Argentina (2001) | Iraq (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 23 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia), and 1 autonomous city* (distrito federal); Buenos Aires; Buenos Aires Capital Federal*; Catamarca; Chaco; Chubut; Cordoba; Corrientes; Entre Rios; Formosa; Jujuy; La Pampa; La Rioja; Mendoza; Misiones; Neuquen; Rio Negro; Salta; San Juan; San Luis; Santa Cruz; Santa Fe; Santiago del Estero; Tierra del Fuego, Antartica e Islas del Atlantico Sur; Tucuman
note: the US does not recognize any claims to Antarctica |
18 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Anbar, Al Basrah, Al Muthanna, Al Qadisiyah, An Najaf, Arbil, As Sulaymaniyah, At Ta'mim, Babil, Baghdad, Dahuk, Dhi Qar, Diyala, Karbala', Maysan, Ninawa, Salah ad Din, Wasit |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
26.54% (male 5,077,593; female 4,842,811) 15-64 years: 63.04% (male 11,795,282; female 11,773,855) 65 years and over: 10.42% (male 1,609,672; female 2,285,603) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 40.7% (male 5,103,669; female 4,946,443)
15-64 years: 56.3% (male 7,033,268; female 6,855,644) 65 years and over: 3% (male 348,790; female 395,499) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sunflower seeds, lemons, soybeans, grapes, corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea, wheat; livestock | wheat, barley, rice, vegetables, dates, cotton; cattle, sheep |
Airports | 1,359 (2000 est.) | 150 (2002); note - unknown number were damaged during the March-April 2003 war |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
143 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 25 1,524 to 2,437 m: 57 914 to 1,523 m: 48 under 914 m: 9 (2000 est.) |
total: 77
over 3,047 m: 21 2,438 to 3,047 m: 36 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 9 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1,216 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 56 914 to 1,523 m: 601 under 914 m: 555 (2000 est.) |
total: 73
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 24 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 11 (2002) |
Area | total:
2,766,890 sq km land: 2,736,690 sq km water: 30,200 sq km |
total: 437,072 sq km
land: 432,162 sq km water: 4,910 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US | slightly more than twice the size of Idaho |
Background | Following independence from Spain in 1816, Argentina experienced periods of internal political conflict between conservatives and liberals and between civilian and military factions. After World War II, a long period of Peronist dictatorship was followed by a military junta that took power in 1976. Democracy returned in 1983, and numerous elections since then have underscored Argentina's progress in democratic consolidation. | Formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq was occupied by Britain during the course of World War I; in 1920, it was declared a League of Nations mandate under UK administration. In stages over the next dozen years, Iraq attained its independence as a kingdom in 1932. A "republic" was proclaimed in 1958, but in actuality a series of military strongmen have ruled the country since then, the latest being SADDAM Husayn. Territorial disputes with Iran led to an inconclusive and costly eight-year war (1980-88). In August 1990, Iraq seized Kuwait, but was expelled by US-led, UN coalition forces during the Gulf War of January-February 1991. Following Kuwait's liberation, the UN Security Council (UNSC) required Iraq to scrap all weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles and to allow UN verification inspections. Continued Iraqi noncompliance with UNSC resolutions over a period of 12 years resulted in the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and the ouster of the SADDAM Husayn regime. Coalition forces remain in Iraq, helping to restore degraded infrastructure and facilitating the establishment of a freely elected government. |
Birth rate | 18.41 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 33.66 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$44 billion expenditures: $48 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
Capital | Buenos Aires | Baghdad |
Climate | mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest | mostly desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers; northern mountainous regions along Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy snows that melt in early spring, sometimes causing extensive flooding in central and southern Iraq |
Coastline | 4,989 km | 58 km |
Constitution | 1 May 1853; revised August 1994 | in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led coalition |
Country name | conventional long form:
Argentine Republic conventional short form: Argentina local long form: Republica Argentina local short form: Argentina |
conventional long form: Republic of Iraq
conventional short form: Iraq local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah local short form: Al Iraq |
Currency | Argentine peso (ARS) | Iraqi dinar (IQD) |
Death rate | 7.58 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.84 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $154 billion (2000 est.) | $120 billion (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador James D. WALSH embassy: Avenida Colombia 4300, 1425 Buenos Aires mailing address: international mail: use street address; APO address: Unit 4334, APO AA 34034 telephone: [54] (11) 4777-4533/4534 FAX: [54] (11) 4511-4997 |
in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led coalition |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Guillermo Enrique GONZALEZ chancery: 1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 238-6400 FAX: [1] (202) 332-3171 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York |
in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led coalition |
Disputes - international | claims UK-administered Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas); claims UK-administered South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; territorial claim in Antarctica partially overlaps British and Chilean claims | despite restored diplomatic relations in 1990, disputes with Iran over maritime and land boundaries, navigation channel, and other issues from eight-year war persist; land and Shatt al Arab boundary demarcation put an end to claims to Kuwait and to Bubiyan and Warbah islands, but no maritime boundary exists with Kuwait in the Persian Gulf; Iraq protests Turkey's hydrological projects to regulate the Tigris and Euphrates rivers upstream |
