Argentina

Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the far south of South America. It is the second-largest country in South America, after Brazil, the fourth-largest country in the Americas, and the eighth-largest country in the world. It shares most of the Southern Cone with Chile to the west, and it is also bordered by Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, and Uruguay, the South Atlantic Ocean, and the Drake Passage to the south. Argentina is a federal state with twenty-three provinces and one autonomous city, Buenos Aires, which is the federal capital and the largest city of the nation. Argentina also claims sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, and a part of Antarctica.

The earliest recorded human presence in the area dates back to the Paleolithic period. The Inca Empire expanded into the northwest of the country in pre-Columbian times. The modern country has its roots in Spanish colonisation during the 16th century, and Argentina grew out of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, a Spanish overseas viceroyalty founded in 1776. The Argentine Declaration of Independence was made on July 9, 1816, and the Argentine War of Independence lasted from 1810 to 1825. These events were followed by an extended civil war that lasted until 1880, which ended with the country reorganised as a federation. Afterward, the country enjoyed relative peace and stability. Several later waves of millions of European immigrants, mainly Italians and Spaniards, greatly influenced its culture and demography.

The National Autonomist Party dominated national politics during the period called the Conservative Republic, from 1880 until the 1916 elections. The Great Depression led to the first coup d'état in 1930, led by José Félix Uriburu, which began the so-called "Infamous Decade" (1930–1943). Four more coups followed: the 1943 Argentine Revolution, the Revolución Libertadora, the 1962 Argentine coup d'état, and the Argentine Revolution. After the death of President Juan Perón in 1974, his widow and vice president, Isabel Perón, became president, but she was overthrown in the final coup in 1976. The military junta that followed persecuted and killed thousands of political critics, activists, and leftists during the Dirty War, a period of state terrorism and civil unrest. It lasted until Raúl Alfonsín was elected president in 1983.

Today, Argentina is a regional power and keeps its historic status as a middle power in international affairs. It is a major non-NATO ally of the United States and a developing country with the second-highest human development index in Latin America, after Chile. Its economy is the second-largest in South America, and the country is a member of G-15 and G20. Argentina is also a founding member of the United Nations, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, Mercosur, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, and the Organization of Ibero-American States.

Etymology

Main article: Etymology of Argentina

The word Argentina appears on a Venetian map from 1536. It comes from the Latin word argentum, which means "silver." Explorers of the early 1500s around the Río de la Plata Basin knew that the region had a lot of silver. The name was probably first used by Venetian and Genoese sailors, such as Giovanni Caboto. It was first linked to the silver mountains legend, a story that was common among the first European explorers of the basin.

The earliest written use of the name in Spanish is in La Argentina, an 1602 poem by Martín del Barco Centenera about the region. By the 1700s, "Argentina" was commonly used, but the country was officially called the "Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata" by the Spanish Empire. After independence, it was called the "United Provinces of the Río de la Plata." The 1826 constitution was the first legal document to use the name "Argentine Republic." The name "Argentine Confederation" was also common and is recorded in the Argentine Constitution of 1853. In 1860, a presidential decree made "Argentine Republic" the official name.

History

Main article: History of Argentina

Humans may have lived in the region as early as 21,000 years ago. Before European colonisation, many different cultures lived across the land. In the 1500s, Europeans began to arrive, and Spanish settlers founded towns, including Buenos Aires. In 1810, the May Revolution replaced the Spanish viceroy with a new government made up of locals. On 9 July 1816, the Congress of Tucumán declared independence. The country then went through civil wars between Centralists and Federalists. From 1880, ten federal governments promoted liberal economic policies and a massive wave of European immigration, which helped the country grow quickly. Over the next decades, the government changed hands many times, with Juan Perón becoming president in 1946. In 1976, the military took power in the National Reorganization Process. Argentina fought over the Falkland Islands in 1982, and in 1983 the country returned to democracy under Raúl Alfonsín. Later leaders included Carlos Menem, Néstor Kirchner, Mauricio Macri, Alberto Fernández, and Javier Milei, who took office on 10 December 2023.

