Hungary (2001) | Argentina (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | 19 counties (megyek, singular - megye), 20 urban counties* (singular - megyei varos), and 1 capital city** (fovaros); Bacs-Kiskun, Baranya, Bekes, Bekescsaba*, Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen, Budapest**, Csongrad, Debrecen*, Dunaujvaros*, Eger*, Fejer, Gyor*, Gyor-Moson-Sopron, Hajdu-Bihar, Heves, Hodmezovasarhely*, Jasz-Nagykun-Szolnok, Kaposvar*, Kecskemet*, Komarom-Esztergom, Miskolc*, Nagykanizsa*, Nograd, Nyiregyhaza*, Pecs*, Pest, Somogy, Sopron*, Szabolcs-Szatmar-Bereg, Szeged*, Szekesfehervar*, Szolnok*, Szombathely*, Tatabanya*, Tolna, Vas, Veszprem, Veszprem*, Zala, Zalaegerszeg* | 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:
16.63% (male 862,468; female 818,052) 15-64 years: 68.66% (male 3,406,717; female 3,532,008) 65 years and over: 14.71% (male 546,992; female 939,780) (2001 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 | wheat, corn, sunflower seed, potatoes, sugar beets; pigs, cattle, poultry, dairy products | sunflower seeds, lemons, soybeans, grapes, corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea, wheat; livestock |
Airports | 43 (2000 est.) | 1,272 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
16 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 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:
27 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 8 (2000 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:
93,030 sq km land: 92,340 sq km water: 690 sq km |
total: 2,766,890 sq km
land: 2,736,690 sq km water: 30,200 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Indiana | slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US |
Background | Hungary was part of the polyglot Austro-Hungarian Empire, which collapsed during World War I. The country fell under communist rule following World War II. In 1956, a revolt and announced withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact were met with a massive military intervention by Moscow. In the more open GORBACHEV years, Hungary led the movement to dissolve the Warsaw Pact and steadily shifted toward multiparty democracy and a market-oriented economy. Following the collapse of the USSR in 1991, Hungary developed close political and economic ties to Western Europe. It joined NATO in 1999 and is a frontrunner in a future expansion of the EU. | 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 | 9.32 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 16.53 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$13 billion expenditures: $14.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $48.99 billion
expenditures: $46.87 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | Budapest | 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 | temperate; cold, cloudy, humid winters; warm summers | mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 4,989 km |
Constitution | 18 August 1949, effective 20 August 1949, revised 19 April 1972; 18 October 1989 revision ensured legal rights for individuals and constitutional checks on the authority of the prime minister and also established the principle of parliamentary oversight; 1997 amendment streamlined the judicial system | 1 May 1853; amended many times starting in 1860 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Hungary conventional short form: Hungary local long form: Magyar Koztarsasag local short form: Magyarorszag |
conventional long form: Argentine Republic
conventional short form: Argentina local long form: Republica Argentina local short form: Argentina |
Currency | forint (HUF) | - |
Death rate | 13.21 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.55 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $29.6 billion (2000) | $118 billion (30 September 2007) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Peter F. TUFO embassy: Szabadsag Ter 12, H.-1054 Budapest mailing address: pouch: American Embassy Budapest, 5270 Budapest Place, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5270 telephone: [36] (1) 475-4400, 475-4703 (after hours) FAX: [36] (1) 475-4764 |
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 Geza JESZENSZKY chancery: 3910 Shoemaker Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 362-6730 FAX: [1] (202) 966-8135 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York |
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 | Gabcikovo/Nagymaros Dam dispute with Slovakia is before the ICJ | 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 | $122.7 million (1995) | $99.66 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | Hungary continues to demonstrate strong economic growth and to work toward accession to the European Union. The private sector accounts for over 80% of GDP. Foreign ownership of and investment in Hungarian firms is widespread, with cumulative foreign direct investment totaling $23 billion by 2000. Hungarian sovereign debt was upgraded in 2000 to the second-highest rating among all the Central European transition economies. Inflation - a top economic concern in 2000 - is still high at almost 10%, pushed upward by higher world oil and gas and domestic food prices. Economic reform measures such as health care reform, tax reform, and local government financing have not yet been addressed by the ORBAN government. | 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 | 35.234 billion kWh (1999) | 88.98 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 2.35 billion kWh (1999) | 4.14 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 3.406 billion kWh (1999) | 8.017 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 36.75 billion kWh (1999) | 101.1 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
