Jamaica (2001) | Argentina (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | 14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland | 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:
29.7% (male 405,189; female 386,555) 15-64 years: 63.52% (male 845,226; female 847,944) 65 years and over: 6.78% (male 80,667; female 100,055) (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 | sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk | sunflower seeds, lemons, soybeans, grapes, corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea, wheat; livestock |
Airports | 35 (2000 est.) | 1,272 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 5 (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:
24 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 22 (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:
10,990 sq km land: 10,830 sq km water: 160 sq km |
total: 2,766,890 sq km
land: 2,736,690 sq km water: 30,200 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US |
Background | Jamaica gained full independence within the British Commonwealth in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence and a dropoff in tourism. Elections in 1980 saw the democratic socialists voted out of office. Subsequent governments have been open market oriented. Political violence marred elections during the 1990s. | 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 | 18.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 16.53 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$2.23 billion expenditures: $2.56 billion, including capital expenditures of $232.5 million (FY99/00 est.) |
revenues: $48.99 billion
expenditures: $46.87 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | Kingston | 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 | tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior | mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest |
Coastline | 1,022 km | 4,989 km |
Constitution | 6 August 1962 | 1 May 1853; amended many times starting in 1860 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Jamaica |
conventional long form: Argentine Republic
conventional short form: Argentina local long form: Republica Argentina local short form: Argentina |
Currency | Jamaican dollar (JMD) | - |
Death rate | 5.48 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.55 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.7 billion (2000 est.) | $118 billion (30 September 2007) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Stanley Louis MCLELLAND embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor, Kingston 5 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [1] (876) 929-4850 through 4859 FAX: [1] (876) 926-6743 |
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 Richard Leighton BERNAL chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660 FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081 consulate(s) general: Miami 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 | none | 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 | $102.7 million (1995) | $99.66 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | Key sectors in this island economy are bauxite (alumina and bauxite account for more than half of exports) and tourism. Since assuming office in 1992, Prime Minister PATTERSON has eliminated most price controls, streamlined tax schedules, and privatized government enterprises. Continued tight monetary and fiscal policies have helped slow inflation - although inflationary pressures are mounting - and stabilize the exchange rate, but have resulted in the slowdown of economic growth (moving from 1.5% in 1992 to 0.5% in 1995). In 1996, GDP showed negative growth (-1.4%) and remained negative through 1999. Serious problems include: high interest rates; increased foreign competition; the weak financial condition of business in general resulting in receiverships or closures and downsizings of companies; the shift in investment portfolios to non-productive, short-term high yield instruments; a pressured, sometimes sliding, exchange rate; a widening merchandise trade deficit; and a growing internal debt for government bailouts to various ailing sectors of the economy, particularly the financial sector. Depressed economic conditions in 1999-2000 led to increased civil unrest, including a mounting crime rate. Jamaica's medium-term prospects will depend upon encouraging investment in the productive sectors, maintaining a competitive exchange rate, stabilizing the labor environment, selling off reacquired firms, and implementing proper fiscal and monetary policies. | 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 | 6.073 billion kWh (1999) | 88.98 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 4.14 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 8.017 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 6.53 billion kWh (1999) | 101.1 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
92.28% hydro: 1.36% nuclear: 0% other: 6.36% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 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 | heavy rates of deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions | 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands 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 | black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1% | white (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry), Amerindian, or other non-white groups 3% |
Exchange rates | Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 45.557 (January 2001), 42.701 (2000), 39.044 (1999), 36.550 (1998), 35.404 (1997), 37.120 (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:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Howard Felix COOKE (since 1 August 1991) head of government: Prime Minister Percival James PATTERSON (since 30 March 1992) and Deputy Prime Minister Seymour MULLINGS (since NA 1993) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general |
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 | $1.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 367,600 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | alumina, bauxite; sugar, bananas, rum | soybeans and derivatives, petroleum and gas, vehicles, corn, wheat |
Exports - partners | US 35.7%, EU (excluding UK) 15.8%, UK 13%, Canada 10.5% (1999) | Brazil 17.5%, Chile 9.5%, US 8.9%, China 7.5% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side) | 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 - $9.7 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
7.4% industry: 35.2% services: 57.4% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 6%
industry: 29% services: 65% (2007 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.2% (2000 est.) | 8.5% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 15 N, 77 30 W | 34 00 S, 64 00 W |
Geography - note | strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for Panama Canal | 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:
19,000 km paved: 13,433 km unpaved: 5,567 km (1997) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.9% highest 10%: 28.9% (1996) |
lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 35% (January-March 2007) |
Illicit drugs | major transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation of cannabis; government has an active manual cannabis eradication program; corruption is a major concern | 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 | $3 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 21,650 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, fuel, food, chemicals, fertilizers | machinery, motor vehicles, petroleum and natural gas, organic chemicals, plastics |
Imports - partners | US 47.8%, Caricom countries 12.4%, Latin America 7.2%, EU (excluding UK) 4.7% (1999) | Brazil 34.8%, US 12.6%, China 9.1%, Germany 4.5% (2006) |
Independence | 6 August 1962 (from UK) | 9 July 1816 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | -2% (2000 est.) | 7% (2007 est.) |
Industries | tourism, bauxite, textiles, food processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products | food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel |
Infant mortality rate | 14.16 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) | 8.8% (2000 est.) | 8.5% official rate; actual rate may be double the official rate (2007 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | 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) | 21 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 350 sq km (1993 est.) | 15,500 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal | 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 | 1.13 million (1998) | 16.1 million
note: urban areas only (2007 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 60%, agriculture 21%, industry 19% (1998) | agriculture: 1%
industry: 23% services: 76% (2007 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 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:
14% permanent crops: 6% permanent pastures: 24% forests and woodland: 17% other: 39% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 10.03%
permanent crops: 0.36% other: 89.61% (2005) |
Languages | English, Creole | Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French |
Legal system | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | mixture of US and West European legal systems; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 21-member body appointed by the governor general on the recommendations of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; ruling party is allocated 13 seats, and the opposition is allocated eight seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 18 December 1997 (next to be held by March 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PNP 50, JLP 10 |
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:
75.42 years male: 73.45 years female: 77.49 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 76.32 years
male: 72.6 years female: 80.24 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 85% male: 80.8% female: 89.1% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.2% male: 97.2% female: 97.2% (2001 census) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba | Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | South America |
Maritime claims | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
contiguous zone: 24 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM 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:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,930 GRT/3,065 DWT ships by type: petroleum tanker 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 | Jamaica Defense Force (includes Ground Forces, Coast Guard, and Air Wing), Jamaica Constabulary 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 | $30 million (FY95/96 est.) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.3% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
736,627 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
517,077 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
27,729 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, first Monday in August (1962) | Revolution Day, 25 May (1810) |
Nationality | noun:
Jamaican(s) adjective: Jamaican |
noun: Argentine(s)
adjective: Argentine |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (especially July to November) | 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, gypsum, limestone | fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium |
Net migration rate | -7.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | petroleum products 10 km | 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 | Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Edward SEAGA]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Bruce GOLDING]; People's National Party or PNP [Percival James PATTERSON] | 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 | New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists) | 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 | 2,665,636 (July 2001 est.) | 40,301,927 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 34.2% (1992 est.) | 23.4% (January-June 2007) |
Population growth rate | 0.51% (2001 est.) | 0.938% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Alligator Pond, Discovery Bay, Kingston, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Port Antonio, Rocky Point, Port Esquivel (Longswharf) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 260 (includes 10 inactive stations), FM (probably more than 1,000, mostly unlicensed), shortwave 6 (1998) |
Radios | 1.215 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
370 km standard gauge: 370 km 1.435-m gauge; note - 207 km belong to the Jamaica Railway Corporation in common carrier service, but are no longer operational; the remaining track is privately owned and used to transport bauxite |
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 | Protestant 61.3% (Church of God 21.2%, Baptist 8.8%, Anglican 5.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 9%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Methodist 2.7%, United Church 2.7%, Brethren 1.1%, Jehovah's Witness 1.6%, Moravian 1.1%), Roman Catholic 4%, other, including some spiritual cults 34.7% | nominally Roman Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4% |
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: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 1 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:
fully automatic domestic telephone network domestic: NA international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); 3 coaxial submarine cables |
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 | 353,000 (1996) | 9.46 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 54,640 (1996) | 31.51 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (1997) | 42 (plus 444 repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain | rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western border |
Total fertility rate | 2.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.13 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 16% (2000 est.) | 8.9% (2007 est.) |
Waterways | none | 11,000 km (2006) |