Eritrea (2004) | Argentina (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 regions (zobatat, singular - zoba); Anseba, Debub, Debubawi K'eyih Bahri, Gash Barka, Ma'akel, Semenawi Keyih Bahri | 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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 44.8% (male 998,404; female 993,349)
15-64 years: 51.9% (male 1,140,892; female 1,166,481) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 72,776; female 75,405) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 24.9% (male 5,134,958/female 4,905,181)
15-64 years: 64.4% (male 12,979,588/female 12,967,507) 65 years and over: 10.7% (male 1,769,593/female 2,545,100) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, coffee, sisal; livestock, goats; fish | sunflower seeds, lemons, soybeans, grapes, corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea, wheat; livestock |
Airports | 18 (2003 est.) | 1,272 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
total: 154
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 26 1,524 to 2,437 m: 65 914 to 1,523 m: 50 under 914 m: 9 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 13
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
total: 1,118
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 44 914 to 1,523 m: 515 under 914 m: 556 (2007) |
Area | total: 121,320 sq km
land: 121,320 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 2,766,890 sq km
land: 2,736,690 sq km water: 30,200 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Pennsylvania | slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US |
Background | Eritrea was awarded to Ethiopia in 1952 as part of a federation. Ethiopia's annexation of Eritrea as a province 10 years later sparked a 30-year struggle for independence that ended in 1991 with Eritrean rebels defeating governmental forces; independence was overwhelmingly approved in a 1993 referendum. A two-and-a-half-year border war with Ethiopia that erupted in 1998 ended under UN auspices on 12 December 2000. Eritrea currently hosts a UN peacekeeping operation that is monitoring a 25 km-wide Temporary Security Zone on the border with Ethiopia. An international commission, organized to resolve the border dispute, posted its findings in 2002 but final demarcation is on hold due to Ethiopian objections. | In 1816, the United Provinces of the Rio Plata declared their independence from Spain. After Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay went their separate ways, the area that remained became Argentina. The country's population and culture were heavily shaped by immigrants from throughout Europe, but most particularly Italy and Spain, which provided the largest percentage of newcomers from 1860 to 1930. Up until about the mid-20th century, much of Argentina's history was dominated by periods of internal political conflict between Federalists and Unitarians and between civilian and military factions. After World War II, an era 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 has persisted despite numerous challenges, the most formidable of which was a severe economic crisis in 2001-02 that led to violent public protests and the resignation of several interim presidents. The economy has recovered strongly since bottoming out in 2002. |
Birth rate | 39.03 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 16.53 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $235.7 million
expenditures: $375 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2003 est.) |
revenues: $48.99 billion
expenditures: $46.87 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | Asmara (formerly Asmera) | name: Buenos Aires
geographic coordinates: 34 36 S, 58 40 W time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in October; ends third Saturday in March; note - a new policy of daylight saving time was initiated by the government on 30 December 2007 |
Climate | hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually); semiarid in western hills and lowlands; rainfall heaviest during June-September except in coastal desert | mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest |
Coastline | 2,234 km total; mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea 1,083 km | 4,989 km |
Constitution | the transitional constitution, decreed on 19 May 1993, was replaced by a new constitution adopted on 23 May 1997, but not yet implemented | 1 May 1853; amended many times starting in 1860 |
Country name | conventional long form: State of Eritrea
conventional short form: Eritrea local long form: Hagere Ertra local short form: Ertra former: Eritrea Autonomous Region in Ethiopia |
conventional long form: Argentine Republic
conventional short form: Argentina local long form: Republica Argentina local short form: Argentina |
Currency | nakfa (ERN) | - |
Death rate | 13.36 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 7.55 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $311 million (2000 est.) | $118 billion (30 September 2007) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Scott H. DELISI
embassy: Franklin D. Roosevelt Street, Asmara mailing address: P. O. Box 211, Asmara telephone: [291] (1) 120004 FAX: [291] (1) 127584 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Earl Anthony WAYNE