61.09% hydro: 0.51% nuclear: 38.4% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Tisza River 78 m highest point: Kekes 1,014 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 | the approximation of Hungary's standards in waste management, energy efficiency, and air, soil, and water pollution with environmental requirements for EU accession will require large investments | 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:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea |
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 | Hungarian 89.9%, Roma 4%, German 2.6%, Serb 2%, Slovak 0.8%, Romanian 0.7% | white (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry), Amerindian, or other non-white groups 3% |
Exchange rates | forints per US dollar - 282.240 (January 2001), 282.179 (2000), 237.146 (1999), 214.402 (1998), 186.789 (1997), 152.647 (1996) | 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:
Ferenc MADL (since NA August 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Viktor ORBAN (since 6 July 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 6 June 2000 (next to be held by June 2005); prime minister elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president election results: Ferenc MADL elected president; percent of legislative vote - NA% (but by a simple majority in the third round of voting); Viktor ORBAN elected prime minister; percent of legislative vote - NA% note: to be elected, the president must win two-thirds of legislative vote in the first two rounds or a simple majority in the third round |
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 | $25.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | 367,600 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment 59.5%, other manufactures 29.4%, food products 6.9%, raw materials 2.4%, fuels and electricity 1.8% (2000) | soybeans and derivatives, petroleum and gas, vehicles, corn, wheat |
Exports - partners | Germany 37%, Austria 9%, Italy 6%, Netherlands 5% (2000) | Brazil 17.5%, Chile 9.5%, US 8.9%, China 7.5% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and green | 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 - $113.9 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
5% industry: 35% services: 60% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 6%
industry: 29% services: 65% (2007 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $11,200 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.5% (2000 est.) | 8.5% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 47 00 N, 20 00 E | 34 00 S, 64 00 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; strategic location astride main land routes between Western Europe and Balkan Peninsula as well as between Ukraine and Mediterranean basin | 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 | 5 (2000 est.) | 1 (2007) |
Highways | total:
188,203 km paved: 81,680 km (including 448 km of expressways) unpaved: 106,523 km (1998 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
3.9% highest 10%: 24.8% (1996) |
lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 35% (January-March 2007) |
Illicit drugs | major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and cannabis and transit point for South American cocaine destined for Western Europe; limited producer of precursor chemicals, particularly for amphetamine and methamphetamine | 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 | $27.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | 21,650 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment 51.1%, other manufactures 35.9%, fuels and electricity 8.1%, food products 2.8%, raw materials 2.1% (2000) | machinery, motor vehicles, petroleum and natural gas, organic chemicals, plastics |
Imports - partners | Germany 25%, Russia 8%, Austria 7%, Italy 7% (2000) | Brazil 34.8%, US 12.6%, China 9.1%, Germany 4.5% (2006) |
Independence | 1001 (unification by King Stephen I) | 9 July 1816 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 18% (2000 est.) | 7% (2007 est.) |
Industries | mining, metallurgy, construction materials, processed foods, textiles, chemicals (especially pharmaceuticals), motor vehicles | food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel |
Infant mortality rate | 8.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 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) | 9.8% (1999 est.) | 8.5% official rate; actual rate may be double the official rate (2007 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 16 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 2,060 sq km (1993 est.) | 15,500 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court (judges are elected by the National Assembly for nine-year terms) | 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 | 4.2 million (1997) | 16.1 million
note: urban areas only (2007 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 65%, industry 27%, agriculture 8% (1996) | agriculture: 1%
industry: 23% services: 76% (2007 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
2,009 km border countries: Austria 366 km, Croatia 329 km, Romania 443 km, Yugoslavia 151 km, Slovakia 515 km, Slovenia 102 km, Ukraine 103 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:
51% permanent crops: 3.6% permanent pastures: 12.4% forests and woodland: 19% other: 14% (1999) |
arable land: 10.03%
permanent crops: 0.36% other: 89.61% (2005) |
Languages | Hungarian 98.2%, other 1.8% | Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French |
