This is a look at the economic functioning of the South American country in recent times.
Basic data of Argentina
Independent from Spain in 816, Argentina covers an area of 3,761,274 square kilometers (including 2,791,810 of the American mainland, 965,597 of its claim on the Antarctic continent and 3,867 of the southern islands in dispute with the United Kingdom) according to the National Geographic Institute of the Country, It is the eighth largest country in the world.
Argentina is located at the southern tip of America, it has borders with Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil and Uruguay and an extensive coastline of 4,725 kilometers on the Atlantic Ocean. To the west, its territory is marked by the Andes mountain range.
The climate in the country is mostly temperate, although due to its extension (3,694 kilometers from north to south) there are tropical regions in the north and sub-Antarctic regions in the south.
Argentina has fertile plains in its central region, as well as important mining and fishing resources, as well as oil and gas deposits.
The largest city in the country is Buenos Aires (2.9 million inhabitants, amounting to 12.8 million taking into account the metropolitan area), which is also the capital, followed by Córdoba (1.45 million), Rosario ( 1.23 million) and Mendoza (930,000).
According to the provisional results of the last census, carried out in 2022, the total population amounts to 46,044,703.
Main products
Due to its extensive and fertile central plains, known as “the humid Pampas”, Argentina has been a historical producer of food, including soybeans, corn, wheat, sunflowers and barley, as well as meat and dairy products.
There are also numerous mining operations in the country, which mainly produce zinc, iron, copper, uranium and others, among others. There are also oil and natural gas deposits.
In addition to food and raw materials, Argentina has an important and diversified industrial sector, although some sectors currently depend on protectionist measures to survive. Its main products include processed foods, vehicles, consumer goods, textiles, chemicals and steel, among others.
Local industry is an important source of employment in the country (28.6% of the total labor force), although services lead in employment (66.1%). The agricultural sector employs 5.3% of the total. Unemployment stood at 6.9% in the first quarter of 2023, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Census (Indec).
Argentine economy: the numbers of a difficult situation
In December 2001, the most important economic and political crisis in Argentina’s recent history erupted amid a wave of protests over government-imposed restrictions on withdrawals from banks, a measure known as corralito.
The economy was already in crisis, in the midst of recession and high unemployment, at that time, and what followed was the resignation of President Fernando de la Rúa and a collapse of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) like never before. : after falling 4.4% in 2001, it collapsed 10.9% in 2002.
The country seemed to hit rock bottom in 2003, after which a period of economic recovery began with high growth rates (except in 2009, during the global financial crisis), until in 2012 the situation seemed to stagnate. From that year on, the economy began to alternate years of growth with falls, in both cases moderate.
GDP has been falling again since 2018, and was hit hard by restrictions imposed amid the covid-19 pandemic in 2020. In 2021, amid the recovery from the previous crash, it jumped to, at nominal values, at US$487.230 million, and a year later it climbed to US$632.770 million, according to the World Bank.
Adjusted for purchasing power parity, which measures purchasing power in each country, Argentina’s real GDP reached US$1,040,000 million in 2022, according to the same source.
This means a nominal GDP per capita of US$13,686 in 2022, and a real GDP per capita of US$26,604. According to the CIA World Factbook, Argentina thus ranks 87th out of 229 countries, and in Latin America is only surpassed by Chile and Uruguay (and shares values with Costa Rica).
Agricultural products constitute 10.8% of GDP, although they lead in exports. Industrialists represent 28.1% and services 61.1%.
In 2022, after the collapse during the pandemic and the recovery from 2021, Argentina exported a value of US$ 88,446 million, according to INDEC data. The value includes US$23.830 million in primary products, US$33.050 million in agricultural manufactures, US$23.050 million in industrial manufactures and US$8.509 million in fuels and energy.
