Argentina

Argentina: steady but modest growth, 1980–2025

Argentina cycles through booms and severe crises, including hyperinflation in 1989-90, a currency-board collapse and default in 2001-02, and recurring inflation/debt crises since, making it one of the most volatile major economies in this dataset. Between 1980 and 2025, Argentina's GDP per capita grew from $2,748 to $14,898 (current US$), a compound annual growth rate of 3.8% — steady but modest growth. Annual GDP growth averaged 1.8% with a year-to-year standard deviation of 5.6 points, reflecting considerable volatility and periodic crises. Structurally, agriculture's share of the economy moved from 6.4% to 5.5% of GDP (a classic decline as the economy industrialized/modernized), while services rose from 52.4% to 56.2% of GDP, underscoring a shift toward a services-driven economy. On human development, life expectancy rose from 68.6 to 77.5 years, while tertiary school enrollment moved from 21.6% to 107.8%, while the urban population share grew from 82.9% to 92.4%.

What this growth cost: Growth was not without cost: per-capita CO2 emissions rose from 3.64 to 4.01 tonnes CO2e per person; income inequality (Gini index) widened from 40.8 to 42.4; the poverty headcount ratio increased from 0.0% to 1.0%.