Argentina
Name
| Official name | Argentine Republic |
|---|---|
| In Spanish | República Argentina |
| Constitutional names | The Constitution allows "Argentine Nation" and "United Provinces of the Río de la Plata" as well |
| Demonym | Argentine — Argentinian in some usage; argentino in Spanish |
| Meaning of the name | From the Latin argentum, "silver" — after the Río de la Plata, the river of silver; the first use of "Argentina" dates from a poem of 1602 |
Quick facts
| Capital | Buenos Aires — an autonomous city on the Río de la Plata; also the largest city, with about 15 million people in its metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Official language | Spanish, in its Rioplatense form, by usage — no language is declared official in the Constitution; Guaraní, Quechua and Welsh (in Chubut) are spoken regionally |
| Currency | Argentine peso — ISO code ARS, symbol $; issued by the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic |
| Time zone | Argentina Time, UTC−3, all year — no daylight saving |
| Calling code | +54 |
| Internet domain | .ar |
| ISO 3166 codes | AR · ARG · 032 |
| Vehicle registration code | RA |
| Driving side | Right |
| Electricity | 220 V, 50 Hz; plug types C and I |
| Independence | 9 July 1816, declared at San Miguel de Tucumán, from Spain; the May Revolution of 25 May 1810 began the road to it |
| National days | 25 May, the May Revolution; 9 July, Independence Day; 20 June, Flag Day |
| Constitution | The Constitution of 1853, last reformed in 1994 |
| Population | 46.0 million by the census of 2022; about 45.4 million by the CIA World Factbook's 2025 estimate, about 45.9 million by the UN |
| Area | 2,780,400 km² (1,073,500 sq mi) — the eighth largest country in the world and the second in South America; about 3,700 km (2,300 mi) north to south |
Flag & national symbols
| National flag | Three horizontal bands of light blue, white and light blue with the golden Sun of May on the white — Belgrano's banner of 1812, made national in 1816, sunned in 1818, and specified by law down to its colorimetry.Flag of Argentina |
|---|---|
| Coat of arms | Two clasped hands holding a pike with the Phrygian cap, on a field of light blue and white, ringed by laurel and crowned by the Sun of May — adopted 1813 |
| National anthem | The Argentine National Anthem — words by Vicente López y Planes, music by Blas Parera; adopted 11 May 1813 |
| National motto | "En unión y libertad" — "in union and liberty," struck on the first coins of 1813 |
| National colors | Light blue (celeste) and white |
| National bird | The rufous hornero (hornero), the mud-nest builder — chosen by a vote of schoolchildren in 1928 |
| National flower | The ceibo (Erythrina crista-galli) — by decree of 1942 |
| National tree | The quebracho colorado — by law of 1956 |
| National stone | Rhodochrosite, the "Inca rose" of the Capillitas mine |
| National sport | Pato — by decree of 1953; football is the national passion, with World Cups in 1978, 1986 and 2022 |
| National infusion | Mate, the yerba mate tea — by Law 26.871 of 2013 |
| National dance | The tango — inscribed by UNESCO in 2009 as intangible heritage shared with Uruguay |
| National dishes | Asado, empanadas, locro and dulce de leche — widely cited, not designated |
| Symbol status | The flag, arms, anthem and Sun of May are fixed by law; the bird, flower, tree, sport, stone and infusion were designated by law or decree; the dishes are widely cited |
Geography
| Location | Southern South America, between the Andes and the South Atlantic, from the Tropic of Capricorn to Tierra del Fuego |
|---|---|
| Coastline | 4,989 km (3,100 mi) on the South Atlantic |
| Land borders | 11,968 km (7,437 mi) with five countries |
| Border with Chile | 6,691 km (4,158 mi) along the Andes — the third longest international border in the world |
| Border with Paraguay | 2,531 km (1,573 mi) |
| Border with Brazil | 1,263 km (785 mi) |
| Border with Bolivia | 942 km (585 mi) |
| Border with Uruguay | 541 km (336 mi), along the Uruguay River and the Río de la Plata |
| Highest point | Aconcagua, 6,962 m (22,841 ft), in Mendoza province — the highest mountain outside Asia |
| Lowest point | Laguna del Carbón, Santa Cruz province, 105 m (344 ft) below sea level — the lowest point in the Americas |
| Mean elevation | 595 m (1,952 ft) |
| Longest river | The Paraná, about 4,880 km (3,030 mi) with its headstream — the second longest in South America; the Río de la Plata, its estuary with the Uruguay, is the widest in the world |
| Other rivers | Uruguay, Paraguay, Colorado, Negro, Salado, Bermejo, Pilcomayo, Santa Cruz, Chubut |
| Largest lake | Lago Buenos Aires (General Carrera), shared with Chile, 2,240 km² (865 sq mi); Lago Argentino, 1,410 km² (544 sq mi), the largest entirely within the country |
| Other lakes | Viedma, San Martín, Nahuel Huapi, Fagnano; the Mar Chiquita salt lake of Córdoba |
| Regions | The Pampas, the Gran Chaco, Mesopotamia between the rivers, the Andean northwest, Cuyo, Patagonia |
