Some of Argentina's main economic activities are livestock, oil, mining, automobile manufacturing or tourism.
Economic activities are all actions carried out in a society, region or country with the aim of producing goods or providing services necessary for their livelihood and generating wealth.
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Each country according to its geographical location, climate and social characteristics develops different economic activities. Although most of the nations of the world are inserted in a capitalist economic model, their economic activities vary not only between one country and another, but between the different regions of the same country, and also change according to their historical moment cross.
Wars, regional economic crises, natural disasters, good or bad governments and technological advances are some of the factors that have an impact on the emergence or decline of certain economic activities in a given country.
According to figures from the International Monetary Fund, Argentina ranks 26th among the world's largest economies and is the third largest in Latin America, after Mexico and Brazil.
Primary, secondary and tertiary economic activities
It is understood by primary economic activity any one that uses the natural resources. The main and most common are agriculture and livestock, fishing, mining and forestry; The generation of wind, hydroelectric or solar energy can also be included in this group.
Secondary activities include all those that are derived or are a consequence of the previous primary activity. That is to say, the conversion that is done to the obtained when cultivating the land, to raise the cattle, to exploit a mine or to sell the energy. In short, the secondary activity transforms the raw material into manufactured products.
The tertiary activities are the services provided to carry out the primary and secondary activities; Are numerous, but you can mention the transportation, sale, administration, accounting jobs, advertising, insurers, banks, telephone and internet services, and so on.
Under these initial premises, we will then comment on the main economic activities of Argentina in the last decade.
Main economic activities of Argentina
Primary activities
Argentina's primary activities account for approximately 9% of GDP and are based on agricultural production.
1- Soybean
Argentina is the third largest producer in the world, after the United States and Brazil. Soy is a cereal that has become very popular not only for its nutritional properties and its use for human consumption, but as biofuel.
2. Livestock
Although it no longer participates in as high a proportion of GDP as it did in the nineteenth century and until about the middle of the twentieth century, livestock remains an important part of the economy, accounting for 10% of exports.
Argentine meat is still recognized for its high quality around the world, but every year it is decided to expand the area for soybean cultivation, sacrificing for it the large pastures that need to be reared.
3- Fruits
Other important products are apple and citrus, as well as olive and grape for winemaking.
80% of Argentine exports are of agricultural origin.
4- Oil and gas
According to the most recent estimates available (2015), this country has proven reserves of 27 billion barrels of unconventional oil and 802 trillion cubic feet of unconventional gas.
This figure makes it possible to include Argentina among the five countries with the largest hydrocarbon reserves in the world.
5 Minerals
Also, this southern country has important deposits of gold, silver, copper and other minerals.
Secondary Activities
Secondary activities in Argentina represent little more than 30% of its GDP, highlighting:
6- Manufacture of automobiles
Argentina began to manufacture cars after World War II and continues today, being one of the 40 countries that do it in the world. The number of manufactured cars is on the decline, but around half a million per year.
7- Assembly of electronic devices such as televisions and cell phones
8- Manufacture of footwear and leather products, chemical, metallurgical and steel products.
The Argentine industry occupies 19% of the economically active population and is the one that makes the most contributions to the national treasury, through taxes.
Tertiary activities
The tertiary activities are those of greater growth and those that have more influence in the Gross Domestic Product of Argentina with more than two thirds of the total. Among these are:
9- Tourism and related services such as hotel, gastronomy and transport
10- Retail, banking, financial and real estate services, communications and health services, among others.
The trade and services sector employs 2 out of 3 workers in the private sector. In addition, it is a very important taxpayer and a very important participant in Argentina's foreign trade, with about 20% of total exports.
Trade and tourism together represent the country's first economic activity.
Quaternary activities
With the imminent arrival of technology in the second half of the twentieth century and understood as a fundamental piece of human development in the twenty-first century, a new component emerges that made it difficult to locate it within the traditional categorization of economic activities (primary, secondary and Tertiary).
It had to include a new category that some call"advanced tertiary"and other"quaternary"which includes all technological and scientific activities.
It is impossible to conceive the present world without a single activity that is not crossed to a greater or lesser extent by technology.
Viewed from this perspective, it could be said that this is the most important activity for the economic development of any nation, and Argentina is obviously no exception.
Biotechnology, robotics, electronics and microelectronics Have been key players in the economic development of this South American country, applying them both in agriculture and in the production of parts and parts and in the assembly of electronic products, among other activities.
References
- Relevance of the Commerce and Services sector in the Argentine Economy. Argentine Chamber of Commerce. Recovered from ips.com.ar
- Ariel Riera (11.01.2017). Macri:"Vaca Muerta represents the 2nd world gas reserve and the 4th of unconventional oil." Recovered from checkout.com
- Argentina was ranked fourth in the world oil reserves. (02.03.2014). Recovered from lacapital.com.ar
- Martin Hilal (20.10.2015) The main economic activities of Argentina are commerce and tourism. Recovered from infofueguina.com
- Argentina: Economic Activities (20.11.2014) Recovered from surdeldur.com
- Economic Activities of Argentina. Recovered from actividadeseconomicas.org
- Work and economic activities, p. 50. Recovered from servicios.abc.gov.ar
- Secondary and tertiary activities. Recovered from geografiaargentina2007.blogspot.com.ar
- Map of Economic Activities of Argentina. Recovered from education
- National Classifier of Economic Activities - CLANAE 2010. Methodological notes. Retrieved from indec.gob.ar
- 70 years of the automotive industry. Recovered from 70aniversario.clarin.com.