Argentina's economic activity grew by 4.4% in 2025, according to preliminary government data.
The annual growth was lower than the government's forecast of 5% and the IMF's more modest growth of 4.5%, but much stronger than the 1.7% contraction in the previous year. The economy also shrank in 2023.
December was the strongest month of growth in the fourth quarter of this year, rising 3.5% year-on-year in December from the previous month, when the economy contracted by a revised 0.1% year-on-year, according to the Indec Institute of Statistics.
. It was the second-best monthly reading since June, reversing a two-month decline. The strongest monthly increase in 2025 was 7.7%, recorded in April.
The highest figures in December were recorded in agriculture, which is 32.2% more than a year earlier. The volume of production in the fishing industry increased by 18.3%, in the financial intermediation sector - by 14.1% year-on-year, and in the mining industry - by 9.1% in December compared to the previous year.
As a result of the growth, production decreased by 3.9% year-on-year, the hotel business - by 1.5%, and retail trade - by 1.3%.
The government of President Javier Miley forecasts growth of 5% in 2026, while the IMF forecasts growth of 4%. Argentina is the largest creditor state of the IMF, accounting for $41.8 billion in loans from the IMF out of the $119.5 billion owed to the institution.
The government is betting on supporting the labor reform bill, which cleared most of the congressional hurdles in February, but still requires another vote in the Senate and additional bills that will simplify the approval of mining projects.
Still struggling with high inflation, the government has a little more room for maneuver, as the Argentine peso has strengthened against the US dollar this year, following the same pattern as in other major economies in the region.
From the beginning of the year to February 23, the Argentine peso rose in price by 5.2%, second only to the Brazilian real in the region. This compares with a 28.9% drop in the peso in 2025.
Inflation in January was 32.4% year-on-year, accelerating from 31.5% in December. In its annual budget, the government forecasts year-end inflation at 10.1% in 2026, while the IMF estimates it at 16.4% and international banks at even higher, with JPMorgan forecasting inflation at 26% and BBVA at 22% this year.
