billion (June 1992)
Industrial production:
growth rate 10% (1992 est.); accounts for 26% of GDP
Electricity:
17,911,000 kW capacity; 51,305 million kWh produced, 1,559 kWh per capita
(1992)
Industries:
food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles, chemicals and
petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel
Agriculture:
accounts for 8% of GDP (including fishing); produces abundant food for both
domestic consumption and exports; among world's top five exporters of grain
and beef; principal crops - wheat, corn, sorghum, soybeans, sugar beets
Illicit drugs:
increasing use as a transshipment country for cocaine headed for the US and
Europe

*Argentina, Economy

Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.0 billion; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $4.4 billion;
Communist countries (1970-89), $718 million
Currency:
1 peso = 100 centavos
Exchange rates:
pesos per US$1 - 0.99000 (January1993), 0.99064 (1992), 0.95355 (1991),
0.48759 (1990), 0.04233 (1989), 0.00088 (1988)
Fiscal year:
calendar year

*Argentina, Communications

Railroads:
34,172 km total (includes 209 km electrified); includes a mixture of
1.435-meter standard gauge, 1.676-meter broad gauge, 1.000-meter narrow
gauge, and 0.750-meter narrow gauge
Highways:
208,350 km total; 47,550 km paved, 39,500 km gravel, 101,000 km improved
earth, 20,300 km unimproved earth
Inland waterways:
11,000 km navigable
Pipelines:
crude oil 4,090 km; petroleum products 2,900 km; natural gas 9,918 km
Ports:
Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Comodoro Rivadavia, La Plata, Rosario, Santa Fe
Merchant marine:
60 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,695,420 GRT/1,073,904 DWT; includes
30 cargo, 5 refrigerated cargo, 4 container, 1 railcar carrier, 14 oil
tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 4 bulk, 1 roll-on/roll-off
Airports:
total:
1,700
usable:
1,451
with permanet-surface runways:
137
with runways over 3,659 m:
1
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
31
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
326
Telecommunications:
extensive modern system; 2,650,000 telephones (12,000 public telephones);
microwave widely used; broadcast stations - 171 AM, no FM, 231 TV, 13
shortwave; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations; domestic satellite
network has 40 earth stations

*Argentina, Defense Forces

Branches:
Argentine Army, Navy of the Argentine Republic