Buenos Aires

Economy

Throughout its history, the city has depended on its port, the largest in South America, for much of its economic activity. Argentina is heavily dependent on the export of its agricultural products, and most of it is processed and shipped from Buenos Aires. The intense trade helped Buenos Aires develop a diversified economy, and by the twentieth century the city was the nation's center of banking and finance. The city itself was unable to absorb the massive growth in trade-related and new industries during the twentieth century. Most of those jobs went to the suburbs, where about half of the nation's manufacturing jobs are located. Avellaneda, just south of the Federal District, is an important industrial center.

While most workers are engaged in food processing, including grains, meat, and fish, others assemble cars, refine oil, or work in other factories. In the city, the workforce numbers about 1.4 million people, with about 36 percent involved in services, 18 percent in trade, 17 percent in manufacturing, and about 12 percent in finance, insurance, and real estate.

As part of its economic plan, Argentina privatized many public assets during the 1990s, including many enterprises that affect the city. Some of the most important former public services that been sold or licensed to private companies include the phone company ENTel, the national airline Aerolineas Argentinas, the petroleum enterprise YPF, the mail system, and public transportation, including the underground metro service and regional commuter rail service.