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: contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
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: Salinas Chicas −40 m (located on
Peninsula Valdes)
highest point: Cerro Aconcagua 6,960 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: environmental problems (urban and rural) typical of an industrializing economy such as 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,
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)
Argentina People
Population: 37,384,816 (July 2001 est.)
Age structure: 0–14 years: 26.54% (male 5,077,593; female 4,842,811)
15–64 years: 63.04% (male 11,795,282; female 11,773,855)
65 years and over: 10.42% (male 1,609,672; female 2,285,603) (2001 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.15% (2001 est.)
Birth rate: 18.41 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate: 7.58 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 17.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 75.26 years
male: 71.88 years
female: 78.82 years (2001 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.44 children born/woman (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.69% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 130,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 1,800 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Argentine(s)
adjective: Argentine
Ethnic groups: white (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%, mestizo,
Amerindian, or other nonwhite 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: 96.2%
male: 96.2%
female: 96.2% (1995 est.)
Argentina 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, Antartica e Islas del Atlantico Sur; Tucuman