Economic aid - recipient | IMF offer of $13.7 billion (January 2001) | $327.5 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Argentina benefits from rich natural resources, a highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a diversified industrial base. However, when President Carlos MENEM took office in 1989, the country had piled up huge external debts, inflation had reached 200% per month, and output was plummeting. To combat the economic crisis, the government embarked on a path of trade liberalization, deregulation, and privatization. In 1991, it implemented radical monetary reforms which pegged the peso to the US dollar and limited the growth in the monetary base by law to the growth in reserves. Inflation fell sharply in subsequent years. In 1995, the Mexican peso crisis produced capital flight, the loss of banking system deposits, and a severe, but short-lived, recession; a series of reforms to bolster the domestic banking system followed. Real GDP growth recovered strongly, reaching 8% in 1997. In 1998, international financial turmoil caused by Russia's problems and increasing investor anxiety over Brazil produced the highest domestic interest rates in more than three years, halving the growth rate of the economy. Conditions worsened in 1999 with GDP falling by 3%. President Fernando DE LA RUA, who took office in December 1999, sponsored tax increases and spending cuts to reduce the deficit, which had ballooned to 2.5% of GDP in 1999. Growth in 2000 was a disappointing 0.8%, as both domestic and foreign investors remained skeptical of the government's ability to pay debts and maintain its fixed exchange rate with the US dollar. One bright spot at the start of 2001 was the IMF's offer of $13.7 billion in support. | Iraq's economy is dominated by the oil sector, which has traditionally provided about 95% of foreign exchange earnings. In the 1980s financial problems caused by massive expenditures in the eight-year war with Iran and damage to oil export facilities by Iran led the government to implement austerity measures, borrow heavily, and later reschedule foreign debt payments; Iraq suffered economic losses from the war of at least $100 billion. After hostilities ended in 1988, oil exports gradually increased with the construction of new pipelines and restoration of damaged facilities. Iraq's seizure of Kuwait in August 1990, subsequent international economic sanctions, and damage from military action by an international coalition beginning in January 1991 drastically reduced economic activity. Although government policies supporting large military and internal security forces and allocating resources to key supporters of the regime have hurt the economy, implementation of the UN's oil-for-food program beginning in December 1996 helped improve conditions for the average Iraqi citizen. Iraq was allowed to export limited amounts of oil in exchange for food, medicine, and some infrastructure spare parts. In December 1999 the UN Security Council authorized Iraq to export under the program as much oil as required to meet humanitarian needs. Oil exports have recently been more than three-quarters prewar level. However, 28% of Iraq's export revenues under the program have been deducted to meet UN Compensation Fund and UN administrative expenses. The drop in GDP in 2001-02 was largely the result of the global economic slowdown and lower oil prices. Per capita food imports increased significantly, while medical supplies and health care services steadily improved. Per capita output and living standards were still well below the prewar level, but any estimates have a wide range of error. The military victory of the US-led coalition in March-April 2003 resulted in the shutdown of much of the central economic administrative structure and the loss of a comparatively small amount of capital plant. |
Electricity - consumption | 77.111 billion kWh (1999) | 33.49 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 1.08 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 6.5 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 77.087 billion kWh (1999) | 36.01 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
60.3% hydro: 30.7% nuclear: 8.75% other: 0.25% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 98.4%
hydro: 1.6% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Salinas Chicas -40 m (located on Peninsula Valdes) highest point: Cerro Aconcagua 6,960 m |
lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: unamed peak 3,611 m; note - this peak is not Gundah Zhur 3,607 m or Kuh-e Hajji-Ebrahim 3,595 m |
Environment - current issues | environmental problems (urban and rural) typical of an industrializing economy such as soil degradation, desertification, air pollution, and water pollution
note: Argentina is a world leader in setting voluntary greenhouse gas targets |
government water control projects have drained most of the inhabited marsh areas east of An Nasiriyah by drying up or diverting the feeder streams and rivers; a once sizable population of Marsh Arabs, who inhabited these areas for thousands of years, has been displaced; furthermore, the destruction of the natural habitat poses serious threats to the area's wildlife populations; inadequate supplies of potable water; development of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers system contingent upon agreements with upstream riparian Turkey; air and water pollution; soil degradation (salination) and erosion; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
party to: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | white (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%, mestizo, Amerindian, or other nonwhite groups 3% | Arab 75%-80%, Kurdish 15%-20%, Turkoman, Assyrian or other 5% |
Exchange rates | Argentine pesos per US dollar - 1.000 (fixed rate pegged to the US dollar) | Iraqi dinars per US dollar - 0.31 (2002), 0.31 (2001), 0.31 (2000), 0.31 (1999), 0.31 (1998), note: fixed official rate since 1982; market rate subject to wide fluctuations |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Fernando DE LA RUA (since 10 December 1999); Vice President Carlos "Chacho" ALVAREZ resigned 6 October 2000 and a replacement has not yet been named; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Fernando DE LA RUA (since 10 December 1999); Vice President Carlos "Chacho" ALVAREZ resigned 6 October 2000 and a replacement has not yet been named; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 24 October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2003) election results: Fernando DE LA RUA elected president; percent of vote - 48.5% |
