Argentina

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Coordinates: 34°S 64°W

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Argentina (disambiguation).
"The Argentine" redirects here. For other uses, see Argentine (disambiguation).
"República Argentina" redirects here. For the metro station, see República
Argentina (Madrid Metro).

Argentine Republic[A]
República Argentina (Spanish)

Flag

Coat of arms

Motto:

 "En unión y libertad"

 ("In Unity and Freedom")

Anthem: Himno Nacional Argentino

("Argentine National Anthem")
Duration: 3 minutes and 34 seconds.3:34

Sol de Mayo[2]
(Sun of May)
 Argentine territory in dark green; territory claimed but not controlled by
Argentina in light green

Capital Buenos Aires

and largest city 34°36′S 58°23′W

Official languages Spanish (de facto)[a]

Co-official  Guaraní in Corrientes[3]

languages  Quechua in Santiago del Estero[4]
 Qom, Mocoví, and Wichí in Chaco[5]
 Welsh in Chubut[6]

Religion 
(2019)[7] o 78.2% Christianity
 62.9% Catholicism
 15.3%
other Christian
 20.5% no religion
 1.3% other

Demonym(s)  Argentine
 Argentinian
 Argentinean (uncommon)

Government Federal presidential republic

• President Javier Milei

• Vice President Victoria Villarruel
• Chief of the Guillermo Francos
Cabinet of
Ministers
• President of the Martín Menem
Chamber of
Deputies
• President of Horacio Rosatti
Supreme Court
 Legislature National Congress
• Upper house Senate
Lower house Chamber of Deputies

Independence
from Spain
• May Revolution 25 May 1810
• Declared 9 July 1816
• Constitution 1 May 1853

Area
• Total 2,780,400 km2 (1,073,500 sq mi)[B] (8th)
Water (%) 1.57

Population
• 2022 census 47,327,407[9] (31st)
Density 14.4/km2 (37.3/sq mi)[8] (178th)

GDP (PPP) 2024 estimate

• Total $1.245 trillion[10] (30th)
Per capita $26,390[10] (66th)

GDP (nominal) 2024 estimate

• Total $604.260 billion[10] (24th)
Per capita $12,812[10] (66th)

Gini (2020) 42.3[11]

medium

HDI (2022) 0.849[12]

very high (48th)

Currency Argentine peso ($) (ARS)

Time zone UTC−3 (ART)

Date format dd/mm/yyyy (CE)

Driving side right[b]

Calling code +54

ISO 3166 code AR

Internet TLD .ar

1. ^ Though not declared official de jure, the Spanish language is

the only one used in the wording of laws, decrees, resolutions,
 official documents and public acts thus making it the de
facto official language.
2. ^ Since 10 June 1945, but trains are still driven on left.

Argentina,[a] officially the Argentine Republic,[b] is a country in the southern

half of South America. Argentina covers an area of
2,780,400 km2 (1,073,500 sq mi),[B] making it 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 the bulk of the Southern
Cone with Chile to the west, and is also bordered by Bolivia and Paraguay to
the north, Brazil to the northeast, Uruguay and the South Atlantic Ocean to the
east, and the Drake Passage to the south. Argentina is a federal
state subdivided into twenty-three provinces, and one autonomous city, which is
the federal capital and largest city of the nation, Buenos Aires. The provinces
and the capital have their own constitutions, but exist under a federal system.
Argentina 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 modern-day Argentina dates back to

the Paleolithic period.[13] The Inca Empire expanded to the northwest of the
country in Pre-Columbian times. The country has its roots in Spanish
colonization of the region during the 16th century.[14] Argentina rose as the
successor state of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata,[15] a Spanish overseas
viceroyalty founded in 1776. The declaration and fight for independence (1810–
1818) was followed by an extended civil war that lasted until 1861, culminating
in the country's reorganization as a federation. The country thereafter enjoyed
relative peace and stability, with several waves of European immigration,
mainly Italians and Spaniards, influencing its culture and demography.[16][17][18][19]

Following the death of President Juan Perón in 1974, his widow and vice
president, Isabel Perón, ascended to the presidency, before being
overthrown in 1976. The following military junta, which was supported by the
United States, persecuted and murdered thousands of political critics, activists,
and leftists in the Dirty War, a period of state terrorism and civil unrest that
lasted until the election of Raúl Alfonsín as president in 1983.

Argentina is a regional power, and retains its historic status as a middle

power in international affairs.[20][21][22] A major non-NATO ally of the United
States,[23] Argentina is a developing country with the second-
highest HDI (human development index) in Latin America after Chile.[24] It
maintains the second-largest economy in South America, and is a member
of G-15 and G20. Argentina is also a founding member of the United
Nations, World Bank, World Trade Organization, Mercosur, Community of Latin
American and Caribbean States and the Organization of Ibero-American States.

Etymology
Main article: Etymology of Argentina
The description of the region by the word Argentina has been found on
a Venetian map in 1536.[25]

In English, the name Argentina comes from the Spanish language; however, the
naming itself is not Spanish, but Italian. Argentina (masculine argentino) means
in Italian '(made) of silver, silver coloured', derived from the Latin argentum for
silver. In Italian, the adjective or the proper noun is often used in an
autonomous way as a substantive and replaces it and it is said l'Argentina.

The name Argentina was probably first given by the Venetian and Genoese
navigators, such as Giovanni Caboto. In Spanish and Portuguese, the words for
'silver' are respectively plata and prata and '(made) of silver'
is plateado and prateado, although argento for 'silver' and argentado for
'covered in silver' exist in Spanish. Argentina was first associated with the silver
mountains legend, widespread among the first European explorers of the La
Plata Basin.[26]

The first written use of the name in Spanish can be traced to La Argentina,[C] a
1602 poem by Martín del Barco Centenera describing the region.[27] Although
"Argentina" was already in common usage by the 18th century, the country was
formally named "Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata" by the Spanish Empire, and
"United Provinces of the Río de la Plata" after independence.

The 1826 constitution included the first use of the name "Argentine Republic" in
legal documents.[28] The name "Argentine Confederation" was also commonly
used and was formalized in the Argentine Constitution of 1853.[29] In 1860 a
presidential decree settled the country's name as "Argentine Republic",[30] and
that year's constitutional amendment ruled all the names since 1810 as legally
valid.[31][D]

In English, the country was traditionally called "the Argentine", mimicking the
typical Spanish usage la Argentina[32] and perhaps resulting from a mistaken
shortening of the fuller name 'Argentine Republic'. 'The Argentine' fell out of
fashion during the mid-to-late 20th century, and now the country is referred to
as "Argentina".

History