Argentina Economy:
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 (purchasing power parity):
$483.5 billion (2004 est.)
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)
Labor force:
15.04 million (2004 est.)
Labor force by occupation:
agriculture: NA, industry: NA, services: NA
Unemployment rate:
14.8% (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line:
44.3% (June 2004 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
6.1% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
18.3% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $29.15 billion (2004 est.)
expenditures: $26.84 billion including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Public debt:
118% of GDP (June 2004 est.)
Agriculture products:
Sunflower seeds, lemons, soybeans, grapes, corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea, wheat; livestock
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 est.)
Electricity consumption:
81.65 billion kWh (2002 est.)
Electricity exports:
2.82 billion kWh (2002 est.)
Electricity imports:
8.78 billion kWh (2002 est.)
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 est.)
Current account balance:
$5.47 billion (2004 est.)
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)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$19.47 billion (2004 est.)
Debt external:
$157.7 billion (2004 est.)
Economic aid recipient:
$10 billion (2001 est.)
Currency:
Argentine peso (ARS)
Exchange rates:
Argentine pesos per US$: 2.92 (2004 est.), 2.9 (2003 est.), 3.06 (2002 est.), 1 (2001 est.), 1 (2000 est.)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
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