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $12,900 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $19,000 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.8% (2000 est.) | 3.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 34 00 S, 64 00 W | 39 00 N, 22 00 E |
Geography - 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) | strategic location dominating the Aegean Sea and southern approach to Turkish Straits; a peninsular country, possessing an archipelago of about 2,000 islands |
Heliports | - | 7 (2002) |
Highways | total:
215,434 km paved: 63,553 km (including 734 km of expressways) unpaved: 151,881 km (1998 est.) |
total: 117,000 km
paved: 107,406 km (including 470 km of expressways) unpaved: 9,594 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 25% (1993 est.) |
Illicit drugs | use as a transshipment country for cocaine headed for Europe and the US; increasing use as a money-laundering center; domestic consumption of drugs in urban centers is increasing | a gateway to Europe for traffickers smuggling cannabis and heroin from the Middle East and Southwest Asia to the West and precursor chemicals to the East; some South American cocaine transits or is consumed in Greece; money laundering related to drug trafficking and organized crime |
Imports | $25.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $31.4 billion f.o.b. (2002) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal manufactures, plastics | machinery, transport equipment, fuels, chemicals |
Imports - partners | EU 28%, US 22%, Brazil 21% (1999 est.) | EU 66.2% (Italy 15.6%, Germany 15%, France 9.2%, Netherlands 6.4%) (1999) |
Independence | 9 July 1816 (from Spain) | 1829 (from the Ottoman Empire) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1% (2000 est.) | 7% (2000 est.) |
Industries | food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel | tourism; food and tobacco processing, textiles; chemicals, metal products; mining, petroleum |
Infant mortality rate | 17.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 6.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.9% (2000 est.) | 3.6% (2002) |
International organization participation | AfDB, Australia Group, BCIE, BIS, 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, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, EMU, EU, FAO, G- 6, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UPU, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 33 (2000) | 27 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 17,000 sq km (1993 est.) | 14,220 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (the nine Supreme Court judges are appointed by the president with approval by the Senate) | Supreme Judicial Court; Special Supreme Tribunal; all judges appointed for life by the president after consultation with a judicial council |
Labor force | 15 million (1999) | 4.32 million (1999 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | industry 21%, agriculture 20%, services 59% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
9,665 km border countries: Bolivia 832 km, Brazil 1,224 km, Chile 5,150 km, Paraguay 1,880 km, Uruguay 579 km |
total: 1,228 km
border countries: Albania 282 km, Bulgaria 494 km, Turkey 206 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 246 km |
Land use | arable land:
9% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 52% forests and woodland: 19% other: 19% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 22.12%
permanent crops: 8.47% other: 69.41% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French | Greek 99% (official), English, French |
Legal system | mixture of US and West European legal systems; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on codified Roman law; judiciary divided into civil, criminal, and administrative courts |
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 six-year terms) 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 begin in the 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, beginning a rotating cycle renovating one-third of the body every two years; Chamber of Deputies - last held 24 October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2001) election results: Senate - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA%; seats by bloc or party - Peronist 40, UCR 20, Frepaso 1, other 11; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA%; seats by bloc or party - Alliance 124 (UCR 85, Frepaso 36, others 3), Peronist 101, AR 12, other 20 |
unicameral Parliament or Vouli ton Ellinon (300 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: elections last held 9 April 2000 (next to be held by NA April 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - PASOK 43.8%, ND 42.7%, KKE 5.5%, Coalition of the Left and Progress 3.2%; seats by party - PASOK 158, ND 125, KKE 11, Coalition of the Left and Progress 6; note - seats by party as of January 2002 - PASOK 156, ND 122, KKE 11, Coalition of the Left and Progress 6, independents 5 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
75.26 years male: 71.88 years female: 78.82 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 78.74 years
male: 76.17 years female: 81.48 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 96.2% male: 96.2% female: 96.2% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 98.5% female: 96% (1999) |
Location | Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay | Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey |
Map references | South America | Europe |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 6 NM |
Merchant marine | total:
26 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 185,355 GRT/281,475 DWT ships by type: cargo 9, petroleum tanker 11, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 1, short-sea passenger 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 802 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 27,998,523 GRT/49,458,125 DWT
