Part 34

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.7% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 10.9 million by occupation: agriculture 12%, industry 31%, services 57% (1985 est.)

Unemployment rate: 16% (1995 est.)

Budget: revenues: $48.46 billion expenditures: $46.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.5 billion (1994 est.)

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

Industrial production growth rate: -4.6% (1995 est.)

Electricity: capacity: 17,330,000 kW production: 54.8 billion kWh consumption per capita: 1,610 kWh (1993)

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

Illicit drugs: increasing use as a transshipment country for cocaine headed for Europe and the US

Exports: $20.7 billion (f.o.b., 1995) commodities: meat, wheat, corn, oilseed, manufactures partners: US 9%, Brazil, Italy, Japan, Netherlands

Imports: $19.5 billion (c.i.f., 1995) commodities: machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals, fuels and lubricants, agricultural products partners: US 21%, Brazil, Germany, Bolivia, Japan, Italy, Netherlands

External debt: $90 billion (December 1995)

Economic aid: $NA

Currency: 1 nuevo peso argentino = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: pesos per US$1 - 1.00000 (January 1996), 0.99975 (1995), 0.99901 (1994), 0.99895 (1993), 0.99064 (1992), 0.95355 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Transportation --------------

Railways: total: 37,910 km broad gauge: 24,124 km 1.676-m gauge (142 km electrified) standard gauge: 2,765 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 11,021 km 1.000-m gauge (26 km electrified)

Highways: total: 215,578 km paved: 61,440 km unpaved: 154,138 km

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, Concepcion del Uruguay, La Plata, Mar del Plata, Necochea, Rio Gallegos, Rosario, Santa Fe, Ushuaia

Merchant marine: total: 37 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 303,448 GRT/458,864 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 11, chemical tanker 1, container 3, oil tanker 14, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 5, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1 (1995 est.)

Airports: total: 1,253 with paved runways over 3 047 m: 5 with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 25 with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 54 with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 46 with paved runways under 914 m: 511 with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 2 with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 60 with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 549 (1995 est.)

Communications --------------

Telephones: 2.7 million (1983 est.)

Telephone system: 12,000 public telephones; extensive modern system but many families do not have telephones; despite extensive use of microwave radio relay, the telephone system frequently grounds out during rainstorms, even in Buenos Aires domestic: microwave radio relay and a domestic satellite system with 40 earth stations serve the trunk network international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 171, FM 0, shortwave 13