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República Argentina Argentine Republic Capital: Buenos Aires ~ Stefan Stoev Basic facts Neighbors: Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia and Chile Administrative Divisions: 23 provinces and 1 federal district Climate: temperate, with extremes ranging from subtropical in the north to subpolar in the south Natural Resources: fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium Government: Federal Republic President: Néstor Kirchner Currency: Argentine Peso(ARS) Geography/Demography • • • • • • Area: 2,766,890 sq km (1,068,296 sq mi) Population: 40,301,927 Population density: 14.46/sq km Population growth rate: 0.938 Net migration rate: 0.4 migrants/1000 population Life expectancy: total population: 76.32 years male: 72.6 years female: 80.24 years • Ethnic groups: 97% white, 3% others • Religion: 92% Roman-catholic, 2% Protestant, 2% Jewish, 4% others • Language: Spanish Economy • • • • • • • • • • GDP(PPP): $599.1 billion GDP(official exchange rate): $210 billion GDP per capita (PPP): $15,000 GDP Growth rate: 8.5%(2006) GDP composition by sectors: agriculture—9.5% industry—35.8% services—54.7% Inflation Rate: 10% Unemployment Rate: 10.2% Government Budget: expenditures—$47.6 billion revenues—$52.1 billion balance—$4.5 billion Outstanding public debt: 62.2% of GDP Current Account Balance: $5.81 billion Imports/Exports • • • Export commodities: edible oils, fuels and energy, cereals, feed, motor vehicles Export partners: Brazil(15,8%), US(11,4%), Chile(11,2%), China(7,9%) Import commodities: machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal manufactures, plastics • Import Partners: Brazil(35,9%), US(14,1%), China(7,8%), Germany(4,5%) Local Trade Agreements • Mercosur—central part of the Argentine foreign policy • FTAA—after 2005, marked a split between Mercosur and NAFTA countries • 294 bilateral agreements Fiscal Policy • A positive growth through the 1990’s under Menem. • Financial crisis and default in 2001 due to high debt, high budget deficit and negative account balance • Budget surplus and increased tax collection since the crisis of 2001-2002 Monetary Policy • Problems with inflation • The peso had a fixed exchange rate to the USD since 1991 which stopped the inflation • The peso was let to float in 2002 due to the crisis; this led to a quick depreciation • Inflation again became a problem after 2002 Social Programs • • • • • Population below poverty line: 31.4% Unemployment: 10.2% High income inequality (gini coeff. of 0.64) Good healthcare and social security services High literacy and universal education External Relations • Good external relations with most countries • Currently increased ties with Hugo Chavez (Venezuela) • Dispute with UK for the Falkland islands • Disputes with Uruguay Reference • • • • • • • The CIA(2007), CIA World Factbook: Argentina. Retrieved May 16, 2007 from http://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ar.html The Economist, The Economist Intelligence Unit. Retrieved May 15, 2007 from http://economist.com/countries/Argentina/ Encyclopedia Britannica (2007). Argentina. Retrieved May 20, 2007 from http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9109725 Central bank of Argentina (2007). Monetary Policy. Retrieved May 16, 2007 from http://www.bcra.gov.ar/ Argentine Government (2007). Economy. Retrieved May 20, 2007 from http://www.argentina.gov.ar/argentina/portal/paginas.dhtml?pagina=391 BBC News (2007). Country Profiles: Argentina. Retrieved May 21, 2007 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1192478.stm Background notes. Argentina, Retrieved May 18, 2007 from http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/26516.htm