embassy: Avenida Colombia 4300, C1425GMN Buenos Aires mailing address: international mail: use embassy street address; APO address: Unit 4334, APO AA 34034 telephone: [54] (11) 5777-4533 FAX: [54] (11) 5777-4240 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador GIRMA Asmerom
chancery: 1708 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 319-1991 FAX: [1] (202) 319-1304 consulate(s) general: Oakland (California) |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Jose Luis PEREZ GABILONDO
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 |
Disputes - international | Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by 2002 Ethiopia-Eritrea Border Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision, but demarcation has been delayed, despite intense international intervention, by Ethiopian insistence that the decision ignored "human geography," made technical errors in the delimitation, and incorrectly awarded Badme, the focus of the 1998-2000 war, and other areas to Eritrea and Eritrea's insistence on not deviating from the commission's decision; UN Peacekeeping Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) continues to monitor a 25km-wide Temporary Security Zone in Eritrea until the demarcation; Sudan accuses Eritrea of supporting Sudanese rebel groups; Eritrea protests Yemeni fishing around the Hanish Islands awarded to Eritrea by the ICJ in 1999 | Argentina continues to assert its claims to the UK-administered Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in its constitution, forcibly occupying 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/Brasiliera Island in the Quarai/Cuareim River leaves the tripoint with Argentina in question; in January 2007, ICJ provisionally ruled Uruguay may begin construction of two paper mills on the Uruguay River, which forms the border with Argentina, while the court examines further whether Argentina has the legal right to stop such construction with potential environmental implications to both countries; the joint boundary commission, established by Chile and Argentina in 2001 has yet to map and demarcate the delimited boundary in the inhospitable Andean Southern Ice Field (Campo de Hielo Sur) |
Economic aid - recipient | $77 million (1999) | $99.66 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | Since independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993, Eritrea has faced the economic problems of a small, desperately poor country. Like the economies of many African nations, the economy is largely based on subsistence agriculture, with 80% of the population involved in farming and herding. The Ethiopian-Eritrea war in 1998-2000 severely hurt Eritrea's economy. GDP growth fell to zero in 1999 and to -12.1% in 2000. The May 2000 Ethiopian offensive into northern Eritrea caused some $600 million in property damage and loss, including losses of $225 million in livestock and 55,000 homes. The attack prevented planting of crops in Eritrea's most productive region, causing food production to drop by 62%. Even during the war, Eritrea developed its transportation infrastructure, asphalting new roads, improving its ports, and repairing war damaged roads and bridges. Since the war ended, the government has maintained a firm grip on the economy, expanding the use of the military and party-owned businesses to complete Eritrea's development agenda. Erratic rainfall and the delayed demobilization of agriculturalists from the military kept cereal production well below normal, holding down growth in 2002. Eritrea's economic future depends upon its ability to master social problems such as illiteracy, unemployment, and low skills, and to open its economy to private enterprise so the diaspora's money and expertise can foster economic growth. | Argentina benefits from rich natural resources, a highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a diversified industrial base. Although one of the world's wealthiest countries 100 years ago, Argentina suffered during most of the 20th century from recurring economic crises, persistent fiscal and current account deficits, high inflation, mounting external debt, and capital flight. A severe depression, growing public and external indebtedness, and a bank run culminated in 2001 in the most serious economic, social, and political crisis in the country's turbulent history. Interim President Adolfo RODRIGUEZ SAA declared a default - the largest in history - on the government's foreign debt in December of that year, and abruptly resigned only a few days after taking office. His successor, Eduardo DUHALDE, announced an end to the peso's decade-long 1-to-1 peg to the US dollar in early 2002. The economy bottomed out that year, with real GDP 18% smaller than in 1998 and almost 60% of Argentines under the poverty line. Real GDP rebounded to grow by an average 9% annually over the subsequent five years, taking advantage of previously idled industrial capacity and labor, an audacious debt restructuring and reduced debt burden, excellent international financial conditions, and expansionary monetary and fiscal policies. Inflation, however, reached double-digit levels in 2006 and the government of President Nestor KIRCHNER responded with "voluntary" price agreements with businesses, as well as export taxes and restraints. Multi-year price freezes on electricity and natural gas rates for residential users stoked consumption and kept private investment away, leading to restrictions on industrial use and blackouts in 2007. |