| Mountain range | The Andes along the whole western border — Aconcagua, Ojos del Salado (6,893 m, the world's highest volcano), Monte Pissis, Bonete |
| Glaciers | The Southern Patagonian Ice Field; the Perito Moreno Glacier in Los Glaciares National Park |
| Waterfalls | Iguazú Falls on the Brazilian border — about 275 falls over 2.7 km (1.7 mi), the largest waterfall system in the world |
| Climate | Mostly temperate; subtropical in the north, arid in Patagonia, subantarctic in the far south |
| Natural hazards | Earthquakes in the Andean west; pamperos, the violent winds of the Pampas; flooding in the northeast |
| Natural resources | The fertile plains of the Pampas; lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium, lithium |
| Land use | Agricultural land 54%, arable 14%; forest about 10% |
| National parks | About 40, from Iguazú and Los Glaciares to Nahuel Huapi (1934, the first) and Tierra del Fuego |
| UNESCO World Heritage | 12 — Los Glaciares, Iguazú, the Cueva de las Manos, the Península Valdés, Ischigualasto and Talampaya, the Jesuit Missions of the Guaranís, the Jesuit Block of Córdoba, the Quebrada de Humahuaca, the Qhapaq Ñan, the Curutchet House by Le Corbusier, Los Alerces, and the ESMA Museum of Memory (2023) |
| Administrative divisions | 23 provinces and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires |
| Claims | A sector of Antarctica, and the Falkland Islands (Malvinas), South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, administered by the United Kingdom |
People
| Population | 46.0 million (census of 2022); about 45.4–45.9 million by the 2025 estimates |
|---|---|
| Population density | About 16 per km² (42 per sq mi) — a third of Argentines live in Greater Buenos Aires |
| Population growth | Under 1% a year |
| Median age | About 33 years |
| Life expectancy | About 77 years (2023) |
| Fertility rate | About 1.5 births per woman (2023) — below replacement |
| Urban population | About 92% — among the most urbanized countries in the world |
| Adult literacy | About 99% |
| Ethnic groups | European descent (mostly Spanish and Italian) and mestizo about 97%; indigenous peoples about 2.4%, African descent 0.4% (2010 census) |
| Languages | Spanish; Italian, Guaraní, Quechua, Mapudungun, Welsh in the Chubut valley; Levantine Arabic among immigrant communities |
| Religion | Roman Catholic about 63%, Evangelical 15%, no religion 19% (2019 survey) |
| Largest cities | Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Rosario, Mendoza, La Plata, San Miguel de Tucumán, Mar del Plata, Salta |
| Human Development Index | 0.865 (2023 data, 2025 report) — very high; among the highest in Latin America |
| Poverty | About 32% of the population below the national poverty line (2025), down sharply as inflation fell |
Government
| Form of government | Federal presidential republic under the Constitution of 1853 as reformed in 1994 |
|---|---|
| President | Javier Milei, since 10 December 2023, for a four-year term |
| Vice President | Victoria Villarruel, since 10 December 2023; presides over the Senate |
| Congress | Bicameral — the Senate, 72 members (three per province and the capital), and the Chamber of Deputies, 257 members |
| Legal system | Civil law; a Supreme Court of Justice |
| Administrative divisions | 23 provinces and the autonomous capital, each province with its own constitution and governor |
| United Nations | Founding member, 24 October 1945 |
| Mercosur | Founding member, with Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, by the Treaty of Asunción of 1991 |
| G20 | Member; host of the 2018 summit in Buenos Aires |
| Other memberships | The OAS, the WTO (1995), the Antarctic Treaty (an original signatory, 1959); an OECD accession candidate since 2022 |
Economy
| GDP (nominal) | About US$683 billion (2025, IMF and World Bank) — the third largest in Latin America after Brazil and Mexico |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita | About US$14,400 (2025) |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | About US$31,000 (2025) |
| GDP growth | About 4.4% (2025), rebounding from the 2024 recession |
| Inflation | Falling fast — from over 200% a year in early 2024 to about 32% by late 2025 |
| Economy by sector | Services about two-thirds; manufacturing about 17%; agriculture about 6% of GDP but far more of exports |
| Currency | Argentine peso (ARS) |
| Exports | About US$87 billion (2025) — soybeans, soy meal and oil, corn, wheat, beef, vehicles, gold and lithium, petroleum and gas |
| Export partners | Brazil, China, the United States, Chile, India |
| Farming | A top-three world exporter of soybean products; the leading exporter of lemons and one of the largest of beef, corn and wheat; the world's fifth largest wine producer, from Mendoza above all |
| Energy | Vaca Muerta in Neuquén — among the largest shale oil and gas formations in the world |