ships by type: bulk 294, cargo 54, chemical tanker 25, combination bulk 7, combination ore/oil 5, container 45, liquefied gas 7, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 13, petroleum tanker 265, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 23, short-sea passenger 54, specialized tanker 4, vehicle carrier 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Ireland 1, Japan 1, Liberia 1, Norway 1, Panama 2, Russia 1, Saudi Arabia 1, United Kingdom 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Argentine Army, Navy of the Argentine Republic (includes Naval Aviation, Marines, and Coast Guard), Argentine Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Aeronautical Police Force | Hellenic Army, Hellenic Navy, Hellenic Air Force, Police, National Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $4.3 billion (FY99) | $6.12 billion (FY99/00 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.3% (FY99) | 4.91% (FY99/00 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
9,404,434 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 2,668,872 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
7,625,425 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 2,034,192 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age | 21 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
335,085 (2001 est.) |
males: 77,976 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Revolution Day, 25 May (1810) | Independence Day, 25 March (1821) |
Nationality | noun:
Argentine(s) adjective: Argentine |
noun: Greek(s)
adjective: Greek |
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 | severe earthquakes |
Natural resources | fertile plains of the Pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium | bauxite, lignite, magnesite, petroleum, marble, hydropower potential |
Net migration rate | 0.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 1.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 4,090 km; petroleum products 2,900 km; natural gas 9,918 km | crude oil 26 km; petroleum products 547 km |
Political parties and leaders | Action for the Republic or AR [Domingo CAVALLO]; Front for a Country in Solidarity or Frepaso (a four-party coalition) [Carlos ALVAREZ]; Justicialist Party or PJ [Carlos Saul MENEM] (Peronist umbrella political organization); Radical Civic Union or UCR [Raul ALFONSIN]; several provincial parties | Coalition of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos) [Nikolaos KONSTANDOPOULOS]; Communist Party of Greece or KKE [Aleka PAPARIGA]; New Democracy or ND (conservative) [Konstandinos KARAMANLIS]; Panhellenic Socialist Movement or PASOK [Konstandinos SIMITIS] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Argentine Association of Pharmaceutical Labs (CILFA); Argentine Industrial Union (manufacturers' association); Argentine Rural Society (large landowners' association); business organizations; General Confederation of Labor or CGT (Peronist-leaning umbrella labor organization); Peronist-dominated labor movement; Roman Catholic Church; students | NA |
Population | 37,384,816 (July 2001 est.) | 10,645,343 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 37% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.15% (2001 est.) | 0.2% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Comodoro Rivadavia, Concepcion del Uruguay, La Plata, Mar del Plata, Necochea, Rio Gallegos, Rosario, Santa Fe, Ushuaia | Alexandroupolis, Elefsis, Irakleion (Crete), Kavala, Kerkyra, Chalkis, Igoumenitsa, Lavrion, Patrai, Peiraiefs (Piraeus), Thessaloniki, Volos |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 260 (including 10 inactive stations), FM NA (probably more than 1,000, mostly unlicensed), shortwave 6 (1998) | AM 26, FM 88, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | 24.3 million (1997) | 5.02 million (1997) |
Railways | total:
33,744 km (167 km electrified) broad gauge: 20,594 km 1.676-m gauge (141 km electrified) standard gauge: 2,739 km 1.435-m gauge (26 km electrified) narrow gauge: 10,154 km 1.000-m gauge; 257 km 0.750-m gauge (2000) |
total: 2,571 km
standard gauge: 1,565 km 1.435-m gauge (36 km electrified) narrow gauge: 961 km 1.000-m gauge; 22 km 0.750-m gauge (a rack-type railway for steep grades) dual gauge: 23 km combined 1.435-m and 1.000-m gauges (three rail system) (2001 est.) |
Religions | nominally Roman Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4% | Greek Orthodox 98%, Muslim 1.3%, other 0.7% |
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: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and mandatory | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
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 is presently minimal, and making telephone service universally available will take some time 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 international: satellite earth stations - 8 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); Atlantis II and Unisur submarine cables; two international gateways near Buenos Aires (1999) |
general assessment: adequate, modern networks reach all areas; good mobile telephone and international service
domestic: microwave radio relay trunk system; extensive open wire connections; submarine cable to offshore islands international: tropospheric scatter; 8 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 7.5 million (1998) | 5.431 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 3 million (December 1999) | 937,700 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 42 (plus 444 repeaters) (1997) | 36 (plus 1,341 low-power repeaters); also two stations in the US Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (1995) |
Terrain | rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western border | mostly mountains with ranges extending into the sea as peninsulas or chains of islands |
Total fertility rate | 2.44 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.34 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15% (December 2000) | 10.3% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | 10,950 km | 80 km
note: system consists of three coastal canals including the Corinth Canal (6 km) which crosses the Isthmus of Corinth connecting the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf and shortens the sea voyage from the Adriatic to Peiraiefs (Piraeus) by 325 km; there are also three unconnected rivers |