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: Salinas Chicas −40 m (located on Peninsula Valdes)
highest point: Cerro Aconcagua 6,962 m
Natural resources: fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin,
copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium
Land use:
arable land: 9%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 52%
forests and woodland: 19%
other: 19% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 17,000 sq km (1993 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: erosion results from inadequate flood controls and improper land use practices; irrigated soil degradation; desertification; air pollution in Buenos Aires and other major cities; water pollution in urban areas; rivers becoming polluted due to increased pesticide and fertilizer use
Environment—international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life
Conservation
Geography—note: second-largest country in South America (after
Brazil); strategic location relative to sea lanes between South
Atlantic and South Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle
Channel, Drake Passage)
People
Population: 36,737,664 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure:
0–14 years: 27% (male 5,124,087; female 4,932,060)
15–64 years: 62% (male 11,457,399; female 11,469,346)
65 years and over: 11% (male 1,553,158; female 2,201,614) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.29% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 19.91 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 7.64 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 18.41 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 74.76 years male: 71.13 years female: 78.56 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.66 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Argentine(s) adjective: Argentine
Ethnic groups: white 85%, mestizo, Amerindian, or other nonwhite
groups 15%
Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 90% (less than 20%
practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 6%
Languages: Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.2%
male: 96.2%
female: 96.2% (1995 est.)
Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Argentine Republic
conventional short form: Argentina
local long form: Republica Argentina
local short form: Argentina
Data code: AR
Government type: republic
Capital: Buenos Aires
Administrative divisions: 23 provinces (provincias,
singular—provincia), and 1 federal district* (distrito federal);
Buenos Aires; Catamarca; Chaco; Chubut; Cordoba; Corrientes;
Distrito Federal*; 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: 1 May 1853; revised August 1994
Legal system: mixture of US and West European legal systems; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Carlos Saul MENEM (since 8 July 1989);
Vice President Carlos RUCKAUF (since 8 July 1995); note—the
president
