Argentina (2004) | Bangladesh (2001) | |
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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 - Antartida e Islas del Atlantico Sur, Tucuman
note: the US does not recognize any claims to Antarctica |
5 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi; note - there may be one additional division named Sylhet |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 25.9% (male 5,179,236; female 4,947,234)
15-64 years: 63.6% (male 12,452,566; female 12,457,451) 65 years and over: 10.5% (male 1,685,371; female 2,422,895) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years:
35.04% (male 23,550,607; female 22,451,006) 15-64 years: 61.6% (male 41,432,123; female 39,434,633) 65 years and over: 3.36% (male 2,389,639; female 2,011,852) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sunflower seeds, lemons, soybeans, grapes, corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea, wheat; livestock | rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry |
Airports | 1,335 (2003 est.) | 18 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 144
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: 8 (2004 est.) |
total:
15 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1,190
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 50 914 to 1,523 m: 569 under 914 m: 567 (2004 est.) |
total:
3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 2,766,890 sq km
land: 2,736,690 sq km water: 30,200 sq km |
total:
144,000 sq km land: 133,910 sq km water: 10,090 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US | slightly smaller than Wisconsin |
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. | Bangladesh came into existence in 1971 when Bengali East Pakistan seceded from its union with West Pakistan. About a third of this extremely poor country annually floods during the monsoon rainy season, hampering economic development. |
Birth rate | 17.19 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 25.3 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $26.62 billion
expenditures: $26 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
revenues:
$4.9 billion expenditures: $6.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY99/00 est.) |
Capital | Buenos Aires | Dhaka |
Climate | mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest | tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October) |
Coastline | 4,989 km | 580 km |
Constitution | 1 May 1853; revised August 1994 | 4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972, suspended following coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November 1986, amended many times |
Country name | conventional long form: Argentine Republic
conventional short form: Argentina local long form: Republica Argentina local short form: Argentina |
conventional long form:
People's Republic of Bangladesh conventional short form: Bangladesh former: East Pakistan |
Currency | Argentine peso (ARS) | taka (BDT) |
Death rate | 7.57 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 8.6 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $145.6 billion (2003 est.) | $17 billion (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Lino GUTIERREZ
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 Mary Ann PETERS embassy: Road 27, House 110, Banani, Dhaka mailing address: G. P. O. Box 323, Dhaka 1000 telephone: [880] (2) 8824700 through 8824722 FAX: [880] (2) 8823744 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Jose Octavio BORDON
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-designate A. Tariq KARIM chancery: 3510 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-0183 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York |
Disputes - international | UK continues to reject sovereignty talks requested by Argentina, whose constitution still claims UK-administered Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, but in 1995 ceded the right to settle the dispute by force; Beagle Channel islands dispute resolved through Papal mediation in 1984, but armed incidents persist since 1992 oil discovery; territorial claim in Antarctica partially overlaps UK and Chilean claims (see Antarctic disputes); unruly region at convergence of Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay borders is locus of money laundering, smuggling, arms and drug trafficking, and fundraising for extremist organizations; uncontested dispute between Brazil and Uruguay over Braziliera Island in the Quarai/Cuareim River leaves the tripoint with Argentina in question | a portion of the boundary with India is indefinite; exchange of 151 enclaves along border with India subject to ratification by Indian parliament; dispute with India over South Talpatty/New Moore Island |
Economic aid - recipient | $10 billion (2001 est.) | $1.575 billion (2000 est.) |
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, 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. | Despite sustained domestic and international efforts to improve economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains one of the world's poorest, most densely populated, and least developed nations. Although more than half of GDP is generated through the service sector, nearly two-thirds of Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector, with rice as the single most important product. Major impediments to growth include frequent cyclones and floods, inefficient state-owned enterprises, inadequate port facilities, a rapidly growing labor force that cannot be absorbed by agriculture, delays in exploiting energy resources (natural gas), insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Reform is stalled in many instances by political infighting and corruption at all levels of government. Even so, Prime Minister Sheikh HASINA's Awami League government has made some headway improving the climate for foreign investors and liberalizing the capital markets. Progress on other economic reforms has been halting because of opposition from the bureaucracy, public sector unions, and other vested interest groups. |
Electricity - consumption | 92.12 billion kWh (2001) | 11.216 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 5.662 billion kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 7.417 billion kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 97.17 billion kWh (2001) | 12.06 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
93.7% hydro: 6.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Laguna del Carbon -105 m (located between Puerto San Julian and Comandante Luis Piedra Buena in the province of Santa Cruz)
highest point: Cerro Aconcagua 6,960 m (located in the northwestern corner of the province of Mendoza) |
lowest point:
Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Keokradong 1,230 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 |
many people are landless and forced to live on and cultivate flood-prone land; water-borne diseases prevalent in surface water; water pollution, especially of fishing areas, results from the use of commercial pesticides; ground water contaminated by naturally-occurring arsenic; intermittent water shortages because of falling water tables in the northern and central parts of the country; soil degradation and erosion; deforestation; severe overpopulation |
