Argentina (2005) | Ethiopia (2006) | |
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 |
9 ethnically-based states (kililoch, singular - kilil) and 2 self-governing administrations* (astedaderoch, singular - astedader); Adis Abeba* (Addis Ababa), Afar, Amara (Amhara), Binshangul Gumuz, Dire Dawa*, Gambela Hizboch (Gambela Peoples), Hareri Hizb (Harari People), Oromiya (Oromia), Sumale (Somali), Tigray, Ye Debub Biheroch Bihereseboch na Hizboch (Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 25.6% (male 5,170,721/female 4,938,171)
15-64 years: 63.9% (male 12,626,711/female 12,627,026) 65 years and over: 10.6% (male 1,712,117/female 2,463,197) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 43.7% (male 16,373,718/female 16,280,766)
15-64 years: 53.6% (male 19,999,482/female 20,077,014) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 929,349/female 1,117,652) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sunflower seeds, lemons, soybeans, grapes, corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea, wheat; livestock | cereals, pulses, coffee, oilseed, cotton, sugarcane, potatoes, qat, cut flowers; hides, cattle, sheep, goats; fish |
Airports | 1,334 (2004 est.) | 84 (2006) |
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: 14
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006) |
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: 70
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 23 (2006) |
Area | total: 2,766,890 sq km
land: 2,736,690 sq km water: 30,200 sq km |
total: 1,127,127 sq km
land: 1,119,683 sq km water: 7,444 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
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. | Unique among African countries, the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule with the exception of the 1936-41 Italian occupation during World War II. In 1974, a military junta, the Derg, deposed Emperor Haile SELASSIE (who had ruled since 1930) and established a socialist state. Torn by bloody coups, uprisings, wide-scale drought, and massive refugee problems, the regime was finally toppled in 1991 by a coalition of rebel forces, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). A constitution was adopted in 1994, and Ethiopia's first multiparty elections were held in 1995. A border war with Eritrea late in the 1990's ended with a peace treaty in December 2000. Final demarcation of the boundary is currently on hold due to Ethiopian objections to an international commission's finding requiring it to surrender territory considered sensitive to Ethiopia. |
Birth rate | 16.9 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 37.98 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $29.15 billion
expenditures: $26.84 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: $2.338 billion
expenditures: $2.88 billion; including capital expenditures of $788 million (2005 est.) |
Capital | Buenos Aires | name: Addis Ababa
geographic coordinates: 9 02 N, 38 42 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest | tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation |
Coastline | 4,989 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 1 May 1853; revised August 1994 | ratified December 1994, effective 22 August 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form: Argentine Republic
conventional short form: Argentina local long form: Republica Argentina local short form: Argentina |
conventional long form: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
conventional short form: Ethiopia local long form: Ityop'iya Federalawi Demokrasiyawi Ripeblik local short form: Ityop'iya former: Abyssinia, Italian East Africa abbreviation: FDRE |
Death rate | 7.56 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 14.86 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $157.7 billion (2004 est.) | $5.101 billion (2005 est.) |
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 (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Vicki HUDDLESTON
embassy: Entoto Street, Addis Ababa mailing address: P. O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa telephone: [251] (1) 517-4000 FAX: [251] (1) 517-4888 |
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 Samuel ASSEFA
chancery: 3506 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 364-1200 FAX: [1] (202) 587-0195 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles consulate(s): New York |
Disputes - international | Argentina claims the UK-administered Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in its constitution; it briefly occupied the Falklands in 1982, but in 1995 agreed no longer to seek settlement by force; 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 illegal narcotics 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 | Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by the 2002 Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision, but mutual animosities, accusations, and armed posturing prevail, preventing demarcation despite international intervention; Ethiopia refuses to withdraw to the delimited boundary until technical errors made by the EEBC that ignored "human geography" are addressed, including the award of Badme, the focus of the 1998-2000 war; Eritrea insists that the EEBC decision be implemented immediately without modifications; Ethiopia has only an administrative line and no international border with the Oromo region of southern Somalia where it maintains alliances with local clans in opposition to the unrecognized Somali Interim Government in Mogadishu; "Somaliland" secessionists provide port facilities and trade ties to landlocked Ethiopia; efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Sudan have been delayed by civil war |