Electricity - consumption | 205.1 million kWh (2001) | 88.98 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh NA kWh (2001) | 4.14 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh NA kWh (2001) | 8.017 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 220.5 million kWh (2001) | 101.1 billion kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: near Kulul within the Denakil depression -75 m
highest point: Soira 3,018 m |
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) |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare | 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 |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 |
Ethnic groups | ethnic Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3%, other 3% | white (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry), Amerindian, or other non-white groups 3% |
Exchange rates | nakfa (ERN) per US dollar - NA (2003), 13.9582 (2002), 11.3095 (2001), 9.5 (2000), 7.6 (1999) | Argentine pesos per US dollar - 3.1105 (2007), 3.0543 (2006), 2.9037 (2005), 2.9233 (2004), 2.9006 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly
head of government: President ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly cabinet: State Council is the collective executive authority; members appointed by the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly; election last held 8 June 1993 (next election date uncertain as the National Assembly did not hold a presidential election in December 2001 as anticipated) election results: ISAIAS Afworki elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - ISAIAS Afworki 95% |
chief of state: President Cristina FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER (since 10 December 2007); Vice President Julio COBOS (since 10 December 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Cristina FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER (since 10 December 2007); Vice President Julio COBOS (since 10 December 2007) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 28 October 2007 (next election to be held in 2011) election results: Cristina FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER elected president; percent of vote - Cristina FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER 45%, Elisa CARRIO 23%, Roberto LAVAGNA 17%, Alberto Rodriguez SAA 8% |
Exports | NA (2001) | 367,600 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | livestock, sorghum, textiles, food, small manufactures (2000) | soybeans and derivatives, petroleum and gas, vehicles, corn, wheat |
Exports - partners | Malaysia 65.1%, Italy 10.4%, France 4.4% (2003) | Brazil 17.5%, Chile 9.5%, US 8.9%, China 7.5% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) dividing the flag into two right triangles; the upper triangle is green, the lower one is blue; a gold wreath encircling a gold olive branch is centered on the hoist side of the red triangle | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3.3 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 12.4%
industry: 25.3% services: 62.4% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 6%
industry: 29% services: 65% (2007 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $700 (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 2% (2002 est.) | 8.5% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 39 00 E | 34 00 S, 64 00 W |
Geography - note | strategic geopolitical position along world's busiest shipping lanes; Eritrea retained the entire coastline of Ethiopia along the Red Sea upon de jure independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993 | 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); diverse geophysical landscapes range from tropical climates in the north to tundra in the far south; Cerro Aconcagua is the Western Hemisphere's tallest mountain, while Laguna del Carbon is the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere |
Heliports | - | 1 (2007) |
Highways | total: 4,010 km
paved: 874 km unpaved: 3,136 km (1999 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 35% (January-March 2007) |
Illicit drugs | - | used as a transshipment country for cocaine headed for Europe; some money-laundering activity, especially in the Tri-Border Area; domestic consumption of drugs in urban centers is increasing |
Imports | NA (2001) | 21,650 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured goods (2000) | machinery, motor vehicles, petroleum and natural gas, organic chemicals, plastics |
Imports - partners | US 39.7%, Italy 19.1%, Turkey 6.8%, Russia 5.4%, France 4.7% (2003) | Brazil 34.8%, US 12.6%, China 9.1%, Germany 4.5% (2006) |
Independence | 24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia) | 9 July 1816 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 7% (2007 est.) |
Industries | food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles | food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel |
Infant mortality rate | total: 75.59 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 83.03 deaths/1,000 live births female: 67.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 14.29 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 16.11 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 12.3% (2003) | 8.5% official rate; actual rate may be double the official rate (2007 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (observer), IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO | ABEDA, AfDB, Australia Group, BCIE, BIS, CAN (associate), CPLP (associate), CSN, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, NSG, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina (observer), UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | 220 sq km (1998 est.) | 15,500 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | High Court - regional, subregional, and village courts; also have military and special courts | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (the nine Supreme Court judges are appointed by the president with approval by the Senate)
note: the Supreme Court currently has two unfilled vacancies, and the Argentine Congress is considering a bill to reduce the number of Supreme Court judges to five |
Labor force | NA (1999) | 16.1 million
note: urban areas only (2007 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80%, industry and services 20% | agriculture: 1%
industry: 23% services: 76% (2007 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,626 km
border countries: Djibouti 109 km, Ethiopia 912 km, Sudan 605 km |
total: 9,861 km
border countries: Bolivia 832 km, Brazil 1,261 km, Chile 5,308 km, Paraguay 1,880 km, Uruguay 580 km |
Land use | arable land: 4.95%
permanent crops: 0.03% other: 95.02% (2001) |
arable land: 10.03%
permanent crops: 0.36% other: 89.61% (2005) |
Languages | Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages | Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French |
Legal system | primary basis is the Ethiopian legal code of 1957, with revisions; new civil, commercial, and penal codes have not yet been promulgated; also relies on customary and post-independence-enacted laws and, for civil cases involving Muslims, Sharia law | mixture of US and West European legal systems; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (150 seats; term limits not established)
elections: in May 1997, following the adoption of the new constitution, 75 members of the PFDJ Central Committee (the old Central Committee of the EPLF), 60 members of the 527-member Constituent Assembly, that had been established in 1997 to discuss and ratify the new constitution, and 15 representatives of Eritreans living abroad were formed into a Transitional National Assembly to serve as the country's legislative body until countrywide elections to a National Assembly were held; although only 75 of 150 members of the Transitional National Assembly were elected, the constitution stipulates that once past the transition stage, all members of the National Assembly will be elected by secret ballot of all eligible voters; National Assembly elections scheduled for December 2001 were postponed indefinitely |
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 serve six-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies (257 seats; members are elected by direct vote; one-half of the members elected every two years to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 28 October 2007 (next to be held in 2009); Chamber of Deputies - last held last held 28 October 2007 (next to be held in 2009) election results: Senate - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA; seats by bloc or party - FV 12, UCR 4, CC 4, other 4; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA; seats by bloc or party - FV 5, UCR 10, PJ 10, PRO 6, CC 16, FJ 2, other 31; note - Senate and Chamber of Deputies seating reflect the number of replaced senators and deputies, rather than the whole Senate and Chamber of Deputies |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 52.7 years
male: 51.32 years female: 54.12 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 76.32 years
male: 72.6 years female: 80.24 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: 58.6% male: 69.9% female: 47.6% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.2% male: 97.2% female: 97.2% (2001 census) |
Location | Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan | Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay |
Map references | Africa | South America |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm | 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 |
Merchant marine | total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 16,069 GRT/19,549 DWT
by type: bulk 1, cargo 1, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 registered in other countries: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 47 ships (1000 GRT or over) 542,556 GRT/892,818 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 4, cargo 11, chemical tanker 1, container 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 23, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 12 (Chile 7, UK 4, Uruguay 1) registered in other countries: 19 (Bolivia 1, Chile 1, Liberia 3, Panama 8, Paraguay 3, Uruguay 3) (2007) |
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 | Army, Navy, Air Force | Argentine Army (Ejercito Argentino), Navy of the Argentine Republic (Armada Republica; includes naval aviation and naval infantry), Argentine Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Argentina, FAA) (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $77.9 million (2003) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 11.8% (2003) | 1.3% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | NA (2004) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 24 May (1993) | Revolution Day, 25 May (1810) |
