Argentina

Map of Argentina

Country Name	Conventional long form: Argentine Republic
Capital	Buenos Aires
Population	42,192,494 (July 2012 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: 0.97 male(s)/female (2011 est.)
Religions	Nominally Roman Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4%
Nationality	Argentine(s)
National holiday	Revolution Day, 25 May (1810)
Independence:	9 July 1816 (from Spain)
Languages	Spanish (official), Italian, English, German, French, indigenous (Mapudungun, Quechua)
Literacy: definition	Age 10 and over can read and write Total population: 98.1% Male: 98% Female: 98.1% (2010 census)
Exports - commodities	Soybeans and derivatives, petroleum and gas, vehicles, corn, wheat
Imports - commodities	Machinery, motor vehicles, petroleum and natural gas, organic chemicals, plastics
Location	Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay
Geographic coordinates	34 00 S, 64 00 W
Map references	South America
Area	Total: 2,780,400 sq km Land: 2,736,690 sq km Water: 43,710 sq km
Area - comparative	Slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US
Land boundaries	Total: 9,861 km Border Countries: Bolivia 832 km, Brazil 1,261 km, Chile 5,308 km, Paraguay 1,880 km, Uruguay 580 km
Coastline	4,989 km
Maritime claims	Territorial sea: 12 nm Contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
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: Laguna del Carbon -105 m (located between Puerto San Julian and Comandante Luis Piedra Buena in the province of Santa Cruz) Highest point: Cerro Aconcagua 6,960 m (located in the northwestern corner of the province of Mendoza; highest point in South America)
Natural resources	Fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium
Land use	Arable land: 10.03% Permanent crops: 0.36% other: 89.61% (2005)
Irrigated land	15,500 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	814 cu km (2000)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	Total: 29.19 cu km/yr (17%/9%/74%) Per capita: 753 cu m/yr (2000)
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 in some areas Volcanism: volcanic activity in the Andes Mountains along the Chilean border; Copahue (elev. 2,997 m) last erupted in 2000; other historically active volcanoes include Llullaillaco, Maipo, Planchon-Peteroa, San Jose, Tromen, Tupungatito, and Viedma
Environment - current issues	Environmental problems (urban and rural) typical of an industrializing economy such as deforestation, 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note	Second-largest country in South America (after Brazil); strategic location relative to sea lanes between the South Atlantic and the South Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage); diverse geophysical landscapes range from tropical climates in the north to tundra in the far south; Cerro Aconcagua is the Western Hemisphere's tallest mountain, while Laguna del Carbon is the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere