Argentine Economy, Argentina Economy

Economy - overview: Argentina benefits from rich natural resources, a highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a diversified industrial base. Over the past decade, however, the country has suffered problems of inflation, external debt, capital flight, and budget deficits. Growth in 2000 was a negative 0.8%, as both domestic and foreign investors remained skeptical of the government's ability to pay debts and maintain the peso's fixed exchange rate with the US dollar. The economic situation worsened in 2001 with the widening of spreads on Argentine bonds, massive withdrawals from the banks, and a further decline in consumer and investor confidence. Government efforts to achieve a "zero deficit," to stabilize the banking system, and to restore economic growth proved inadequate in the face of the mounting economic problems. The peso's peg to the dollar was abandoned in January 2002, and the peso was floated in February; the exchange rate plunged and real GDP fell by 10.9% in 2002, but by mid-year the economy had stabilized, albeit at a lower level. GDP expanded by more than 8% in 2003 and again in 2004, with unemployment falling and inflation remaining in single digits.

GDP: 1.3% (FY00)

GDP - real growth rate: 8.3% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita: Purchasing power parity - $12,400 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: Agriculture: 10.6% industry: 35.9% services: 53.5% (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line: 44.3% (June 2004)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: Lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

Distribution of family income - Gini index:

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

Labor force: 15.04 million (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: Agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%

Unemployment rate: 14.8% (2004 est.)

Budget: Revenues: $29.15 billion expenditures: $26.84 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)

Industries: Food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel

Industrial production growth rate: 12% (2004 est.)

Electricity - production: 81.39 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - production by source:

Electricity - consumption: 81.65 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports: 2.818 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports: 8.775 billion kWh (2002)

Oil - production: 755,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption: 486,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports: NA

Oil - imports: NA

Oil - proved reserves: 2.9 billion bbl (2004 est.)

Natural gas - production: 37.15 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 31.1 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports: 6.05 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves: 768 billion cu m (2004)

Agriculture - products: Sunflower seeds, lemons, soybeans, grapes, corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea, wheat; livestock

Exports: $33.78 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities: Edible oils, fuels and energy, cereals, feed, motor vehicles

Exports - partners: Brazil 15.3%, Chile 10.7%, US 10.2%, China 8.7%, Spain 4.4% (2004)

Imports: $22.06 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities: Machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal manufactures, plastics

Imports - partners: Brazil 36.2%, US 16.6%, Germany 5.7%, China 4.3% (2004)

Debt - external: $157.7 billion (2004 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $10 billion (2001 est.)

Currency:

Currency code:

Exchange rates: Argentine pesos per US dollar - 2.9233 (2004), 2.9006 (2003), 3.0633 (2002), 0.9995 (2001), 0.9995 (2000)

Fiscal year: Calendar year

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The information here has been derived from Public Domain Sources such as the CIA World Factbook. No liability can be taken for any inaccuracies.

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