In 1816, the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata declared their independence from Spain. After Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay went their separate ways, the area that remained became Argentina. The country’s population and culture were heavily shaped by immigrants from throughout Europe, with Italy and Spain providing the largest percentage of newcomers from 1860 to 1930. Up until about the mid-20th century, much of Argentina’s history was dominated by periods of internal political unrest and conflict between civilian and military factions.After World War II, an era of populism under former President Juan Domingo PERÓN - the founder of the Peronist political movement - and direct and indirect military interference in subsequent governments was followed by a military junta that took power in 1976. Democracy returned in 1983 after a failed bid to seize the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) by force, and has persisted despite numerous challenges, the most formidable of which was a severe economic crisis in 2001-02 that led to violent public protests and the successive resignations of several presidents. The years 2003-15 saw Peronist rule by Néstor KIRCHNER (2003-07) and his spouse Cristina FERNÁNDEZ DE KIRCHNER (2007-15), who oversaw several years of strong economic growth (2003-11) followed by a gradual deterioration in the government’s fiscal situation and eventual economic stagnation and isolation. Argentina underwent a brief period of economic reform and international reintegration under Mauricio MACRI (2015-19), but a recession in 2018-19 and frustration with MACRI’s economic policies ushered in a new Peronist government in 2019 led by President Alberto FERNÁNDEZ and Vice President Cristina FERNÁNDEZ DE KIRCHNER. Argentina’s high public debts, its pandemic-related inflationary pressures, and systemic monetary woes served as the catalyst for the 2023 elections, culminating with President Javier MILEI’s electoral success. Argentina has since eliminated half of its government agencies and is seeking shock therapy to amend taxation and monetary policies.
land: 2,736,690 sq km
water: 43,710 sq km
border countries (5): Bolivia 942 km; Brazil 1,263 km; Chile 6,691 km; Paraguay 2,531 km; Uruguay 541 km
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
lowest point: Laguna del Carbón (located between Puerto San Julián and Comandante Luis Piedra Buena in the province of Santa Cruz) -105 m
mean elevation: 595 m
arable land: 13.9% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 0.4% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 39.6% (2018 est.)
forest: 10.7% (2018 est.)
other: 35.4% (2018 est.)
salt water lake(s): Laguna Mar Chiquita - 1,850 sq km;
note 2: southeast Bolivia and northwest Argentina seem to be the original development site for peanuts
46,621,847 (2023 est.)
noun: Argentine(s)
adjective: Argentine
European (mostly Spanish and Italian descent) and Mestizo (mixed European and Amerindian ancestry) 97.2%, Amerindian 2.4%, African descent 0.4% (2010 est.)
Spanish (official), Italian, English, German, French, indigenous (Quechua, Guarani, Mapudungun)
major-language sample(s):
La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Roman Catholic 62.9%, Evangelical 15.3% (Pentecostal 13%, other Evangelical 2.3%), Jehovah’s Witness and Church of Jesus Christ 1.4%, other 1.2% (includes Muslim, Jewish), none 18.9% (includes agnostic and atheist), unspecified 0.3% (2019 est.)
Argentina’s population continues to grow but at a slower rate because of its steadily declining birth rate. Argentina’s fertility decline began earlier than in the rest of Latin America, occurring most rapidly between the early 20th century and the 1950s, and then becoming more gradual. Life expectancy has been improving, most notably among the young and the poor. While the population under age 15 is shrinking, the youth cohort - ages 15-24 - is the largest in Argentina’s history and will continue to bolster the working-age population. If this large working-age population is well-educated and gainfully employed, Argentina is likely to experience an economic boost and possibly higher per capita savings and investment. Although literacy and primary school enrollment are nearly universal, grade repetition is problematic and secondary school completion is low. Both of these issues vary widely by region and socioeconomic group.Argentina has been primarily a country of immigration for most of its history, welcoming European immigrants (often providing needed low-skilled labor) after its independence in the 19th century and attracting especially large numbers from Spain and Italy. More than 7 million European immigrants are estimated to have arrived in Argentina between 1880 and 1930, when it adopted a more restrictive immigration policy. European immigration also began to wane in the 1930s because of the global depression. The inflow rebounded temporarily following WWII and resumed its decline in the 1950s when Argentina’s military dictators tightened immigration rules and European economies rebounded. Regional migration increased, however, supplying low-skilled workers escaping economic and political instability in their home countries. As of 2015, immigrants made up almost 5% of Argentina’s population, the largest share in South America. Migration from neighboring countries accounted for approximately 80% of Argentina’s immigrant population in 2015.The first waves of highly skilled Argentine emigrant workers headed mainly to the United States and Spain in the 1960s and 1970s, driven by economic decline and repressive military dictatorships. The 2008 European economic crisis drove the return migration of some Argentinean and other Latin American nationals, as well as the immigration of Europeans to South America, where Argentina was a key recipient. In 2015, Argentina received the highest number of legal migrants in Latin America and the Caribbean. The majority of its migrant inflow came from Paraguay and Bolivia.
