01 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
768 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

Current account balance:
$7.855 billion (2003)

Exports:
$29.57 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
edible oils, fuels and energy, cereals, feed, motor vehicles

Exports - partners:
Brazil 15.8%, Chile 12%, US 10.6%, China 8.4%, Spain 4.7% (2003)

Imports:
$13.27 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

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

Imports - partners:
Brazil 34%, US 16.4%, Germany 5.6%, China 5.2% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$14.16 billion (2003)

Debt - external:
$145.6 billion (2003 est.)

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

Currency:
Argentine peso (ARS)

Currency code:
ARS

Exchange rates:
Argentine pesos per US dollar - 2.9003 (2003), 3.0633 (2002),
0.9995 (2001), 0.9995 (2000), 0.9995 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Argentina

Telephones - main lines in use:
8,009,400 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
6.5 million (2002)

Telephone system:
general assessment: by opening the telecommunications market to
competition and foreign investment with the "Telecommunications
Liberalization Plan of 1998," Argentina encouraged the growth of
modern telecommunication technology; fiber-optic cable trunk lines
are being installed between all major cities; the major networks are
entirely digital and the availability of telephone service is being
improved; however, telephone density is presently minimal, and
making telephone service universally available will take time
domestic: microwave radio relay, fiber-optic cable, and a domestic
satellite system with 40 earth stations serve the trunk network;
more than 110,000 pay telephones are installed and mobile telephone
use is rapidly expanding
international: country code - 54; satellite earth stations - 8
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); Atlantis II and Unisur submarine cables;
two international gateways near Buenos Aires (1999)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 260 (including 10 inactive stations), FM NA (probably more than
1,000, mostly unlicensed), shortwave 6 (1998)

Radios:
24.3 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
42 (plus 444 repeaters) (1997)

Televisions:
7.95 million (1997)

Internet country code:
.ar

Internet hosts:
742,358 (2003)