In 1816, the United Provinces of the Rio 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, but most particularly Italy and Spain, which provided 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 conflict between Federalists and Unitarians and between civilian and military factions. After World War II, an era of Peronist populism 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 (Malvinas) Islands 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.

Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay

slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US

mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest

rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western border

fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium

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

environmental problems (urban and rural) typical of an industrializing economy such as deforestation, soil degradation, desertification, air pollution, and water pollution

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

41,769,726 (July 2011 est.)

17.54 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)

7.38 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)

BUENOS AIRES (capital) 12.988 million; Cordoba 1.493 million; Rosario 1.231 million; Mendoza 917,000; San Miguel de Tucuman 831,000 (2009)

2.31 children born/woman (2011 est.)

urban: 98% of population

rural: 80% of population

total: 97% of population

urban: 2% of population

rural: 20% of population

total: 3% of population (2008)

urban: 91% of population

rural: 77% of population

total: 90% of population

urban: 9% of population

rural: 23% of population

total: 10% of population (2008)

white (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry), Amerindian, or other non-white groups 3%

nominally Roman Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4%

Spanish (official), Italian, English, German, French

23 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 autonomous city* (distrito federal); Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires Capital Federal*, Catamarca, Chaco, Chubut, Cordoba, Corrientes, Entre Rios, Formosa, Jujuy, La Pampa, La Rioja, Mendoza, Misiones, Neuquen, Rio Negro, Salta, San Juan, San Luis, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Santiago del Estero, Tierra del Fuego - Antartida e Islas del Atlantico Sur (Tierra del Fuego), Tucuman

9 July 1816 (from Spain)

Revolution Day, 25 May (1810)

1 May 1853; amended many times starting in 1860

civil law system based on West European legal systems; note - efforts at civil code reform begun in the mid-1980s has stagnated

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18-70 years of age; universal and compulsory

bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate (72 seats; members are elected by direct vote; presently one-third of the members elected every two years to serve six-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies (257 seats; members are elected by direct vote; one-half of the members elected every two years to serve four-year terms)

Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (the Supreme Court judges are appointed by the president with approval of the Senate)

Civic and Social Accord or ACyS (a now-defunct center-left alliance that included the CC, UCR, and Socialist parties-created ahead of the 2009 legislative elections); Civic Coalition or CC (a broad coalition loosely affiliated with Elisa CARRIO); Dissident Peronists or PJ Disidente (a sector of the Justicialist Party opposed to the Kirchners); Front for Victory or FpV (a broad coalition, including elements of the UCR and numerous provincial parties) [Cristina FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER]; Justicialist Party or PJ [Daniel SCIOLI]; Radical Civic Union or UCR [Ernesto SANZ]; Republican Proposal or PRO [Mauricio MACRI] (including Federal Recreate Movement or RECREAR [Esteban BULLRICH]; Socialist Party or PS [Ruben GIUSTINIANI]; Union For All [Patricia BULLRICH] (associated with the Civic Coalition); numerous provincial parties

Argentine Association of Pharmaceutical Labs (CILFA); Argentine Industrial Union (manufacturers' association); Argentine Rural Confederation or CRA (small to medium landowners' association); Argentine Rural Society (large landowners' association); Central of Argentine Workers or CTA (a radical union for employed and unemployed workers); General Confederation of Labor or CGT (Peronist-leaning umbrella labor organization); White and Blue CGT (dissident CGT labor confederation); Roman Catholic Church

AfDB (nonregional member), Australia Group, BCIE, BIS, CAN (associate), FAO, FATF, G-15, G-20, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, Paris Club (associate), PCA, RG, SICA (observer), UN, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina (observer), UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

three equal horizontal bands of light blue (top), white, and light blue; centered in the white band is a radiant yellow sun with a human face known as the Sun of May; the colors represent the clear skies and snow of the Andes; the sun symbol commemorates the appearance of the sun through cloudy skies on 25 May 1810 during the first mass demonstration in favor of independence; the sun features are those of Inti, the Inca god of the sun

