urrency has traded at par with the US dollar since April
1991, and inflation has fallen to its lowest level in 50 years.
Argentines have responded to price stability by repatriating capital
and investing in domestic industry. Growth averaged more than 8%
between 1991 and 1994, then fell 4.6% in 1995, largely in reaction to
the Mexican peso crisis. The economy has since recovered strongly.
However, unemployment remains nearly 14%, and Buenos Aires still
depends on foreign capital to meet the bulk of its financing needs.
The IMF has urged additional economic reforms to ensure equitable
long-term growth.

GDP: purchasing power parity-$348.2 billion (1997 est.)

GDP-real growth rate: 8.4% (1997 est.)

GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$9,700 (1997 est.)

GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 7%
industry: 36%
services: 57% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate-consumer price index: 0.3% (1997)

Labor force:
total: 14.5 million (1995 est.)
by occupation: agriculture 12%, industry 31%, services 57% (1985 est.)

Unemployment rate: 13.7% (October 1997)

Budget:
revenues: $55 billion
expenditures: $59 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997
est.)

Industries: food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables,
textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel

Industrial production growth rate: 8.7% (1997 est.)

Electricity-capacity: 19.61 million kW (1995)

Electricity-production: 65.72 billion kWh (1995)

Electricity-consumption per capita: 1,960 kWh (1995)

Agriculture-products: wheat, corn, sorghum, soybeans, sugar beets;
livestock

Exports:
total value: $25.4 billion (f.o.b., 1997)
commodities: meat, wheat, corn, oilseed, manufactures, fuels
partners: Brazil 26.1%, US 8.5%, Chile 7.0%, Netherlands 5.7%, Italy
3.5% (1995)

Imports:
total value: $30.3 billion (c.i.f., 1997)
commodities: machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, transport
equipment, agricultural products
partners: Brazil 20.8%, US 20.7%, Italy 6.3%, Germany 6.2%, France
5.2% (1995)

Debt-external: $115 billion (1997 est.)

Economic aid: $NA

Currency: 1 nuevo peso argentino = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: pesos per US$1-0.99950 (January 1998), 0.99950 (1997),
0.99966 (1996), 0.99975 (1995), 0.99901 (1994), 0.99895 (1993)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications

Telephones: 4.6 million (1990)

Telephone system: 12,000 public telephones; extensive modern system
but many families do not ha