rate:14.8% (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line:
44.3% (June 2004)
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
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)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 52.2% hydro: 40.8% nuclear: 6.7% other: 0.2% (2001)
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)
Current account balance:
$5.473 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 (code):
Argentine peso (ARS)
Currency code:
ARS
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
Communications Argentina
Telephones - main lines in use:
8,009,400 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
6.5 million (2002)
Telephone system:
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 telecommunication 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 being
improved; however, telephone density is presently minimal, and
making telephone service universally available will take time
domestic: microwave radio relay, fiber-optic cable, and a domestic
satellite system with 40 earth stations serve the trunk network;
more than