Economic aid - recipient | $10 billion (2001 est.) | $308 million (FY00/01) |
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. | Ethiopia's poverty-stricken economy is based on agriculture, accounting for half of GDP, 60% of exports, and 80% of total employment. The agricultural sector suffers from frequent drought and poor cultivation practices. Coffee is critical to the Ethiopian economy with exports of some $156 million in 2002, but historically low prices have seen many farmers switching to qat to supplement income. The war with Eritrea in 1998-2000 and recurrent drought have buffeted the economy, in particular coffee production. In November 2001, Ethiopia qualified for debt relief from the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, and in December 2005 the International Monetary Fund voted to forgive Ethiopia's debt to the body. Under Ethiopia's land tenure system, the government owns all land and provides long-term leases to the tenants; the system continues to hamper growth in the industrial sector as entrepreneurs are unable to use land as collateral for loans. Drought struck again late in 2002, leading to a 2% decline in GDP in 2003. Normal weather patterns late in 2003 helped agricultural and GDP growth recover in 2004-05. |
Electricity - consumption | 81.65 billion kWh (2002) | 1.914 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 2.818 billion kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 8.775 billion kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 81.39 billion kWh (2002) | 2.058 billion kWh (2003) |
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: Denakil Depression -125 m
highest point: Ras Dejen 4,620 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 |
deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water shortages in some areas from water-intensive farming and poor management |
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, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | white (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry), Amerindian, or other non-white groups 3% | Oromo 40%, Amhara and Tigre 32%, Sidamo 9%, Shankella 6%, Somali 6%, Afar 4%, Gurage 2%, other 1% |
Exchange rates | Argentine pesos per US dollar - 2.9233 (2004), 2.9006 (2003), 3.0633 (2002), 0.9995 (2001), 0.9995 (2000) | birr per US dollar - 8.68 (2005), 8.6356 (2004), 8.5997 (2003), 8.5678 (2002), 8.4575 (2001)
note: since 24 October 2001 exchange rates are determined on a daily basis via interbank transactions regulated by the Central Bank |
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; election last held 27 April 2003 (next election to be held NA 2007) election results: results of the presidential election 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 GIRMA Woldegiorgis (since 8 October 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister MELES Zenawi (since NA August 1995) cabinet: Council of Ministers as provided for in the December 1994 constitution; ministers are selected by the prime minister and approved by the House of People's Representatives elections: president elected by the House of People's Representatives for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 8 October 2001 (next to be held October 2007); prime minister designated by the party in power following legislative elections election results: GIRMA Woldegiorgis elected president; percent of vote by the House of People's Representatives - 100% |
Exports | NA | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | edible oils, fuels and energy, cereals, feed, motor vehicles | coffee, qat, gold, leather products, live animals, oilseeds |
Exports - partners | Brazil 15.3%, Chile 10.7%, US 10.2%, China 8.7%, Spain 4.4% (2004) | Saudi Arabia 6.9%, Djibouti 6.8%, Switzerland 6.4%, Italy 5.9%, US 5.5%, Netherlands 4.2% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 8 July - 7 July |
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 | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and red with a yellow pentagram and single yellow rays emanating from the angles between the points on a light blue disk centered on the three bands; Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa, and the three main colors of her flag were so often adopted by other African countries upon independence that they became known as the pan-African colors |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 10.6%
industry: 35.9% services: 53.5% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 47.5%
industry: 9.9% services: 42.6% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $12,400 (2004 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 8.3% (2004 est.) | 8.9% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 34 00 S, 64 00 W | 8 00 N, 38 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 | landlocked - entire coastline along the Red Sea was lost with the de jure independence of Eritrea on 24 May 1993; the Blue Nile, the chief headstream of the Nile by water volume, rises in T'ana Hayk (Lake Tana) in northwest Ethiopia; three major crops are believed to have originated in Ethiopia: coffee, grain sorghum, and castor bean |