0-14 years: 23.51% (male 5,645,070/female 5,316,156)
15-64 years: 63.83% (male 14,929,084/female 14,827,733)
65 years and over: 12.66% (2023 est.) (male 2,511,984/female 3,391,820)
total dependency ratio: 54.3
youth dependency ratio: 36
elderly dependency ratio: 18.2
potential support ratio: 5.5 (2021 est.)
total: 33 years (2023 est.)
male: 31.8 years
female: 34.3 years
0.8% (2023 est.)
15.4 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
7.3 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
-0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
one-third of the population lives in Buenos Aires; pockets of agglomeration occur throughout the northern and central parts of the country; Patagonia to the south remains sparsely populated
urban population: 92.5% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.97% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
15.490 million BUENOS AIRES (capital), 1.612 million Córdoba, 1.594 million Rosario, 1.226 million Mendoza, 1.027 million San Miguel de Tucumán, 914,000 La Plata (2023)
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
45 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
total: 9.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 10.1 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 8.1 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 78.6 years (2023 est.)
male: 75.5 years
female: 81.8 years
2.17 children born/woman (2023 est.)
1.05 (2023 est.)
70.1% (2019/20)
improved: urban: 99.8% of population
rural: NA
total: NA
unimproved: urban: 0.2% of population
rural: NA
total: (2020 est.) NA
10% of GDP (2020)
4.06 physicians/1,000 population (2020)
5 beds/1,000 population (2017)
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: NA
total: NA
unimproved: rural: NA
total: (2020 est.) NA
28.3% (2016)
total: 7.95 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 3.62 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 2.88 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 0.72 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0.72 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total: 24.5% (2020 est.)
male: 29.4% (2020 est.)
female: 19.6% (2020 est.)
1.7% (2018/19)
48.9% (2023 est.)
women married by age 15: 2.4%
women married by age 18: 15.5% (2020 est.)
5% of GDP (2020 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 98.9%
female: 99.1% (2018)
total: 18 years
male: 17 years
female: 20 years (2020)
environmental problems (urban and rural) typical of an industrializing economy such as deforestation, soil degradation (erosion, salinization), desertification, air pollution, and water pollution
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Marine Life Conservation
mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest
agricultural land: 53.9% (2018 est.)
arable land: 13.9% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 0.4% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 39.6% (2018 est.)
forest: 10.7% (2018 est.)
other: 35.4% (2018 est.)
urban population: 92.5% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.97% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
0.09% of GDP (2018 est.)
0% of GDP (2018 est.)
particulate matter emissions: 12.04 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
carbon dioxide emissions: 201.35 megatons (2016 est.)
methane emissions: 120.66 megatons (2020 est.)
municipal solid waste generated annually: 17,910,550 tons (2014 est.)
municipal solid waste recycled annually: 1,074,633 tons (2010 est.)
percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 6% (2010 est.)
fresh water lake(s): Lago Buenos Aires (shared with Chile) - 2,240 sq km; Lago Argentino - 1,410 sq km; Lago Viedma - 1,090 sq km; Lago San Martín (shared with Chile) - 1,010 sq km; Lago Colhué Huapi - 800 sq km; Lago Fagnano (shared with Chile) - 590 sq km; Lago Nahuel Huapi - 550 sq km
salt water lake(s): Laguna Mar Chiquita - 1,850 sq km;
Río de la Plata/Paraná river mouth (shared with Brazil [s], Paraguay, and Uruguay) - 4,880 km; Paraguay (shared with Brazil [s], and Paraguay [m]) - 2,549 km; Uruguay (shared with Brazil [s] and Uruguay [m]) - 1,610 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Atlantic Ocean drainage: Paraná (2,582,704 sq km)
Guaraní Aquifer System
municipal: 5.85 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
industrial: 4 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
agricultural: 27.93 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
876.24 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
large diversified economy; financial risks from debt obligations, rapid inflation, and reduced investor appetites; resource-rich, export-led growth model; increasing trade relations with China; G20 and OAS leader; tendency to nationalize businesses and under-report inflation
$986.134 billion (2021 est.)
$893.251 billion (2020 est.)
$991.876 billion (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
10.4% (2021 est.)
-9.94% (2020 est.)
-2% (2019 est.)
$21,500 (2021 est.)
$19,700 (2020 est.)
$22,100 (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
$447.467 billion (2019 est.)
25.7% (2017 est.)