Legal system | rule of law based on Western model | mixture of US and West European legal systems; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Orszaggyules (386 seats; members are elected by popular vote under a system of proportional and direct representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held on 10 and 24 May 1998 (next to be held May/June 2002) election results: percent of vote by party (5% or more of the vote required for parliamentary representation in the first round) - MSZP 32.0%, FIDESZ 28.2%, FKGP 13.8%, SZDSZ 7.9%, MIEP 5.5%, MMP 4.1%, MDF 2.8%, KDNP 2.3%, MDNP 1.5%; seats by party - MSZP 134, FIDESZ 148, FKGP 48, SZDSZ 24, MDF 17, MIEP 14, independent 1; note - seating as of 2000 by party - MSZP 136, FIDESZ 141, FKGP 48, SZDSZ 24, MDF 16, MIEP 12, independents 9 |
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:
71.63 years male: 67.28 years female: 76.3 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 76.32 years
male: 72.6 years female: 80.24 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 98% (1980 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.2% male: 97.2% female: 97.2% (2001 census) |
Location | Central Europe, northwest of Romania | Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay |
Map references | Europe | South America |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | 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:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,199 GRT/1,050 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 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 | Ground Forces, Air Force; note - there is a paramilitary Border Guard which is under the Ministry of Interior | 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 | $822 million (FY00) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.6% (FY00) | 1.3% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,573,119 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
2,050,404 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
64,121 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | St. Stephen's Day, 20 August | Revolution Day, 25 May (1810) |
Nationality | noun:
Hungarian(s) adjective: Hungarian |
noun: Argentine(s)
adjective: Argentine |
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 |
Natural resources | bauxite, coal, natural gas, fertile soils, arable land | fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium |
Net migration rate | 0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,204 km; natural gas 4,387 km (1991) | 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 | Alliance of Free Democrats or SZDSZ [Gabor DEMSZKY]; Christian Democratic People's Party or KDNP [Gyorgy GICZY, president]; Federation of Young Democrats-Hungarian Civic Party or FYD-HCP [Laszlo KOVER]; note - used to be Hungarian Civic Party or FIDESZ; Hungarian Democratic Forum or MDF [Ibolya DAVID]; Hungarian Democratic People's Party or MDNP [Erzsebet PUSZTAI, chairman]; Hungarian Justice and Life Party or MIEP [Istvan CSURKA, chairman]; Hungarian Socialist Party or MSZP [Laszlo KOVACS, chairman]; Hungarian Workers' Party or MMP [Gyula THURMER, chairman]; Independent Smallholders or FKGP [Jozsef TORGYAN, president] | 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 | NA | 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 | 10,106,017 (July 2001 est.) | 40,301,927 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 8.6% (1993 est.) | 23.4% (January-June 2007) |
Population growth rate | -0.32% (2001 est.) | 0.938% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Budapest, Dunaujvaros | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 17, FM 57, shortwave 3 (1998) | AM 260 (includes 10 inactive stations), FM (probably more than 1,000, mostly unlicensed), shortwave 6 (1998) |
Radios | 7.01 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
7,606 km broad gauge: 36 km 1.524-m gauge standard gauge: 7,394 km 1.435-m gauge (2,270 km electrified; 1,236 km double track) narrow gauge: 176 km 0.760-m gauge (1998) note: Hungary and Austria jointly manage the cross-border standard-gauge railway connecting Gyor, Sopron, and Ebenfurt (Gysev railroad) a distance of about 101 km in Hungary and 65 km in Austria |
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 | Roman Catholic 67.5%, Calvinist 20%, Lutheran 5%, atheist and other 7.5% | nominally Roman Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.58 male(s)/female total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2001 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:
the telephone system has been modernized and is capable of satisfying all requests for telecommunication service domestic: the system is digitalized and highly automated; trunk services are carried by fiber-optic cable and digital microwave radio relay; a program for fiber-optic subscriber connections was initiated in 1996; heavy use is made of mobile cellular telephones international: Hungary has fiber-optic cable connections with all neighboring countries; the international switch is in Budapest; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean regions), 1 Inmarsat, 1 very small aperture terminal (VSAT) system of ground terminals |
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 | 3.095 million (1997) | 9.46 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.269 million (July 1999) | 31.51 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 35 (plus 161 low-power repeaters) (1995) | 42 (plus 444 repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly flat to rolling plains; hills and low mountains on the Slovakian border | rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western border |
Total fertility rate | 1.25 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.13 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9.4% (2000 est.) | 8.9% (2007 est.) |
Waterways | 1,373 km (permanently navigable) (1997) | 11,000 km (2006) |