Argentina Economy - 2005

Economy - overview:
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 est.)

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)

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 - 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 16.5%, Chile 10.9%, US 10.2%, China 8.5%, Spain 4.5% (2004)

Imports:
$22.06 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal manufactures, plastics

Imports - partners:
Brazil 27%, US 20%, Germany 6.6%, China 4.6%, France 4.2%, Italy 4.1% (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)

Exchange rates:
Argentine pesos per US dollar - 2.9233 (2004), 2.9006 (2003), 3.0633 (2002), 0.9995 (2001), 0.9995 (2000)