Nationality | noun: Eritrean(s)
adjective: Eritrean |
noun: Argentine(s)
adjective: Argentine |
Natural hazards | frequent droughts; locust swarms | 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 |
Natural resources | gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish | fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: UNHCR began repatriating about 150,000 Eritrean refugees from Sudan in 2001 following the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2000 (2004 est.) |
0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 28,657 km; liquid petroleum gas 41 km; oil 5,607 km; refined products 3,052 km; unknown (oil/water) 13 km (2007) |
Political parties and leaders | People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ, the only party recognized by the government [ISAIAS Afworki]; note - a National Assembly committee drafted a law on political parties in January 2001, but the full National Assembly has not yet debated or voted on it | Coalicion Civica (a broad coalition loosely affiliated with Elisa CARRIO); Front for Victory or FV (a broad coalition, including elements of the UCR and numerous provincial parties) [Cristina FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER]; Interbloque Federal or IF (a broad coalition of approximately 12 parties including PRO); Justicialist Front or FJ; Justicialist Party or PJ (Peronist umbrella political organization); Radical Civic Union or UCR [Gerardo MORALES]; Republican Proposal or PRO (including Federal Recreate Movement or RECREAR [Ricardo LOPEZ MURPHY] and Commitment for Change or CPC [Mauricio MACRI]); Socialist Party or PS [Ruben GIUSTINIANI]; Union For All [Patricia BULLRICH]; several provincial parties |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Eritrean Islamic Jihad or EIJ [leader NA] (also including Eritrean Islamic Jihad Movement or EIJM (also known as the Abu Sihel Movement) [leader NA]); Eritrean Islamic Salvation or EIS (also known as the Arafa Movement) [leader NA]; Eritrean Liberation Front or ELF [ABDULLAH Muhammed]; Eritrean National Alliance or ENA (a coalition including EIJ, EIS, ELF, and a number of ELF factions) [HERUY Tedla Biru]; Eritrean Public Forum or EPF [ARADOM Iyob] | Argentine Association of Pharmaceutical Labs (CILFA); Argentine Industrial Union (manufacturers' association); Argentine Rural Confederation or CRA (small to medium landowners' 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; Piquetero groups (popular protest organizations that can be either pro or anti-government); Roman Catholic Church; students |
Population | 4,447,307 (July 2004 est.) | 40,301,927 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 53% (1993/94) | 23.4% (January-June 2007) |
Population growth rate | 2.57% (2004 est.) | 0.938% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Assab (Aseb), Massawa (Mits'iwa) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM NA, shortwave 2 (2000) | AM 260 (includes 10 inactive stations), FM (probably more than 1,000, mostly unlicensed), shortwave 6 (1998) |
Railways | total: 306 km
narrow gauge: 306 km 0.950-m gauge note: railway is being rebuilt; 117 km open (2003) |
total: 31,902 km
broad gauge: 20,858 km 1.676-m gauge (141 km electrified) standard gauge: 2,885 km 1.435-m gauge (26 km electrified) narrow gauge: 7,922 km 1.000-m gauge; 237 km 0.750-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant | nominally Roman Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.047 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.001 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.695 male(s)/female total population: 0.974 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment: inadequate
domestic: very inadequate; most telephones are in Asmara; government is seeking international tenders to improve the system (2002) international: country code - 291; note - international connections exist |
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 telecommunications 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 improving; fixed-line telephone density is gradually increasing reaching nearly 25 lines per 100 people in 2006; mobile telephone density has been increasing rapidly and has reached a level of 80 telephones per 100 persons
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; broadband services are gaining ground international: country code - 54; landing point for the Atlantis-2, UNISUR, and South America-1 optical submarine cable systems that provide links to Europe, Africa, South and Central America, and US; satellite earth stations - 112; 2 international gateways near Buenos Aires (2007) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 38,100 (2003) | 9.46 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 31.51 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 42 (plus 444 repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | dominated by extension of Ethiopian north-south trending highlands, descending on the east to a coastal desert plain, on the northwest to hilly terrain and on the southwest to flat-to-rolling plains | rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western border |
Total fertility rate | 5.67 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 2.13 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA (2003 est.) | 8.9% (2007 est.) |
Waterways | - | 11,000 km (2006) |