Argentina

General overview :

Capital  Buenos Aires

Official language  Spanish

Government  Federal Republic  

Flag Coat of arms

President : Néstor Kirchner  - Vice President : Daniel Scioli

Independence from Spain    9 July 1816

 Area  Total : 2,780,4001 km²

Currency  Peso (ARS)

Area:

Land boundaries:

total: 9,665 km

border countries:

1) Bolivia 832 km,

2) Brazil 1,224 km,

3) Chile 5,150 km,

4) Paraguay 1,880 km,

5) Uruguay 579 km

Socio-Cultural Environment

Population:

2006 estimate  39,921,833

2001 census  36,260,130

Age structure :

0-14 years: 25.2%

15-64 years: 64.1%

65 years and over: 10.6%

Total fertility rate :

- 2.16 children born/woman (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate :

- total: 14.73 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 16.58 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 12.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Ethnic groups:

- White (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%,

- mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry), Amerindian, or other non-white groups 3%

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

- total population: 97.1% - male: 97.1% - female: 97.1% (2003 est.)

Human Development Index

Economy

Argentina benefits from rich natural resources, a highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a diversified industrial base. The country historically had a large middle class

Economic crise 2002

A serious economic crisis has thrown Argentina into a big recession and deep political crisis that resulted in several incumbent presidents resigning to their posts between end-2001 and beginning of 2002.

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.

CORRALITO:

was the informal name for the economic measures taken in Argentina at the end of 2001 by Minister of Economy in order to stop a bank run, and which were fully in force for one year. The corralito almost completely froze bank accounts and forbade withdrawals from U.S. dollar-denominated accounts.

Economic indicators:

Recovery started in the second quarter of 2002, and there have been seventeen consecutive quarters of growth,

Sectors related to tradable goods led the initial GDP recovery, but later the impulse extended to all kind of goods.

GDP - composition by sector

Investment recovered strongly as of the last trimester of 2002, exhibiting since then high since interannual rates of growth.

Among durable equipment, import of capital goods mostly reflects the investment dynamics

As of fourth quarter 2002 consumer optimism has notably increased.

Labor and social indicators

Between 2nd quarter 2005 and 2nd quarter 2006, some 694,000 people joined the labour market (public and private jobs). The “full” employment grew faster (employment programmes decreased), mainly due to improvement in registered jobs.

After falling strongly in 2002, real wages recovered in 2003 and stabilized in 2004. In 2005 they started climbing again.

Fiscal Sector

Public spending measured in real terms was significantly lower in 2002-2005 than in previous years. Even though the tendency has been anyway increasing, it occurred without jeopardizing the conformation of high surplus.

Tax collection keeps on

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