• Latin America

 • Argentina
 • Bolivia
 • Brazil
 • Chile
 • Colombia
 • Costa Rica
 • Cuba
 • Ecuador
 • El Salvador
 • Guatemala
 • Honduras
 • Mexico
 • Nicaragua
 • Panama
 • Paraguay
 • Peru
 • Puerto Rico
 • R. Dominica
 • Uruguay
 • Venezuela

 • Espana




For corrections or
comments contact:
Delphi Communications
Phone: 1-914-725-8000
e-mail: info@delphicom.com
Privacy Policy and Terms of Use

Copyright 2007
Delphi Communications

Argentina

Background:

Following independence from Spain in 1816, Argentina experienced periods of internal political conflict between conservatives and liberals and between civilian and military factions. After World War II, a long period of Peronist authoritarian rule and interference in subsequent governments was followed by a military junta that took power in 1976. Democracy returned in 1983, and numerous elections since then have underscored Argentina's progress in democratic consolidation.

Geography

Location:	Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay
Geographic coordinates:	34 00 S, 64 00 W
Map references:
Area:	total: 2,766,890 sq km land: 2,736,690 sq km water: 30,200 sq km
Area - comparative:	slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US
Land boundaries:	total: 9,665 km border countries: Bolivia 832 km, Brazil 1,224 km, Chile 5,150 km, Paraguay 1,880 km, Uruguay 579 km
Coastline:	4,989 km
Maritime claims:	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Climate:	mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest
Terrain:	rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western border
Elevation extremes:	lowest point: Laguna del Carbon -105 m (located between Puerto San Julian and Comandante Luis Piedra Buena in the province of Santa Cruz) highest point: Cerro Aconcagua 6,960 m (located in the northwestern corner of the province of Mendoza)
Natural resources:	fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium
Land use:	arable land: 12.31% permanent crops: 0.48% other: 87.21% (2001)
Irrigated land:	15,610 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:	San Miguel de Tucuman and Mendoza areas in the Andes subject to earthquakes; pamperos are violent windstorms that can strike the pampas and northeast; heavy flooding
Environment - current issues:	environmental problems (urban and rural) typical of an industrializing economy such as deforestation, soil degradation, desertification, air pollution, and water pollution note: Argentina is a world leader in setting voluntary greenhouse gas targets
Environment - international agreements:	party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note:	second-largest country in South America (after Brazil); strategic location relative to sea lanes between the South Atlantic and the South Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage); Cerro Aconcagua is South America's tallest mountain, while Laguna del Carbon is the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere

People

Population:	39,537,943 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:	0-14 years: 25.6% (male 5,170,721/female 4,938,171) 15-64 years: 63.9% (male 12,626,711/female 12,627,026) 65 years and over: 10.6% (male 1,712,117/female 2,463,197) (2005 est.)
Median age:	total: 29.42 years male: 28.52 years female: 30.4 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate:	0.98% (2005 est.)
Birth rate:	16.9 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate:	7.56 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate:	0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio:	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Infant mortality rate:	total: 15.18 deaths/1,000 live births male: 17.07 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:	total population: 75.91 years male: 72.17 years female: 79.85 years (2005 est.)
Total fertility rate:	2.19 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Nationality:	noun: Argentine(s) adjective: Argentine
Ethnic groups:	white (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry), Amerindian, or other non-white groups 3%
Religions:	nominally Roman Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4%
Languages:	Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French
Literacy:	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.1% male: 97.1% female: 97.1% (2003 est.)

Government

Country name:	conventional long form: Argentine Republic conventional short form: Argentina local long form: Republica Argentina local short form: Argentina
Government type:	republic
Capital:	Buenos Aires
Administrative divisions:	23 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia), and 1 autonomous city* (distrito federal); Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires Capital Federal*, Catamarca, Chaco, Chubut, Cordoba, Corrientes, Entre Rios, Formosa, Jujuy, La Pampa, La Rioja, Mendoza, Misiones, Neuquen, Rio Negro, Salta, San Juan, San Luis, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Santiago del Estero, Tierra del Fuego - Antartida e Islas del Atlantico Sur, Tucuman note: the US does not recognize any claims to Antarctica
Independence:	9 July 1816 (from Spain)
National holiday:	Revolution Day, 25 May (1810)
Constitution:	August 1994
Legal system:	mixture of US and West European legal systems; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:	18 years of age; universal and compulsory   Source: CIA World Factbook