Short facts about the economy in Argentina
| 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. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power parity - $476 billion
(2000 est.) |
| GDP - real
growth rate: |
0.8% (2000
est.) |
| GDP - per
capita: |
purchasing power parity - $12,900 (2000
est.) |
| GDP -
composition by sector: |
agriculture: 6%
industry: 32%
services: 62% (2000
est.) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
37% (1999
est.) |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%:
NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
-0.9% (2000
est.) |
| Labor
force: |
15 million
(1999) |
| Labor force
- by occupation: |
agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services
NA% |
| Unemployment
rate: |
15% (December
2000) |
| Budget: |
revenues: $44 billion
expenditures: $48 billion, including capital
expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
| Industries: |
food processing, motor vehicles,
consumer durables, textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy,
steel |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
1% (2000
est.) |
| Electricity
- production: |
77.087 billion kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel: 60.3%
hydro: 30.7%
nuclear:
8.75%
other: 0.25% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
77.111 billion kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
1.08 billion kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
6.5 billion kWh
(1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
sunflower seeds, lemons, soybeans,
grapes, corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea, wheat;
livestock |
| Exports: |
$26.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000
est.) |
| Exports -
commodities: |
edible oils, fuels and energy, cereals,
feed, motor vehicles |
| Exports -
partners: |
Brazil 24%, EU 21%, US 11% (1999
est.) |
| Imports: |
$25.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000
est.) |
| Imports -
commodities: |
machinery and equipment, motor
vehicles, chemicals, metal manufactures,
plastics |
| Imports -
partners: |
EU 28%, US 22%, Brazil 21% (1999
est.) |
| Debt -
external: |
$154 billion (2000
est.) |
| Economic aid
- recipient: |
IMF offer of $13.7 billion (January
2001) |
| Currency: |
Argentine peso
(ARS) |
| Exchange
rates: |
Argentine pesos per US dollar - 1.000
(fixed rate pegged to the US dollar) |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year | Source: World Factbook |
