The crisis of 1995 led to a decline in real GNP of 4.6 percent, but by the second half of 1996 the economy had recovered and begun to resume a fairly high level of growth.

Numbers for 1996 place Argentina's gross domestic product (GNP) at US$ 297 billion, up 6.3 percent in nominal terms (and 4.3 percent in real terms) from the prior year.

The strongest component of demand was gross fixed investment, which was 8.3 percent higherin 1996 than in 1995. Growth in industrial product, which grew 12.1 percent in the 4th quarter, was up 4.4 percent for the year as a whole.

However, a sustained recession at the turn of the 21st century culminated in a financial crisis in which the government—led by a quick succession of presidents and presidential resignations—defaulted on its foreign debt and again devalued the Argentine peso.

GNP in 2000 decreased with 0.9%, while Argentina's GNP fell by 11% in 2001. In 2002, Argentina's GNP sunk by 10.9% with respect to the previous year. Soon, however, the country managed to return to growth, with surprising strength: 8.9% in 2003, 9.0% in 2004, 9.2% in 2005, and then again 8.7% in 2006. This was initially due to a surge in exports (over all previous historical records), and then also to the return of local and international confidence, which boosted local consumption and both local and foreign investment.