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Compare Argentina (2002) - Turkmenistan (2005)

Compare Argentina (2002) z Turkmenistan (2005)

 Argentina (2002)Turkmenistan (2005)
 ArgentinaTurkmenistan
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 - Antartida e Islas del Atlantico Sur, Tucuman


note: the US does not recognize any claims to Antarctica
5 provinces (welayatlar, singular - welayat): Ahal Welayaty (Ashgabat), Balkan Welayaty (Balkanabat), Dashoguz Welayaty, Lebap Welayaty (Turkmenabat), Mary Welayaty


note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)
Age structure 0-14 years: 26.3% (male 5,090,046; female 4,854,761)


15-64 years: 63.2% (male 11,968,135; female 11,937,709)


65 years and over: 10.5% (male 1,636,332; female 2,325,834) (2002 est.)
0-14 years: 35.7% (male 909,113/female 860,128)


15-64 years: 60.2% (male 1,462,198/female 1,516,836)


65 years and over: 4.1% (male 78,119/female 125,687) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products sunflower seeds, lemons, soybeans, grapes, corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea, wheat; livestock cotton, grain; livestock
Airports 1,369 (2001) 53 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total: 145


over 3,047 m: 4


2,438 to 3,047 m: 26


1,524 to 2,437 m: 62


914 to 1,523 m: 44


under 914 m: 9 (2002)
total: 23


over 3,047 m: 1


2,438 to 3,047 m: 10


1,524 to 2,437 m: 9


914 to 1,523 m: 2


under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 1,197 1,225


over 3,047 m: 2 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 2


1,524 to 2,437 m: 50 53


914 to 1,523 m: 572 598


under 914 m: 571 570 (2002)
total: 30


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 2


under 914 m: 26 (2004 est.)
Area total: 2,766,890 sq km


land: 2,736,690 sq km


water: 30,200 sq km
total: 488,100 sq km


land: 488,100 sq km


water: negl.
Area - comparative slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US slightly larger than California
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 authoritarian rule and interference in subsequent governments 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. Annexed by Russia between 1865 and 1885, Turkmenistan became a Soviet republic in 1924. It achieved its independence upon the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. President NIYAZOV retains absolute control over the country and opposition is not tolerated. Extensive hydrocarbon/natural gas reserves could prove a boon to this underdeveloped country if extraction and delivery projects were to be expanded. The Turkmenistan Government is actively seeking to develop alternative petroleum transportation routes in order to break Russia's pipeline monopoly.
Birth rate 18.23 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) 27.68 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget revenues: $44 billion


expenditures: $48 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
revenues: $3.05 billion


expenditures: $3.05 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Capital Buenos Aires Ashgabat
Climate mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest subtropical desert
Coastline 4,989 km 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km)
Constitution 1 May 1853; revised August 1994 adopted 18 May 1992
Country name conventional long form: Argentine Republic


conventional short form: Argentina


local long form: Republica Argentina


local short form: Argentina
conventional long form: none


conventional short form: Turkmenistan


local long form: none


local short form: Turkmenistan


former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic
Currency Argentine peso (ARS) -
Death rate 7.57 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) 8.78 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external $155 billion (2001 est.) $2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador James D. WALSH


embassy: Avenida Colombia 4300, C1425GMN Buenos Aires


mailing address: international mail: use street address; APO address: Unit 4334, APO AA 34034


telephone: [54] (11) 5777-4533


FAX: [54] (11) 5777-4240
chief of mission: Ambassador Tracey A. JACOBSON


embassy: 9 Pushkin (1984) Street, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 774000


mailing address: 7070 Ashgabat Place, Washington, D.C. 20521-7070


telephone: [9] (9312) 35-00-45


FAX: [9] (9312) 39-26-14
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission: Ambassador Eduardo AMADEO