chief of state: in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led coalition |
Exports | $26.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | edible oils, fuels and energy, cereals, feed, motor vehicles | crude oil |
Exports - partners | Brazil 24%, EU 21%, US 11% (1999 est.) | US 40.9%, Canada 8.2%, France 8.2%, Jordan 7.5%, Netherlands 6.4%, Italy 5.4%, Morocco 4.7%, Spain 4.4% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of light blue (top), white, and light blue; centered in the white band is a radiant yellow sun with a human face known as the Sun of May | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with three green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; the phrase ALLAHU AKBAR (God is Great) in green Arabic script - Allahu to the right of the middle star and Akbar to the left of the middle star - was added in January 1991 during the Persian Gulf crisis; similar to the flag of Syria which has two stars but no script and the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt which has a symbolic eagle centered in the white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $476 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $58 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
6% industry: 32% services: 62% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 6%
industry: 13% services: 81% (1993 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $12,900 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.8% (2000 est.) | -3% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 34 00 S, 64 00 W | 33 00 N, 44 00 E |
Geography - note | second-largest country in South America (after Brazil); strategic location relative to sea lanes between South Atlantic and South Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage) | strategic location on Shatt al Arab waterway and at the head of the Persian Gulf |
Heliports | - | 5 (2002) |
Highways | total:
215,434 km paved: 63,553 km (including 734 km of expressways) unpaved: 151,881 km (1998 est.) |
total: 45,550 km
paved: 38,399 km unpaved: 7,151 km (2000 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | use as a transshipment country for cocaine headed for Europe and the US; increasing use as a money-laundering center; domestic consumption of drugs in urban centers is increasing | - |
Imports | $25.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal manufactures, plastics | food, medicine, manufactures |
Imports - partners | EU 28%, US 22%, Brazil 21% (1999 est.) | Jordan 11%, France 8.8%, China 8.4%, Germany 7.6%, Russia 7.3%, Australia 7.2%, Vietnam 6.6%, Italy 6.4%, Japan 5.6% (2002) |
Independence | 9 July 1816 (from Spain) | 3 October 1932 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Industries | food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel | petroleum, chemicals, textiles, construction materials, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | 17.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 55.16 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 61.09 deaths/1,000 live births female: 48.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.9% (2000 est.) | 70% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | AfDB, Australia Group, BCIE, BIS, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-6, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MINURSO, MIPONUH, MTCR, NSG, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, EAPC, ESCWA, FAO, G-19, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 33 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 17,000 sq km (1993 est.) | 35,250 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (the nine Supreme Court judges are appointed by the president with approval by the Senate) | in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led coalition |
Labor force | 15 million (1999) | 6.5 million (2002 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total:
9,665 km border countries: Bolivia 832 km, Brazil 1,224 km, Chile 5,150 km, Paraguay 1,880 km, Uruguay 579 km |
total: 3,650 km
border countries: Iran 1,458 km, Jordan 181 km, Kuwait 240 km, Saudi Arabia 814 km, Syria 605 km, Turkey 352 km |
Land use | arable land:
9% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 52% forests and woodland: 19% other: 19% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 11.89%
permanent crops: 0.78% other: 87.33% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French | Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Assyrian, Armenian |
Legal system | mixture of US and West European legal systems; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led coalition |
Legislative branch | bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate (72 seats; formerly, three members appointed by each of the provincial legislatures; presently transitioning to one-third of the members being elected every two years to six-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies (257 seats; one-half of the members elected every two years to four-year terms)
elections: Senate - transition phase will begin in the 2001 elections when all seats will be fully contested; winners will randomly draw to determine whether they will serve a two-year, four-year, or full six-year term, beginning a rotating cycle renovating one-third of the body every two years; Chamber of Deputies - last held 24 October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2001) election results: Senate - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA%; seats by bloc or party - Peronist 40, UCR 20, Frepaso 1, other 11; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA%; seats by bloc or party - Alliance 124 (UCR 85, Frepaso 36, others 3), Peronist 101, AR 12, other 20 |
in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led coalition |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
75.26 years male: 71.88 years female: 78.82 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 67.81 years
male: 66.7 years female: 68.99 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 96.2% male: 96.2% female: 96.2% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 40.4% male: 55.9% female: 24.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay | Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait |
Map references | South America | Middle East |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
continental shelf: not specified
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total:
