Economy of Argentina
The economy of Argentina is the second-largest national economy in South America, behind Brazil. Argentina is a developing country with a highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a diversified industrial base. Argentina benefits from rich natural resources. Argentina's economic performance has historically been very uneven, with high economic growth alternating with severe recessions, particularly since the late twentieth century. Income maldistribution and poverty have increased since this period. Early in the twentieth century, Argentina had one of the ten highest per capita GDP levels globally. It was on par with Canada and Australia, and had surpassed both France and Italy. Argentina's currency declined by about 50% in 2018 to more than 38 Argentine pesos per U.S. Dollar. As of that year, it is under a stand-by program from the International Monetary Fund. In 2019, the currency fell further by 25%. In 2020, it fell by 90%, in 2021, 68%, and a further 52% in 2022 (until July 20). Argentina is considered an emerging market by the FTSE Global Equity Index (2018), and one of the G-20 major economies. In 2021, MCSI re-classified Argentina as a standalone market due to prolonged severe capital controls. Economic history of Argentina Before the 1880s, Argentina was a relatively isolated backwater, dependent on the salted meat, wool, leather, and hide industries for both the more significant part of its foreign exchange and the generation of domestic income and profits. The Argentine economy began to experience swift growth after 1880 through the export of livestock and grain raw materials, and British and French investment, marking the beginning of a fifty-year era of significant economic expansion and mass European immigration. From 1880 to 1905, this expansion resulted in a 7.5-fold growth in GDP during its most vigorous period, averaging about 8% annually. One important measure of development, GDP per capita, rose from 35% of the United States average to about 80% during that period.
