The basics
Location
Argentina is located in the extreme south of South America. It is the second largest country in South American and the eighth largest in the world. It has a surface area of 3,700,000 km², measures 3,694 km from North to South, and spans 1,423 km from East to West. It borders with Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay and the Atlantic Ocean.
Geography
Argentina is a land of contrasts, from the vast plains of the east to the Andes in the West where Aconcagua, the highest peak of the Western Hemisphere at 6,959 m, towers above the other mountains. The variety of landscape ranges from the high altiplano of the Northwest –with its deserts, valleys, gorges and brightly coloured hills- to the lakes, forests, glaciers, steppe, mountains and cliffs of Patagonia. From the wetlands, lagoons, waterfalls and subtropical rainforest of the Northeast, to the expanse of flat Pampas in Buenos Aires Province and the rolling hills of Cordoba.
Climate
The climate depends on the region: mild and humid in the Pampas; cold and humid in Andean Patagonia; subtropical in the Northeast, and warm and dry in the Northwest.
Population
Over 39 million inhabitants, a third of which live in Buenos Aires City and the province of Buenos Aires. 95% of Argentines are white, mostly descendents of Italian and Spanish immigrants. The indigenous population of mapuches, collas, tobas, matacos and chiriguanos, represents 0.5% of Argentina’s inhabitants.
Religion
Catholicism is the official religion, but there is religious freedom throughout the country.
Government
Argentina is a federal representative democratic republic. The government is divided into three branches: executive, legislative and judicial.
Economy
Argentina is rich in natural resources and its economy is dependent on agriculture. The country has 22.5 million hectares of cultivated farming land and an enormous potential for mining. Argentina has the minerals necessary to be self-sufficient in petrol and gas.