| Lithium | Part of the "lithium triangle" with Chile and Bolivia; among the world's largest producers |
| Income classification | Upper-middle income (World Bank) |
Transport & infrastructure
| Main airport | Ministro Pistarini International Airport at Ezeiza, Buenos Aires; Aeroparque Jorge Newbery for domestic flights |
|---|---|
| Airline | Aerolíneas Argentinas, the flag carrier, founded 1950 |
| Main ports | Buenos Aires; Rosario, the great grain port of the Paraná; Bahía Blanca; Ushuaia for Antarctica |
| Railways | About 36,000 km (22,000 mi), the largest network in Latin America, though much reduced from its 47,000 km peak |
| Buenos Aires Subte | Opened 1913 — the first underground railway in Latin America and the Southern Hemisphere |
| Roads | Ruta Nacional 40 — about 5,200 km (3,200 mi) along the Andes from Bolivia to Patagonia, one of the longest roads in the world |
| To Chile | The Cristo Redentor tunnel from Mendoza and the Paso de Jama in the north |
History in dates
| 1516 | Juan Díaz de Solís reaches the Río de la Plata |
|---|---|
| 1536 · 1580 | Buenos Aires founded, abandoned, and refounded |
| 1776 | The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata created |
| 1806–07 | The British invasions repelled |
| 1810 | The May Revolution, 25 May |
| 1816 | Independence declared at Tucumán, 9 July |
| 1853 | The Constitution adopted |
| 1880 | Buenos Aires federalized; mass immigration begins |
| 1946 | Juan Perón elected president |
| 1976–83 | The military dictatorship; the Falklands (Malvinas) war of 1982 |
| 1983 | Democracy restored under Raúl Alfonsín |
| 2001 | The economic collapse and default |
| 2022 | The third World Cup, in Qatar |
| 2023 | Javier Milei takes office, 10 December |
Records & firsts
| The highest and the lowest | Aconcagua (6,962 m) and the Laguna del Carbón (−105 m) — the Western and Southern Hemispheres' highest and lowest points in one country |
|---|---|
| The highest volcano | Ojos del Salado, 6,893 m (22,615 ft), on the Chilean border |
| The widest river | The Río de la Plata, about 220 km (140 mi) across its mouth |
| The largest waterfall system | Iguazú, about 275 falls |
| The world's southernmost city | Ushuaia, by the usual reckoning, at 54° 48′ S |
| Latin America's first subway | The Buenos Aires Subte, 1913 |
| Five Nobel laureates | Saavedra Lamas (Peace, 1936, the first in Latin America), Houssay (1947), Leloir (1970), Pérez Esquivel (1980), Milstein (1984) |
| The first pope from the Americas | Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires — pope from 2013 to 2025 |
| Three World Cups | 1978, 1986 and 2022; Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi |
| Tango | Born in the Río de la Plata ports; UNESCO intangible heritage since 2009 |
| A Welsh Patagonia | Welsh settlers founded the Chubut colony in 1865; the language survives in Gaiman and Trelew |
Frequently asked questions
What is the official name of Argentina?
The Argentine Republic — República Argentina. The name comes from the Latin argentum, silver: the Río de la Plata, the "river of silver," was named by explorers who hoped it led to silver, and the land beyond became Argentina.
What is the capital of Argentina?
Buenos Aires, an autonomous city on the Río de la Plata. With its suburbs it holds about 15 million people — a third of all Argentines and the second largest metropolitan area in South America after São Paulo.
How big is Argentina?
About 2,780,400 km² (1,073,500 sq mi) — the eighth largest country in the world and the second in South America after Brazil, stretching some 3,700 km (2,300 mi) from the subtropical north to Tierra del Fuego. It also claims a sector of Antarctica and the Falkland Islands, which it calls the Malvinas.
What are the highest and lowest points of Argentina?
Aconcagua, 6,962 m (22,841 ft), in Mendoza province — the highest mountain outside Asia and the highest in both the Western and Southern Hemispheres — and the Laguna del Carbón in Santa Cruz, 105 m (344 ft) below sea level, the lowest point in the Americas. No other country holds both a hemisphere’s highest and lowest points.
What is the longest river in Argentina?
The Paraná, about 4,880 km (3,030 mi) with its headstream — the second longest river in South America — which enters from Paraguay and, joined by the Uruguay, forms the Río de la Plata, the widest estuary in the world at some 220 km (140 mi) across its mouth.
What are the national symbols of Argentina?
The flag, the coat of arms, the anthem of 1813 and the Sun of May are the state’s symbols; the rufous hornero as national bird (1928), the ceibo as national flower (1942), the quebracho colorado as national tree (1956), pato as national sport (1953), rhodochrosite as national stone and mate as the national infusion (2013) were each designated by law or decree. Tango, asado and dulce de leche are the informal ones.
World knowledge, A to Z — the flags of every country, the sciences, places, people and more.
We Value Your Opinion Comments