Highways | total: 215,471 km
paved: 63,348 km (including 734 km of expressways) unpaved: 152,123 km (1999) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 33.7% (1995) |
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 hub for heroin originating in Southwest and Southeast Asia and destined for Europe and North America, as well as cocaine destined for markets in southern Africa; cultivates qat (khat) for local use and regional export, principally to Djibouti and Somalia (legal in all three countries); the lack of a well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center |
Imports | NA | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal manufactures, plastics | food and live animals, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery, motor vehicles, cereals, textiles |
Imports - partners | Brazil 36.2%, US 16.6%, Germany 5.7%, China 4.3% (2004) | Saudi Arabia 14.7%, China 12.6%, US 12.4%, **COUNTRY** 9.6%, India 6.7%, Italy 4.6% (2005) |
Independence | 9 July 1816 (from Spain) | oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world - at least 2,000 years |
Industrial production growth rate | 12% (2004 est.) | 6.7% (2001 est.) |
Industries | food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel | food processing, beverages, textiles, leather, chemicals, metals processing, cement |
Infant mortality rate | total: 15.18 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 17.07 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 93.62 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 103.43 deaths/1,000 live births female: 83.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.1% (2004 est.) | 11.6% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | AfDB, Australia Group, BCIE, BIS, CSN, 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 | ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) |
Irrigated land | 15,610 sq km (1998 est.) | 2,900 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (the nine Supreme Court judges are appointed by the president with approval by the Senate) | Federal Supreme Court (the president and vice president of the Federal Supreme Court are recommended by the prime minister and appointed by the House of People's Representatives; for other federal judges, the prime minister submits to the House of People's Representatives for appointment candidates selected by the Federal Judicial Administrative Council) |
Labor force | 15.04 million (2004 est.) | 27.27 million |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture: 80%
industry: 8% services: 12% (1985) |
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: 5,328 km
border countries: Djibouti 349 km, Eritrea 912 km, Kenya 861 km, Somalia 1,600 km, Sudan 1,606 km |
Land use | arable land: 12.31%
permanent crops: 0.48% other: 87.21% (2001) |
arable land: 10.01%
permanent crops: 0.65% other: 89.34% (2005) |
Languages | Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French | Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromigna, Guaragigna, Somali, Arabic, other local languages, English (major foreign language taught in schools) |
Legal system | mixture of US and West European legal systems; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | currently transitional mix of national and regional courts |
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 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the House of Federation or upper chamber (108 seats; members are chosen by state assemblies to serve five-year terms) and the House of People's Representatives or lower chamber (547 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote from single-member districts to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 15 May 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats by party - EPRDF 327, CUD 109, UEDF 52, SPDP 23, OFDM 11, BGPDUF 8, ANDP 8, independent 1, others 6, undeclared 2 note: irregularities at some polling stations necessitated the rescheduling of voting in certain constituencies |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.91 years
male: 72.17 years female: 79.85 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 49.03 years
male: 47.86 years female: 50.24 years (2006 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: 42.7% male: 50.3% female: 35.1% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay | Eastern Africa, west of Somalia |
Map references | South America | Africa |
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 |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 26 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 149,007 GRT/212,620 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 9, chemical tanker 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 7, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 2 (Chile 1, Uruguay 1) registered in other countries: 23 (2005) |
total: 8 ships (1000 GRT or over) 79,441 GRT/97,669 DWT
by type: cargo 6, roll on/roll off 2 (2006) |
Military - note | the Argentine military is a well-organized force constrained by the country's prolonged economic hardship; the country has recently experienced a strong recovery, and the military is now implementing "Plan 2000," aimed at making the ground forces lighter and more responsive (2005) | - |
