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Argentina
Independent 1816· Country
FactTreaties, membership, measured data, events.
South America's second-largest economy, under libertarian Javier Milei's shock-therapy experiment since December 2023.
See it on the Geopolitics map →The picture
About 46 million people; GDP about $640 billion. A federal presidential republic. Strengths: farm exports (soy, corn, beef, wheat), the Vaca Muerta shale field, lithium and an educated workforce. Weaknesses: nine sovereign defaults, the last in 2020, chronic inflation, and the largest debt owed to the IMF. Milei cut spending sharply, balanced the budget and brought annual inflation from over 200% in 2023 to about 30% in 2025. Investing: the Global X MSCI Argentina ETF (ARGT) and ADRs such as YPF and Grupo Galicia.
Why it matters
Milei made it Washington's closest South American ally and declined to join BRICS; it tests whether radical free-market reform can break decades of boom and bust.
Key facts and numbers
INDEC (the national statistics agency) for inflation and poverty, IMF program reviews, and US Treasury statements on its 2025 support. As of 2026.
What to watch
Outlook: whether reserves rebuild enough to lift currency controls fully and regain market access, and whether voters stick with austerity in 2027.
Inside this (2)
Connections (3)
▸Javier Milei leads ArgentinaFact
The relationship
Milei governs through decrees, vetoes and a congressional bloc enlarged after his party's October 2025 midterm win. His 'chainsaw' austerity, deregulation under minister Federico Sturzenegger and IMF-backed currency reforms have reshaped Argentina's economy and politics.
Since when and why
Buenos Aires; won the November 19, 2023 runoff against Sergio Massa, about 56% to 44%; inaugurated December 10, 2023.
How we know
Official election results, his December 2023 mega-decree (DNU 70/2023), INDEC economic data and IMF program documents.
What to watch
Whether Argentina's institutions lock in his reforms, or a future government reverses them as earlier reform waves were reversed.
▸Argentina is the largest borrower from International Monetary Fund (IMF)Fact
The relationship
Argentina has borrowed from the IMF repeatedly since 1958. A record $57 billion program in 2018, a 2022 refinancing and a $20 billion loan in April 2025 backing Milei's reforms left it owing about $60 billion, nearly four times the next-largest debtor, Ukraine.
Since when and why
Washington and Buenos Aires; the 2018 loan under Mauricio Macri, the 2025 loan under Javier Milei; IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva visited in 2026.
How we know
IMF lending data and program reviews; the IMF's own 2021 evaluation conceded the 2018 program failed to meet its goals.
What to watch
Whether Argentina can repay as large payments come due from 2027, and whether US political backing tilted IMF decisions; critics say so, the Fund says its judgments are technical.
▸Argentina forms one corner of the Lithium Triangle (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile)Fact
The relationship
Argentina holds about 23 million tonnes of lithium resources and, unlike Bolivia, welcomes foreign miners. Provinces own the minerals, and Milei's 2024 RIGI law offered 30 years of tax and currency guarantees for big projects, drawing Rio Tinto, Chinese firms and others to Catamarca, Salta and Jujuy.
Since when and why
The high puna plateau of northwest Argentina; output, under way since the late 1990s, surged as several new plants opened in 2023–25.
How we know
USGS resource estimates, Argentine mining secretariat data and company filings showing new projects and rising exports.
What to watch
Whether Argentina can overtake Chile as a producer, and how indigenous communities' water and consent concerns are resolved, remain open.