Main article: Indigenous peoples in Argentina

Main article: Colonial Argentina

See also: Spanish colonization of the Americas

Main articles: Argentine War of Independence and Argentine Civil Wars

Main articles: List of Presidents of Argentina, Generation of '80, and Infamous Decade

See also: Argentine–Chilean naval arms race and South American dreadnought race

Main article: Peronism

Main article: Revolución Libertadora

Main articles: Presidency of Raúl Alfonsín and Argentine economic crisis (1999–2002)

Geography

Main article: Geography of Argentina

Argentina is in southern South America. It shares land borders with Chile across the Andes to the west, Bolivia and Paraguay to the north, Brazil to the northeast, and Uruguay to the east. It also meets the South Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Drake Passage to the south. Its coast runs along the Río de la Plata and the South Atlantic Ocean. The highest point is Aconcagua in Mendoza province, which is also the highest point in the Southern and Western Hemispheres. The lowest point is Laguna del Carbón in the San Julián Great Depression of Santa Cruz province, which is below sea level. Major rivers include the Paraná, Uruguay, Paraguay, Salado, Negro, Santa Cruz, Pilcomayo, Bermejo and Colorado. They flow into the Argentine Sea, a shallow part of the Atlantic Ocean over the Patagonian Shelf, which is an unusually wide continental platform.

Main article: Environment of Argentina

Argentina is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, with 15 continental zones, 2 marine zones and the Antarctic region in its territory. It has 9,372 catalogued vascular plant species, 1,038 bird species, 375 mammal species, 338 reptile species and 162 amphibian species. Forest covers around 10% of the land, and the Forest Landscape Integrity Index gave Argentina a score of 7.21 out of 10 in 2018. The original pampas had almost no trees, though American sycamore and eucalyptus grow along roads and in towns. The Ombú is the only tree-like plant native to the pampas. Its dark soils, mostly mollisols, make the region very good for farming, while the drier western pampas are a plain of short grasses, or steppe. Argentina has 35 national parks, covering many kinds of biotopes, from Baritú National Park on the northern border to Tierra del Fuego National Park in the far south. The Administración de Parques Nacionales looks after them. The climate ranges from humid subtropical in the north to cold and polar conditions in the far south, which creates many biomes, including subtropical rainforests, semi-arid areas, temperate plains and cold subantarctic land. Winds such as the cool pampero winds, the heavy-rain Sudestada and the Zonda, a hot dry wind that affects Cuyo, also shape the weather. Climate change in Argentina is predicted to have significant effects on living conditions, and rainfall patterns and temperatures are already changing.

Main articles: Climate of Argentina and Climatic regions of Argentina

Government and politics

Main articles: Politics of Argentina and Elections in Argentina

Argentina is a federal constitutional republic and representative democracy. In the 20th century, the armed forces overthrew six governments between 1930 and 1976, and the country moved between democracy and military rule. After a transition that began in 1983, full democracy was restored and has lasted to the present day. The federal government has three branches. The Senate and the Chamber of Deputies make up Congress, which makes federal law. The president, currently Javier Milei with Victoria Villarruel as Vice President, leads the executive branch and serves a four-year term. The Supreme Court and lower federal courts interpret the laws.

Argentina is a federation of twenty-three provinces and one autonomous city, Buenos Aires. Each province can make its own constitution and manage its own resources. Argentina is one of the G-20 major economies and a founding member of the UN. It was elected again in 2012 to the United Nations Security Council. Argentina is also part of Mercosur with Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela. Military service is voluntary, and there is no conscription. Argentina disputes sovereignty over the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.

Economy

See also: Industry in Argentina and Argentine foreign trade

Argentina's economy is the third-largest in Latin America and the second-largest in South America. It benefits from rich natural resources, a highly literate population, a varied industrial base, and farming that sells goods abroad. In 1913, Argentina was one of the wealthiest countries in the world by GDP per capita. Today it has a "very high" rating on the Human Development Index, ranks 66th by nominal GDP per capita, and has a large internal market. It is a middle emerging economy and a member of the G-20 major economies. Argentina is the largest producer of yerba mate in the world and is among the largest producers in the world of wine. It is also a traditional meat exporter. Mining in Argentina is less prominent than in other countries, but the country is the fourth-largest producer of lithium in the world. Manufacturing is the largest sector of the economy. Argentina ranked 85th of 180 countries on the Corruption Perceptions Index from Transparency International in 2017. Argentina settled a long-running debt crisis in 2016 with so-called vulture funds. Inflation, a problem for decades, peaked at 220% in 2024. Under President Milei, the government has pursued deregulation to ease the economic crisis, and poverty and inflation have since fallen.