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, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | white (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%, mestizo, Amerindian, or other nonwhite groups 3% | Bengali 98%, tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims (1998) |
Exchange rates | Argentine pesos per US dollar - 2.9003 (2003), 3.0633 (2002), 0.9995 (2001), 0.9995 (2000), 0.9995 (1999) | taka per US dollar - 54.000 (January 2001), 52.142 (2000), 49.085 (1999), 46.906 (1998), 43.892 (1997), 41.794 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Nestor KIRCHNER (since 25 May 2003); Vice President Daniel SCIOLI (since 25 May 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Nestor KIRCHNER (since 25 May 2003); Vice President Daniel SCIOLI (since 25 May 2003); 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; the last election held was the presidential primary election of 27 April 2003 (next election to be held NA 2007) election results: results of the presidential primary of 27 April 2003: Carlos Saul MENEM 24.3%, Nestor KIRCHNER 22%, Ricardo Lopez MURPHY 16.4%, Adolfo Rodriguez SAA 14.4%, Elisa CARRIO 14.2%, other 8.7%; the subsequent runoff election slated for 25 May 2003 was awarded to KIRCHNER by default after MENEM withdrew his candidacy on the eve of the election |
chief of state:
President Shahabuddin AHMED (since 9 October 1996); note - the president's duties are normally ceremonial, but with the 13th amendment to the constitution ("Caretaker Government Amendment"), the president's role becomes significant at times when Parliament is dissolved and a caretaker government is installed - at presidential direction - to supervise the elections head of government: Prime Minister Sheikh HASINA (since 13 July 1996) cabinet: Cabinet selected by the prime minister and appointed by the president elections: president elected by National Parliament for a five-year term; election last held 24 July 1996 (next to be held by NA October 2001); following legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins the most seats is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results: Shahabuddin AHMED elected president without opposition; percent of National Parliament vote - NA% |
Exports | NA (2001) | $5.9 billion (2000) |
Exports - commodities | edible oils, fuels and energy, cereals, feed, motor vehicles | garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood |
Exports - partners | Brazil 15.8%, Chile 12%, US 10.6%, China 8.4%, Spain 4.7% (2003) | US 31.2%, Germany 9.95%, UK 8.06%, France 5.82%, Italy 4.42% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
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 with a large red disk slightly to the hoist side of center; the red sun of freedom represents the blood shed to achieve independence; the green field symbolizes the lush countryside, and secondarily, the traditional color of Islam |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $435.5 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $203 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 11.1%
industry: 34.8% services: 54.1% (2003 est.) |
agriculture:
30% industry: 18% services: 52% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $11,200 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,570 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 8.7% (2003 est.) | 5.3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 34 00 S, 64 00 W | 24 00 N, 90 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 Laguna del Carbon is the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere | - |
Highways | total: 215,471 km
paved: 63,348 km (including 734 km of expressways) unpaved: 152,123 km (1999) |
total:
201,182 km paved: 19,112 km unpaved: 182,070 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%:
3.9% highest 10%: 28.6% (1995-96 est.) |
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 illegal drugs produced in neighboring countries |
Imports | NA (2001) | $8.1 billion (2000) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal manufactures, plastics | machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, raw cotton, food, crude oil and petroleum products, cement |
Imports - partners | Brazil 34%, US 16.4%, Germany 5.6%, China 5.2% (2003) | India 12.2%, Singapore 7.8%, Japan 6.7%, China 6.4%, US 5.3% (1999) |
Independence | 9 July 1816 (from Spain) | 16 December 1971 (from West Pakistan); note - 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is known as Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh |
Industrial production growth rate | 16.2% (2003 est.) | 6.1% (2000 est.) |
Industries | food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel | cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar |
Infant mortality rate | total: 15.66 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 17.6 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
69.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 13.4% (2003) | 5.8% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | AfDB, Australia Group, BCIE, BIS, FAO, G-6, G-15, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, NSG, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMOVIC, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC | AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 10 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 15,610 sq km (1998 est.) | 31,000 sq km (1993 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 (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 14.92 million (2003) | 64.1 million (1998)
note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances estimated at $1.71 billion in 1998-99 |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA | agriculture 63%, services 26%, industry 11% (FY95/96) |
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:
4,246 km border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km |
Land use | arable land: 12.31%
permanent crops: 0.48% other: 87.21% (2001) |
arable land:
73% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland: 15% other: 5% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French | Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English |
Legal system | mixture of US and West European legal systems; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law |
Legislative branch | bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate (72 seats; members are elected by direct vote; presently one-third of the members elected every two years to a six-year term) and the Chamber of Deputies (257 seats; members are elected by direct vote; one-half of the members elected every two years to a four-year term)
elections: Senate - last held intermittently by province during the 2nd half of 2003 (next to be held NA 2005); Chamber of Deputies - last held intermittently by province during the 2nd half of 2003 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: Senate - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA; seats by bloc or party - PJ 41, UCR 16, provincial parties 15; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA; seats by bloc or party - PJ 133, UCR 46, IF 23, ARI 11, Socialist 6, other/provincial parties 38 |
unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad (330 seats; 300 elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies, 30 seats reserved for women; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 12 June 1996 (next to be held before 13 October 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - AL 33.87%, BNP 30.87%; seats by party - AL 178, BNP 113, JP 33, JI 3, other 3; note - the elections of 12 June 1996 brought to power an Awami League government for the first time in twenty-one years; held under a neutral, caretaker administration, the elections were characterized by a peaceful, orderly process and massive voter turnout, ending a bitter two-year impasse between the former BNP and opposition parties that had paralyzed National Parliament and led to widespread street violence |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.7 years
male: 71.95 years female: 79.65 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
60.54 years male: 60.74 years female: 60.33 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.1% male: 97.1% female: 97.1% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 56% male: 63% female: 49% (2000 est.) |
Location | Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay | Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India |
Map references | South America | Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
contiguous zone:
18 NM continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 45 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 149,007 GRT/212,620 DWT
by type: cargo 9, petroleum tanker 9, rail car carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 1, short-sea/passenger 1, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: Uruguay 1 registered in other countries: 26 (2004 est.) |
total:
35 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 268,566 GRT/375,110 DWT ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 25, container 3, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 2 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Argentine Army, Navy of the Argentine Republic (includes Naval Aviation and Marines), Argentine Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Argentina, FAA) | Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, paramilitary forces (includes Bangladesh Rifles, Bangladesh Ansars, Village Defense Parties, National Cadet Corps), Armed Police battalions |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $4.3 billion (FY99) | $559 million (FY96/97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.3% (FY00) | 1.8% (FY96/97) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 9,901,352 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
36,005,553 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 8,042,304 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
21,362,279 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 327,738 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | Revolution Day, 25 May (1810) | Independence Day, 26 March (1971); note - 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh |
Nationality | noun: Argentine(s)
adjective: Argentine |
noun:
Bangladeshi(s) adjective: Bangladeshi |
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 | droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season |
Natural resources | fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium | natural gas, arable land, timber, coal |
Net migration rate | 0.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -0.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 27,166 km; liquid petroleum gas 41 km; oil 3,668 km; refined products 2,945 km; unknown (oil/water) 13 km (2004) | natural gas 1,250 km |
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]; Interbloque Federal or IF (a broad coalition of approximately 12 parties including RECREAR) [leader NA]; Justicialist Party or PJ [leader NA] (Peronist umbrella political organization); Radical Civic Union or UCR [Angel ROZAS]; Federal Recreate Movement or RECREAR [Ricardo LOPEZ MURPHY]; Socialist Party or PS [Ruben GIUSTINIANI]; Union For All [Patricia BULLRICH]; several provincial parties | Awami League or AL [Sheikh HASINA]; Bangladesh Communist Party or BCP [Saifuddin Ahmed MANIK]; Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP [Khaleda ZIAur Rahman]; Islami Oikya Jote or IOJ [Azizol HAQ]; Jamaat-E-Islami or JI [Motiur Rahman NIZAMI]; Jatiya Party or JP [Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD] |
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); Central of Argentine Workers or CTA (a radical union for employed and unemployed workers); Peronist-dominated labor movement; Roman Catholic Church; students | NA |
Population | 39,144,753 (July 2004 est.) | 131,269,860 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 51.7% (May 2003) | 35.6% (FY95/96 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.02% (2004 est.) | 1.59% (2001 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 | Chittagong, Dhaka, Mongla Port, Narayanganj (2001) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 260 (including 10 inactive stations), FM NA (probably more than 1,000, mostly unlicensed), shortwave 6 (1998) | AM 12, FM 12, shortwave 2 (1999) |
Radios | - | 6.15 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 34,091 km (167 km electrified)
broad gauge: 20,594 km 1.676-m gauge (141 km electrified) standard gauge: 2,885 km 1.435-m gauge (26 km electrified) narrow gauge: 10,375 km 1.000-m gauge; 237 km 0.750-m gauge (2003) |
total:
2,745 km broad gauge: 923 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 1,822 km 1.000-m gauge (2000) |
Religions | nominally Roman Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4% | Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998) |
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: 0.97 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.19 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 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 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: country code - 54; satellite earth stations - 8 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); Atlantis II and Unisur submarine cables; two international gateways near Buenos Aires (1999) |
general assessment:
totally inadequate for a modern country domestic: modernizing; introducing digital systems; trunk systems include VHF and UHF microwave radio relay links, and some fiber-optic cable in cities international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); international radiotelephone communications and landline service to neighboring countries (2000) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 8,009,400 (2002) | 500,000 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 6.5 million (2002) | 283,000 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 42 (plus 444 repeaters) (1997) | 15 (1999) |
Terrain | rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western border | mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast |
Total fertility rate | 2.24 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 2.78 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 17.3% (2003) | 35.2% (1996) |
Waterways | 11,000 km (2004) | up to 8,046 km depending on season
note: includes 3,058 km main cargo routes |