In this section you will be able to find basic information of interest about Argentina, its climate, main cities, monetary system....

Name República Argentina (RA)

Founded in 1816


Location:
Country in South America, bordering on Uruguay and the Atlantic Ocean in the east, on Brazil in the northeast, on Bolivia and Paraguay in the north, on Chile in the west.

Surface: 2,780,400 sqkm

Population (2001):
36,260,130 inhabitants (= 13,0 inhabitants/sqkm). Ca. 90 % from european origin, 85 % living in the metropolis, 90 % catholic. Yearly increase of population: 1 %. life expectancy: Men 72 years, women 80 years

Capital: Buenos Aires

Administration structure: 23 Provinces + 1 Federal district

Language: Spanish

Member of intl. Associations: UNO, OAS, Mercosur

Currency: 1 arg. Peso (arg$) = 100 Centavos

Time: MEZ -5 hours

Information:
Argentina reaches from the Atlantic in the east to the Andes in the west. The longest stretch from north to south is 3694 km, the largest stretch from west to east is 1460 km. Argentina has three different landscapes: in the north and east lie the planes, East Patagonia lies in the South and the Andes (with the highest peak of 7000m) in the west. Most of the land is covered by the Pampa, grasslands for the masses of cattle breeding. The climate in Argentina is from subtropical to moderate, whereby two thirds of the south are in the dry zones. Rainfall decreases from the east to the west. In the north various forms of vegetation exist, park- and grass landscapes, subtropical forest, Savannah, try woods and bushes. The Pampa, as already mentioned before, is mostly grassland used for stock-breeding. The forests in the Andes reach up to 2000m.

Political System:
Argentina is a federalist presidential democracy with new constitution written in 1994. The head of state is a chief of the executive and is elected for 4 years (since 2003 Nestór Kirchner). The parliament exists of 2 chambers: senate and chamber of deputies. 2 big parties: Partido Justicialista/PJ (Peronisten), Unión Cívica mooli cal / UCR (Radical citizen´s union)

Economy:
Farming: 6 % (especially sheep and cattle breeding; cultivating of various grains and amongst others tobacco and cotton). Industry: 31%; Services: 63%. Most important export products: grains, meat, wool, oil, iron, steel and machines.

Train structures: almost none, only some in the Buenos Aires area. Road and highway infrastructure 211 000 km.
Main ports: Buenos Aires, La Plata, Rosario, Bahía Blanca.

Airport: Intl. Airport Ezeiza/Buenos Aires.