administration.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $296.9 billion (1996 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 4.4% (1996)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $8,600 (1996 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 7% industry: 29% services: 64% (1995 est.)
Inflation rate - consumer price index: 0.1% (yearend 1996)
Labor force: total: 14.5 million (1995 est.) by occupation : agriculture 12%, industry 31%, services 57% (1985 est.)
Unemployment rate: 17.3% (October 1996)
Budget: revenues: $50.3 billion expenditures : $51.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.2 billion (1995 est.)
Industries: food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel
Industrial production growth rate: 5% (1996 est.)
Electricity - capacity: 20.207 million kW (1995)
Electricity - production: 67.369 billion kWh (1995)
Electricity - consumption per capita: 1,606 kWh (1995 est.)
Agriculture - products: wheat, corn, sorghum, soybeans, sugar beets; livestock
Exports: total value: $23.8 billion (f.o.b., 1996) commodities : meat, wheat, corn, oilseed, manufactures, fuels partners: Brazil 26.1%, US 8.5%, Chile 7.0%, Netherlands 5.7%, Italy 3.5% (1995)
Imports: total value: $23.7 billion (c.i.f., 1996) commodities: machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, transport equipment, agricultural products partners: Brazil 20.8%, US 20.7%, Italy 6.3%, Germany 6.2%, France 5.2% (1995)
Debt - external: $95 billion (1996 est.)
Economic aid: $NA
Currency: 1 nuevo peso argentino = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: pesos per US$1 - 0.99950 (January 1997), 0.99966 (1996), 0.99975 (1995), 0.99901 (1994), 0.99895 (1993), 0.99064 (1992)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Argentina:Communications
Telephones: 4.6 million (1990)
Telephone system: 12,000 public telephones; extensive modern system but many families do not have telephones; despite extensive use of microwave radio relay, the telephone system frequently grounds out during rainstorms, even in Buenos Aires domestic: microwave radio relay and a domestic satellite system with 40 earth stations serve the trunk network international : satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 171, FM 0, shortwave 13
Radios: 22.3 million (1991 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 231
Televisions: 7.165 million (1991 est.)
@Argentina:Transportation
Railways: total: 37,910 km broad gauge: 24,124 km 1.676-m gauge (142 km electrified) standard gauge: 2,765 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 11,021 km 1.000-m gauge (26 km electrified)
Highways: total : 216,100 km paved: 61,589 km (including 600 km of expressways) unpaved : 154,511 km (1995 est.)
Waterways: 11,000 km navigable
Pipelines: crude oil 4,090 km; petroleum products 2,900 km; natural gas 9,918 km
Ports and harbors: Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Comodoro Rivadavia,
Concepcion del Uruguay, La Plata, Mar del Plata, Necochea, Rio
Gallegos, Rosario, Santa Fe, Ushuaia
Merchant marine: total: 36 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 263,266 GRT/385,211 DWT ships by type: cargo 11, chemical tanker 1, container 2, oil tanker 14, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 6, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1 (1996 est.)
Airports: 1,202 (1996 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 598 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 25 1,524 to 2,437 m: 55 914 to 1,523 m : 44 under 914 m: 469 (1996 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 604 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m : 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 59 914 to 1,523 m: 542 (1996 est.)
Military
Military branches: Argentine Army, Navy of the Argentine Republic,
Argentine Air Force, National Gendarmerie, Argentine Naval Prefecture
(Coast Guard only), National Aeronautical Police Force
Military manpower - military age: 20 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15–49: 8,932,491 (1997 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males : 7,244,682 (1997 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 321,345 (1997 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $4.6 billion (1996)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.6% (1996)
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: short section of the boundary with Chile is
indefinite; claims British-administered Falkland Islands (Islas
Malvinas); claims British-administered South Georgia and the South
Sandwich Islands; territorial claim in Antarctica
Illicit drugs: increasing use as a transshipment country for cocaine headed for Europe and the US ______________________________________________________________________
ARMENIA
Introduction
Current issues: Armenia's leaders remain preoccupied by Armenia's nine-year old conflict with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. Although a cease-fire has been in effect since May 1994, the sides have not made substantial progress toward a peaceful resolution. President TER-PETROSSIAN's latitude on the issue may be further constrained by his controversial reelection in September 1996. When supporters of the main opposition candidate stormed the parliament following the announcement of TER-PETROSSIAN's victory, MVD forces were called in to restore order. The subsequent political standoff between government and opposition supporters diminished in late 1996 as the government has gradually attempted reconciliation. Despite these political problems, the Armenian government has been pursuing its aggressive economic reform program, although implementation of its privatization program stalled in late 1996.
@Armenia:Geography
Location: Southwestern Asia, east of Turkey