26 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 185,355 GRT/281,475 DWT ships by type: cargo 9, petroleum tanker 11, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 1, short-sea passenger 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 18 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 119,433 GRT/170,221 DWT
ships by type: cargo 9, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Argentine Army, Navy of the Argentine Republic (includes Naval Aviation, Marines, and Coast Guard), Argentine Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Aeronautical Police Force | Army, Republican Guard, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Border Guard Force, Fedayeen Saddam; note - with the defeat of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, the data listed in the following entries for Iraq is invalid, but is retained here for historical purposes and until replaced by valid information related to the future Iraqi Government (April 2003) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $4.3 billion (FY99) | $1.3 billion (FY00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.3% (FY99) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
9,404,434 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 6,339,458 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
7,625,425 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 3,541,467 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
335,085 (2001 est.) |
males: 292,930 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Revolution Day, 25 May (1810) | Revolution Day, 17 July (1968) |
Nationality | noun:
Argentine(s) adjective: Argentine |
noun: Iraqi(s)
adjective: Iraqi |
Natural hazards | San Miguel de Tucuman and Mendoza areas in the Andes subject to earthquakes; pamperos are violent windstorms that can strike the Pampas and northeast; heavy flooding | dust storms, sandstorms, floods |
Natural resources | fertile plains of the Pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium | petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur |
Net migration rate | 0.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 4,090 km; petroleum products 2,900 km; natural gas 9,918 km | gas 1,739 km; oil 5,418 km; refined products 1,343 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | Action for the Republic or AR [Domingo CAVALLO]; Front for a Country in Solidarity or Frepaso (a four-party coalition) [Carlos ALVAREZ]; Justicialist Party or PJ [Carlos Saul MENEM] (Peronist umbrella political organization); Radical Civic Union or UCR [Raul ALFONSIN]; several provincial parties | in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led coalition |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Argentine Association of Pharmaceutical Labs (CILFA); Argentine Industrial Union (manufacturers' association); Argentine Rural Society (large landowners' association); business organizations; General Confederation of Labor or CGT (Peronist-leaning umbrella labor organization); Peronist-dominated labor movement; Roman Catholic Church; students | in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led coalition |
Population | 37,384,816 (July 2001 est.) | 24,683,313 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 37% (1999 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 1.15% (2001 est.) | 2.78% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Comodoro Rivadavia, Concepcion del Uruguay, La Plata, Mar del Plata, Necochea, Rio Gallegos, Rosario, Santa Fe, Ushuaia | Umm Qasr, Khawr az Zubayr, and Al Basrah have limited functionality |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 260 (including 10 inactive stations), FM NA (probably more than 1,000, mostly unlicensed), shortwave 6 (1998) | AM 19 (5 are inactive), FM 51, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | 24.3 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
33,744 km (167 km electrified) broad gauge: 20,594 km 1.676-m gauge (141 km electrified) standard gauge: 2,739 km 1.435-m gauge (26 km electrified) narrow gauge: 10,154 km 1.000-m gauge; 257 km 0.750-m gauge (2000) |
total: 1,963 km
standard gauge: 1,963 km 1.435-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | nominally Roman Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4% | Muslim 97% (Shi'a 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%), Christian or other 3% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and mandatory | formerly 18 years of age; universal; note - in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led coalition |
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 some time domestic: microwave radio relay, fiber-optic cable, and a domestic satellite system with 40 earth stations serve the trunk network; more than 110,000 pay telephones are installed and mobile telephone use is rapidly expanding international: satellite earth stations - 8 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); Atlantis II and Unisur submarine cables; two international gateways near Buenos Aires (1999) |
general assessment: an unknown number of telecommunication facilities were damaged during the March-April 2003 war
domestic: the network consists of coaxial cables and microwave radio relay links international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 1 Arabsat (inoperative); coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, and Turkey; Kuwait line is probably nonoperational |
Telephones - main lines in use | 7.5 million (1998) | 675,000 (1997); note - an unknown number of telephone lines were damaged or destroyed during the March-April war |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 3 million (December 1999) | NA; service available in northern Iraq (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 42 (plus 444 repeaters) (1997) | 13 (1997); note - unknown number were destroyed during the March-April 2003 war |
Terrain | rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western border | mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey |
Total fertility rate | 2.44 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.52 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15% (December 2000) | NA% |
Waterways | 10,950 km | 1,015 km
note: Shatt al Arab is usually navigable by maritime traffic for about 130 km; channel has been dredged to 3 m and is in use; Tigris and Euphrates Rivers have navigable sections for shallow-draft boats; Shatt al Basrah canal was navigable by shallow-draft craft before closing in 1991 because of the Gulf war |