Argentina has the largest rail system in Latin America, and the Argentine rail system links all of its 23 provinces. Buenos Aires is the main hub for roads, ports, and flights. The Ezeiza International Airport is the country's largest airport. Argentina is the largest producer of natural gas in South America, and in 2020 more than 60% of its electricity came from non-renewable sources. Argentina was the first country in Latin America to put a commercial nuclear power plant online, Atucha I, in 1974. Argentina has also won three Nobel Prizes in the sciences, including for work by Bernardo Houssay, Luis Leloir, and César Milstein. René Favaloro developed the world's first coronary bypass surgery. Buenos Aires is the most visited city in South America, and the country is the top international tourist destination in South America.

Main article: Tourism in Argentina

Main article: Transport in Argentina

Main article: Electricity sector in Argentina

Main article: Science and technology in Argentina

Demographics

Main articles: Demographics of Argentina and Argentines

See also: List of cities in Argentina by population and List of cities in Argentina

See also: Ethnography of Argentina and Immigration to Argentina

Main article: Languages of Argentina

Main article: Religion in Argentina

Main article: Health care in Argentina

The 2022 census INDEC counted 46,044,703 people, up from 40,117,096 in 2010, and the population in 2024 is estimated at 47,067,441. Argentina has about 15 people per square kilometre, well below the world average of 50. The country is changing to an older, slower-growing population, and its birth rate has fallen a lot since the 1800s. Attitudes towards LGBT people are generally positive, and in 2010 Argentina became the first country in Latin America to legalise same-sex marriage. Argentina is highly urbanised, with 92% of people living in cities. About 13 million people live in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area, one of the largest urban areas in the world. The population is unevenly spread out, with about 60% living in the Pampas region.

Argentina is considered a country of immigrants, and Argentines often call it a crisol de razas (crucible of races, or melting pot). A 2010 study by Argentine geneticist Daniel Corach found that Argentines' average genetic ancestry is 79% European, 18% indigenous and 4.3% African. Most Argentines have Italian or Spanish roots. Argentina has a notable Asian population, including Lebanese, Syrians, Chinese, Koreans and Japanese people. Since the 1970s, most immigrants have come from Bolivia, Paraguay and Peru. In July 2023, more than 18,500 Russians had come to Argentina after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The de facto official language is Spanish, spoken by almost all Argentines, and the country uses voseo, the pronoun vos instead of tú. Other languages include English, Italian, Standard German, Guaraní, Catalan, Quechua, and Aymara. In 2026, the town of Caá Catí adopted Guaraní as a co-official language.

Christianity is the largest religion, and Roman Catholicism has a preferential status, although there is no official state faith. The share of Catholics has dropped in recent years, from 76.5% in 2008 to 63% in 2024, while the share of people with no religion has grown. Argentina is home to one of the largest Jewish communities in Latin America and one of the largest Muslim communities in the region. In 2013, Argentine Jorge Mario Bergoglio became the first pope from the Americas and the Southern Hemisphere, taking the name "Francis". The education system has four levels, and the literacy rate was 98.07% in 2010. Healthcare comes from a mix of employer and union plans, government plans, public hospitals and private insurance, and life expectancy at birth rose from 60 years to 76.

Culture

List of Argentines

Argentina is a multicultural country with strong European influences. Its Argentine culture has been shaped largely by immigrants from Italy, Spain, and other parts of Europe, including France, Russia, and the United Kingdom. Its cities show many people of European descent and copy American and European styles in fashion, architecture, and design. The gauchos and their traditional country way of life, based on self-reliance, are another major influence. Writer Ernesto Sabato reflects on how Argentina's culture is shaped by both its European roots and its place in the Americas. Argentina's literature includes famous writers such as Jorge Luis Borges, its most acclaimed writer, and Julio Cortázar, who influenced many writers in the Americas and Europe.

Argentina is well known for tango, a musical style with European and African influences that is one of the country's international symbols. The country also has strong classical music and dance scenes, and its Argentine rock developed as a distinct style in the mid-1960s. Buenos Aires is a major theatre centre, and Teatro Colón is famous for opera and classical performances. Argentines enjoy dishes such as empanadas and the asado, a barbecue, and Argentine wine is an important part of the local meal. The most popular sport is football.

Literature

Main article: Music of Argentina