26.5% (2016 est.)
note: data are derived from private estimates
Fitch rating: CCC (2020)
Moody’s rating: Ca (2020)
Standard & Poors rating: CCC+ (2020)
note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.
agriculture: 10.8% (2017 est.)
industry: 28.1% (2017 est.)
services: 61.1% (2017 est.)comparison rankings:
household consumption: 65.9% (2017 est.)
government consumption: 18.2% (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 14.8% (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: 3.7% (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 11.2% (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -13.8% (2017 est.)
maize, soybeans, wheat, sugar cane, milk, barley, sunflower seed, beef, grapes, potatoes
food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel
15.26% (2021 est.)
note: based on private sector estimates
21.206 million (2021 est.)
note: urban areas only
10.9% (2021 est.)
11.46% (2020 est.)
9.84% (2019 est.)
total: 29.9% (2021 est.)
male: 25%
female: 37.1%
35.5% (2019 est.)
42.3 (2020 est.)
on food: 28.3% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
on alcohol and tobacco: 1.9% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
lowest 10%: 1.8%
highest 10%: 31% (2017 est.)
revenues: $150.823 billion (2019 est.)
expenditures: $170.725 billion (2019 est.)
-6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
57.6% of GDP (2017 est.)
55% of GDP (2016 est.)
10.87% (of GDP) (2020 est.)
calendar year
$6.708 billion (2021 est.)
$3.121 billion (2020 est.)
-$3.492 billion (2019 est.)
$87.415 billion (2021 est.)
$64.431 billion (2020 est.)
$79.964 billion (2019 est.)
note: Data are in current year dollars and do not include illicit exports or re-exports.
Brazil 16%, China 11%, United States 7%, Chile 5% (2019)
corn, soybean products, delivery trucks, wheat, beef, gold (2021)
$72.362 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$52.339 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$66.574 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
Brazil 21%, China 18%, US 14%, Germany 6% (2019)
cars, refined petroleum, vehicle parts, natural gas, soybeans (2019)
$39.653 billion (31 December 2021 est.)
$39.404 billion (31 December 2020 est.)
$44.881 billion (31 December 2019 est.)
$278.524 billion (2019 est.)
$261.949 billion (2018 est.)
Argentine pesos (ARS) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
94.991 (2021 est.)
70.539 (2020 est.)
48.148 (2019 est.)
28.095 (2018 est.)
16.563 (2017 est.)
electrification - total population: 100% (2021)
installed generating capacity: 44.731 million kW (2020 est.)
consumption: 121,563,940,000 kWh (2020 est.)
exports: 261 million kWh (2020 est.)
imports: 7.802 billion kWh (2020 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 20.74 billion kWh (2020 est.)comparison rankings:
fossil fuels: 65.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
nuclear: 7.3% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
solar: 1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
wind: 6.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
hydroelectricity: 17.6% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
biomass and waste: 1.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Number of operational nuclear reactors: 3 (2023)
Number of nuclear reactors under construction: 1
Net capacity of operational nuclear reactors: 1.64GW (2023)
Percent of total electricity production: 7.2% (2021)
Percent of total energy produced: 3.6% (2021)
Number of nuclear reactors permanently shut down: 0
production: 829,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
consumption: 1.55 million metric tons (2020 est.)
exports: 4,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
imports: 990,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 500 million metric tons (2019 est.)
total petroleum production: 690,200 bbl/day (2021 est.)
refined petroleum consumption: 680,000 bbl/day (2019 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate exports: 59,100 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate imports: 11,400 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil estimated reserves: 2,482,700,000 barrels (2021 est.)
669,800 bbl/day (2015 est.)
58,360 bbl/day (2015 est.)
121,400 bbl/day (2015 est.)
production: 41,194,148,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)
consumption: 49,476,585,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
exports: 691.241 million cubic meters (2019 est.)
imports: 6,865,323,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
proven reserves: 396.464 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)
193.205 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 2.122 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids: 94.208 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from consumed natural gas: 96.875 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
79.083 million Btu/person (2019 est.)
number of registered air carriers: 6 (2020)
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 107
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 18,081,937 (2018)
annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 311.57 million (2018) mt-km
LV
916 (2021)
161
civil airports: 15
military airports: 5
joint use (civil-military) airports: 16
other airports: 125
note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
977
note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control
2 (2021)
29,930 km gas, 41 km liquid petroleum gas, 6,248 km oil, 3,631 km refined products (2013)
total: 17,866 km (2018)
total: 281,290 km (2017)
paved: 117,616 km (2017)
unpaved: 163,674 km (2017)
11,000 km (2012)
total: 203 (2022)
by type: container ship 1, bulk carrier 1 general cargo 8, oil tanker 33, other 160
major seaport(s): Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, La Plata, Punta Colorada, Ushuaia
container port(s) (TEUs): Buenos Aires (1,446,452) (2021)
LNG terminal(s) (import): Bahia Blanca
river port(s): Arroyo Seco, Rosario, San Lorenzo-San Martin (Parana)
Argentina operates one PC 5 or 6 class light icebreaker
note - PC indicates a Polar Class vessel: PC 5 - year-round operation in medium first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 70-120 cm); PC 6 - summer/autumn operation in medium first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 30-70 cm)
manyapis