Military branches | Argentine Army, Navy of the Argentine Republic (includes Naval Aviation and Marines), Argentine Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Argentina, FAA) | Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF): Ground Forces, Ethiopian Air Force
note: Ethiopia is landlocked and has no navy; following the secession of Eritrea, Ethiopian naval facilities remained in Eritrean possession |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $4.3 billion (FY99) | $295.9 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.3% (FY00) | 3.4% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Revolution Day, 25 May (1810) | National Day (defeat of MENGISTU regime), 28 May (1991) |
Nationality | noun: Argentine(s)
adjective: Argentine |
noun: Ethiopian(s)
adjective: Ethiopian |
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 | geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; frequent droughts |
Natural resources | fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium | small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash, natural gas, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: repatriation of Ethiopian refugees residing in Sudan is expected to continue for several years; some Sudanese, Somali, and Eritrean refugees, who fled to Ethiopia from the fighting or famine in their own countries, continue to return to their homes (2006 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) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Action for the Republic or AR [Domingo CAVALLO]; Alternative for a Republic of Equals or ARI [Elisa CARRIO]; Federal Recreate Movement or RECREAR [Ricardo LOPEZ MURPHY]; 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 (Peronist umbrella political organization) [leader NA]; Radical Civic Union or UCR [Angel ROZAS]; Socialist Party or PS [Ruben GIUSTINIANI]; Union For All [Patricia BULLRICH]; several provincial parties | Afar National Democratic Party or ANDP; Benishangul Gumuz People's Democratic Unity Front or BGPDUF [Mulualem BESSE]; Coalition for Unity and Democracy or CUD [HAILU Shawel]; Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front or EPRDF [MELES Zenawi] (an alliance of Amhara National Democratic Movement or ANDM, Oromo People's Democratic Organization or OPDO, the South Ethiopean People's Democratic Front or SEPDF, and TigrAyan Peoples' Liberation Front or TPLF); Gurage Nationalities' Democratic Movement or GNDM; Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement or OFDM [BULCHA Demeksa]; Somali People's Democratic Party or SPDP; United Ethopian Democratic Forces or UEDF [BEYENE Petros]; dozens of small parties |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Argentine Association of Pharmaceutical Labs (CILFA); Argentine Industrial Union (manufacturers' association); Argentine Rural Society (large landowners' association); business organizations; Central of Argentine Workers or CTA (a radical union for employed and unemployed workers); General Confederation of Labor or CGT (Peronist-leaning umbrella labor organization); Peronist-dominated labor movement; Roman Catholic Church; students | Afar Revolutionary Democratic Union Front or ARDUF; Oromo Liberation Front or OLF [DAOUD Ibsa]; Oromo National Liberation Front or ONLF |
Population | 39,537,943 (July 2005 est.) | 74,777,981
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 44.3% (June 2004) | 50% (2004 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.98% (2005 est.) | 2.31% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Concepcion del Uruguay, La Plata, Punta Colorada, Rosario, San Lorenzo-San Martin, San Nicolas | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 260 (including 10 inactive stations), FM NA (probably more than 1,000, mostly unlicensed), shortwave 6 (1998) | AM 8, FM 0, shortwave 1 (2001) |
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 (2004) |
total: 681 km (Ethiopian segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad)
narrow gauge: 681 km 1.000-m gauge note: railway under joint control of Djibouti and Ethiopia (2005) |
Religions | nominally Roman Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4% | Muslim 45%-50%, Ethiopian Orthodox 35%-40%, animist 12%, other 3%-8% |
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 (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 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: adequate for government use
domestic: open-wire; microwave radio relay; radio communication in the HF, VHF, and UHF frequencies; two domestic satellites provide the national trunk service international: country code - 251; open-wire to Sudan and Djibouti; microwave radio relay to Kenya and Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 8,009,400 (2002) | 610,300 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 6.5 million (2002) | 410,600 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 42 (plus 444 repeaters) (1997) | 1 plus 24 repeaters (2002) |
Terrain | rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western border | high plateau with central mountain range divided by Great Rift Valley |
Total fertility rate | 2.19 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 5.22 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 14.8% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 11,000 km (2004) | - |