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 Mered Bairamovich ORAZOV


chancery: 2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 588-1500


FAX: [1] (202) 588-0697
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 cotton monoculture in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan creates water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya river states; bilateral talks continue with Azerbaijan on dividing the seabed and contested oilfields in the middle of the Caspian; demarcation of land boundary with Kazakhstan has started but Caspian seabed delimitation remains stalled
Economic aid - recipient $10 billion (2001 est.) $16 million from the US (2001)
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 recurring economic problems of inflation, hugh external debt, capital flight, and budget deficits. Growth in 2000 was a negative 0.5%, 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. Output was 14.7% below the previous year's figure, and unemployment remained high, at 21.5%. In order to reverse the crisis some economists recently have advocated that Argentina adopt the US dollar as the national currency, however, others argue tieing the economy closely to the dollar was precisely what led to Argentina's current problems. Turkmenistan is largely desert country with intensive agriculture in irrigated oases and large gas and oil resources. One-half of its irrigated land is planted in cotton; formerly it was the world's tenth-largest producer. Poor harvests in recent years have led to a nearly 46% decline in cotton exports. With an authoritarian ex-Communist regime in power and a tribally based social structure, Turkmenistan has taken a cautious approach to economic reform, hoping to use gas and cotton sales to sustain its inefficient economy. Privatization goals remain limited. In 1998-2004, Turkmenistan suffered from the continued lack of adequate export routes for natural gas and from obligations on extensive short-term external debt. At the same time, however, total exports rose by perhaps 30% in 2003 and 19% in 2004, largely because of higher international oil and gas prices. Overall prospects in the near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty, the burden of foreign debt, the government's irrational use of oil and gas revenues, and its unwillingness to adopt market-oriented reforms. Turkmenistan's economic statistics are state secrets, and GDP and other figures are subject to wide margins of error. In particular, the rate of GDP growth is uncertain.
Electricity - consumption 80.806 billion kWh (2000) 8.908 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports 3.7 billion kWh (2000) 1.136 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports 7.5 billion kWh (2000) 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production 82.802 billion kWh (2000) 11.41 billion kWh (2004 est.)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 52%


hydro: 41%


nuclear: 7%


other: 0% (2000)
-
Elevation extremes lowest point: Salinas Chicas -40 m (located on Peninsula Valdes)


highest point: Cerro Aconcagua 6,960 m
lowest point: Vpadina Akchanaya -81 m; note - Sarygamysh Koli is a lake in northern Turkmenistan with a water level that fluctuates above and below the elevation of Vpadina Akchanaya (the lake has dropped as low as -110 m)


highest point: Gora Ayribaba 3,139 m
Environment - current issues environmental problems (urban and rural) typical of an industrializing economy such as deforestation, soil degradation, desertification, air pollution, and water pollution


note: Argentina is a world leader in setting voluntary greenhouse gas targets
contamination of soil and groundwater with agricultural chemicals, pesticides; salination, water-logging of soil due to poor irrigation methods; Caspian Sea pollution; diversion of a large share of the flow of the Amu Darya into irrigation contributes to that river's inability to replenish the Aral Sea; desertification
Environment - international agreements party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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: Marine Life Conservation
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups white (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%, mestizo, Amerindian, or other nonwhite groups 3% Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003)
Exchange rates Argentine pesos per US dollar - 1.33325 (January 2002), 1.000 (1997-2001); note - fixed rate pegged to the US dollar was abandoned in January 2002; peso now floats Turkmen manats per US dollar - 10,100 (2004), 10,034 (2003), 10,098 (2002), 5,200 (2001)


note: in recent years the unofficial rate has hovered around 21,000 manats to the dollar
Executive branch chief of state: President Eduardo Alberto DUHALDE (since 2 January 2002); note - selected by National Congress in aftermath of resignation of former President DE LA RUA on 20 December 2001 and resignations of others who briefly held the office following DE LA RUA's departure; Vice President Carlos "Chacho" ALVAREZ resigned 6 October 2000 and the post remains vacant; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


head of government: President Eduardo Alberto DUHALDE (since 2 January 2002); note - selected by National Congress in aftermath of resignation of former President DE LA RUA on 20 December 2001 and resignations of others who briefly held the office following DE LA RUA's departure; Vice President Carlos "Chacho" ALVAREZ resigned 6 October 2000 and the post remains vacant; 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% ; Vice President Carlos "Chacho" ALVAREZ resigned 6 October 2000 and a replacement was not named; DE LA RUA resigned 20 December 2001; following a series of interim presidents, Eduardo Alberto DUHALDE was selected president by the National Congress on 1 January 2002
chief of state: President and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Saparmurat NIYAZOV (since 27 October 1990, when the first direct presidential election occurred); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


head of government: President and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Saparmurat NIYAZOV (since 27 October 1990, when the first direct presidential election occurred); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president


note: NIYAZOV's term in office was extended indefinitely on 28 December 1999 during a session of the People's Council (Halk Maslahaty)


elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 21 June 1992 (next to be held in 2008 when NIYAZOV turns 70 and is constitutionally ineligible to run); note - President NIYAZOV was unanimously approved as president for life by the People's Council on 28 December 1999; deputy chairmen of the cabinet of ministers are appointed by the president


