peso's peg
to the dollar was abandoned in January 2002, and the peso was floated
from the dollar in February; inflation picked up rapidly.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $453 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: -4.6% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $12,000 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 6% industry: 28% services: 66%
(2001 est.)

Population below poverty line: 37% (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4% (2001 est.)

Labor force: 15 million (1999)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%

Unemployment rate: 25% (yearend 2001)

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: 82.802 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 51.81% hydro: 40.67%
other: 0.29% (2000) nuclear: 7.23%

Electricity - consumption: 80.806 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - exports: 3.7 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - imports: 7.5 billion kWh (2000)

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 26.5%, US 11.8%, Chile 10.6%, Spain 3.5%
(2000)

Imports: $23.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

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

Imports - partners: Brazil 25.1%, US 18.7%, Germany 5%, China 4.6% (2000)

Debt - external: $155 billion (2001 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $10 billion (2001 est.)

Currency: Argentine peso (ARS)

Currency code: ARS

Exchange rates: Argentine pesos per US dollar - 1.33325 (January 2002),
1.000 (1997-2001); note - fixed rate pegged to the US dollar was abandoned
in January 2002; peso now floats

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications Argentina

Telephones - main lines in use: 7.5 million (1998)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 3 million (December 1999)

Telephone system: general ass