election results: Saparmurat NIYAZOV elected president without opposition; percent of vote - Saparmurat NIYAZOV 99.5%
Exports $26.7 billion f.o.b. (2001) NA
Exports - commodities edible oils, fuels and energy, cereals, feed, motor vehicles gas, crude oil, petrochemicals, cotton fiber, textiles
Exports - partners Brazil 26.5%, US 11.8%, Chile 10.6%, Spain 3.5% (2000) Ukraine 46.6%, Iran 17.3%, Turkey 4.2%, Italy 4.1% (2004)
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 green field with a vertical red stripe near the hoist side, containing five carpet guls (designs used in producing rugs) stacked above two crossed olive branches similar to the olive branches on the UN flag; a white crescent moon and five white stars appear in the upper corner of the field just to the fly side of the red stripe
GDP purchasing power parity - $391 billion (2002 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 5%


industry: 28%


services: 66% (2000 est.)
agriculture: 28.5%


industry: 42.7%


services: 28.8% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $10,200 (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $5,700 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate -14.7% (2002 est.) IMF estimate: 7.5%


note: official government statistics show 21.4% growth, but these estimates are notoriously unreliable (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates 34 00 S, 64 00 W 40 00 N, 60 00 E
Geography - note second-largest country in South America (after Brazil); strategic location relative to sea lanes between the South Atlantic and the South Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage); Cerro Aconcagua is South America's tallest mountain, while the Valdes Peninsula is the lowest point on the continent landlocked; the western and central low-lying, desolate portions of the country make up the great Garagum (Kara-Kum) desert, which occupies over 80% of the country; eastern part is plateau
Heliports - 1 (2004 est.)
Highways total: 215,434 km


paved: 63,553 km (including 734 km of expressways)


unpaved: 151,881 km (1998 est.)
total: 24,000 km


paved: 19,488 km


unpaved: 4,512 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
lowest 10%: 2.6%


highest 10%: 31.7% (1998)
Illicit drugs used as a transshipment country for cocaine headed for Europe and the US; some money-laundering activity, especially in the Tri-Border Area; domestic consumption of drugs in urban centers is increasing transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and Western European markets; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan
Imports $20.3 billion f.o.b. (2001) NA
Imports - commodities machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal manufactures, plastics machinery and equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs
Imports - partners Brazil 25.1%, US 18.7%, Germany 5%, China 4.6% (2000) US 11.8%, Russia 9.7%, UAE 9.2%, Ukraine 9%, Turkey 8.6%, Germany 8%, France 5%, Georgia 4.6%, Iran 4.5% (2004)
Independence 9 July 1816 (from Spain) 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate 1% (2000 est.) official government estimate: 22% (2003 est.)
Industries food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing
Infant mortality rate 17.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) total: 73.08 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 76.9 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 69.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 4% (2001 est.) 9% (2004 est.)
International organization participation AfDB, Australia Group, BCIE, BIS, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-6, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, 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, UNMOVIC, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC AsDB, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 33 (2000) -
Irrigated land 15,610 sq km (1998 est.) 17,500 sq km (2003 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (the nine Supreme Court judges are appointed by the president with approval by the Senate) Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)
Labor force 15 million (1999) 2.32 million (2003 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% agriculture 48.2%, industry 13.8%, services 37% (2003 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: 3,736 km


border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km
Land use arable land: 9.14%


permanent crops: 0.8%


other: 90.06% (1998 est.)
arable land: 3.72%


permanent crops: 0.14%


other: 96.14% (2001)
Languages Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%
Legal system mixture of US and West European legal systems; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction based on civil law system
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 - last held 14 October 2001 (next to be held NA October 2003); Chamber of Deputies - last held 14 October 2001 (next to be held NA October 2003)


election results: Senate - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA%; seats by bloc or party - Justicialist (Peronist) 40, UCR 24, provincial parties 6, Frepaso 1, ARI 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA%; seats by bloc or party - Justicialist (Peronist) 113, UCR 74, provincial parties 27, Frepaso 17, ARI 17, AR 9
under the 1992 constitution, there are two parliamentary bodies, a unicameral People's Council or Halk Maslahaty (supreme legislative body of up to 2,500 delegates, some of whom are elected by popular vote and some of whom are appointed; meets at least yearly) and a unicameral Parliament or Mejlis (50 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)


elections: People's Council - last held in April 2003; Mejlis - last held 19 December 2004 (next to be held December 2009)


election results: Mejlis - DPT 100%; seats by party - DPT 50; note - all 50 elected officials are members of the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan and are preapproved by President NIYAZOV


note: in late 2003, a new law was adopted, reducing the powers of the Mejlis and making the Halk Maslahaty the supreme legislative organ; the Halk Maslahaty can now legally dissolve the Mejlis, and the president is now able to participate in the Mejlis as its supreme leader; the Mejlis can no longer adopt or amend the constitution, or announce referendums or its elections; since the president is both the "Chairman for Life" of the Halk Maslahaty and the supreme leader of the Mejlis, the 2003 law has the effect of making him the sole authority of both the executive and legislative branches of government
Life expectancy at birth total population: 75.48 years


male: 72.1 years


female: 79.03 years (2002 est.)
total population: 61.39 years


male: 58.02 years


female: 64.93 years (2005 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: 98.8%


male: 99.3%


female: 98.3% (1995 est.)
Location Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan
Map references South America Asia
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
none (landlocked)
Merchant marine total: 24 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 147,505 GRT/222,500 DWT


ships by type: cargo 9, petroleum tanker 10, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 1, short-sea passenger 1, includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: United Arab Emirates 1, Uruguay 1 (2002 est.)
total: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,873 GRT/8,345 DWT


by type: cargo 3, combination ore/oil 1, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1 (2005)
Military branches Argentine Army, Navy of the Argentine Republic (includes naval aviation and Marines), Coast Guard, Argentine Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Aeronautical Police Force Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces (2004)
Military expenditures - dollar figure $4.3 billion (FY99) $90 million (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1.3% (FY00) 3.4% (FY99)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 9,521,633 (2002 est.) -
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 7,721,219 (2002 est.) -
Military manpower - military age 20 years of age (2002 est.) -
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 335,085 (2002 est.) -
National holiday Revolution Day, 25 May (1810) Independence Day, 27 October (1991)
Nationality noun: Argentine(s)


adjective: Argentine
noun: Turkmen(s)


adjective: Turkmen
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 NA
Natural resources fertile plains of the Pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt
Net migration rate 0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) -0.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines crude oil 4,090 km; petroleum products 2,900 km; natural gas 9,918 km gas 6,549 km; oil 1,395 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders Action for the Republic or AR [Domingo CAVALLO]; Alternative for a Republic of Equals or ARI [Elisa CARRIO]; Front for a Country in Solidarity or Frepaso (a four-party coalition) [Dario Pedro ALESSANDRO]; Justicialist Party or PJ [Carlos Saul MENEM] (Peronist umbrella political organization); Radical Civic Union or UCR [Angel ROZAS]; several provincial parties Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT [Saparmurat NIYAZOV]


note: formal opposition parties are outlawed; unofficial, small opposition movements exist underground or in foreign countries; the two most prominent opposition groups-in-exile have been Gundogar and Erkin; Gundogar was led by former Foreign Minister Boris SHIKHMURADOV until his arrest and imprisonment in the wake of the 25 November 2002 assassination attempt on President NIYAZOV; Erkin is led by former Foreign Minister Abdy KULIEV and is based out of Moscow; the Union of Democratic Forces, a coalition of opposition-in-exile groups, is based in Europe
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 37,812,817 (July 2002 est.) 4,952,081 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line 37% (2001 est.) 58% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate 1.13% (2002 est.) 1.81% (2005 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 Turkmenbasy
Radio broadcast stations AM 260 (including 10 inactive stations), FM NA (probably more than 1,000, mostly unlicensed), shortwave 6 (1998) AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998)
Radios 24.3 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 est.)
total: 2,440 km


broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2004)
Religions nominally Roman Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4% Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2%
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 (2002 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female


total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal and mandatory 18 years of age; universal
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: poorly developed


domestic: NA


international: country code - 993; linked by cable and microwave radio relay to other CIS republics and to other countries by leased connections to the Moscow international gateway switch; a new telephone link from Ashgabat to Iran has been established; a new exchange in Ashgabat switches international traffic through Turkey via Intelsat; satellite earth stations - 1 Orbita and 1 Intelsat
Telephones - main lines in use 7.5 million (1998) 374,000 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular 3 million (December 1999) 52,000 (2004)
Television broadcast stations 42 (plus 444 repeaters) (1997) 4 (government owned and programmed) (2004)
Terrain rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western border flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes rising to mountains in the south; low mountains along border with Iran; borders Caspian Sea in west
Total fertility rate 2.41 children born/woman (2002 est.) 3.41 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate 25% (yearend 2001) 60% (2004 est.)
Waterways 10,950 km 1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2003)
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