Argentina benefits from rich natural resources, a highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a diversified industrial base. Although one of the world's wealthiest countries 100 years ago, Argentina suffered during most of the 20th century from recurring economic crises, persistent fiscal and current account deficits, high inflation, mounting external debt, and capital flight. A severe depression, growing public and external indebtedness, and a bank run culminated in 2001 in the most serious economic, social, and political crisis in the country's turbulent history. Interim President Adolfo RODRIGUEZ SAA declared a default - the largest in history - on the government's foreign debt in December of that year, and abruptly resigned only a few days after taking office. His successor, Eduardo DUHALDE, announced an end to the peso's decade-long 1-to-1 peg to the US dollar in early 2002. The economy bottomed out that year, with real GDP 18% smaller than in 1998 and almost 60% of Argentines under the poverty line. Real GDP rebounded to grow by an average 8.5% annually over the subsequent six years, taking advantage of previously idled industrial capacity and labor, an audacious debt restructuring and reduced debt burden, excellent international financial conditions, and expansionary monetary and fiscal policies. Inflation also increased, however, during the administration of President Nestor KIRCHNER, which responded with price restraints on businesses, as well as export taxes and restraints, and beginning in early 2007, with understating inflation data. Cristina FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER succeeded her husband as President in late 2007, and the rapid economic growth of previous years began to slow sharply the following year as government policies held back exports and the world economy fell into recession. The economy has rebounded strongly from the 2009 recession, but the government's continued reliance on expansionary fiscal and monetary policies risks exacerbating already high inflation.

$596 billion (2010 est.)

$554.5 billion (2009 est.)

$571.6 billion (2008 est.)

$370.3 billion (2010 est.)

41.4 3rd quarter, 2010

22% of GDP (2010 est.)

50.3% of GDP (2010 est.)

48.6% of GDP (2009 est.)

11.3% (31 December 2010 est.)

10% (31 December 2009 est.)

$40.35 billion (31 December 2010)

$32.22 billion (31 December 2009)

$112.9 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$85.18 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$113.9 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$84.92 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$48.93 billion (31 December 2009)

$52.31 billion (31 December 2008)

$86.68 billion (31 December 2007)

sunflower seeds, lemons, soybeans, grapes, corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea, wheat; livestock

food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel

109.5 billion kWh (2007 est.)

99.21 billion kWh (2007 est.)

2.628 billion kWh (2007 est.)

10.28 billion kWh (2007 est.)

796,300 bbl/day (2009 est.)

622,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)

314,400 bbl/day (2007 est.)

52,290 bbl/day (2007 est.)

2.386 billion bbl (1 January 2010 est.)

41.36 billion cu m (2009 est.)

43.14 billion cu m (2009 est.)

890 million cu m (2008 est.)

2.66 billion cu m (2009 est.)

398.4 billion cu m (1 January 2010 est.)

$6.976 billion (2010 est.)

$11.29 billion (2009 est.)

$68.5 billion (2010 est.)

$55.67 billion (2009 est.)

soybeans and derivatives, petroleum and gas, vehicles, corn, wheat

Brazil 18.78%, China 9.26%, Chile 7.11%, US 6.38% (2009)

$56.44 billion (2010 est.)

$38.78 billion (2009 est.)

machinery, motor vehicles, petroleum and natural gas, organic chemicals, plastics

Brazil 31.12%, US 13.69%, China 10.26%, Germany 4.69% (2009)

$53.61 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$48.03 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$160.9 billion (30 September 2010 est.)

$147.1 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$86.8 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$80.1 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$30.16 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$29.46 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

Argentine pesos (ARS) per US dollar -

9.764 million (2009)

51.891 million (2009)

government owns a TV station and a radio network; more than 2 dozen TV stations and hundreds of privately-owned radio stations; high rate of cable TV subscription usage (2007)

6.025 million (2010)

13.694 million (2009)

gas 29,401 km; liquid petroleum gas 41 km; oil 6,166 km; refined products 3,631 km (2010)

Arroyo Seco, Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, La Plata, Punta Colorada, Rosario, San Lorenzo-San Martin, Ushuaia

Argentine Army (Ejercito Argentino), Navy of the Argentine Republic (Armada Republica; includes naval aviation and naval infantry), Argentine Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Argentina, FAA) (2011)

18-24 years of age for voluntary military service (18-21 requires parental consent); no conscription (2001)

the Argentine military is a well-organized force constrained by the country's prolonged economic hardship; the country has recently experienced a strong recovery, and the military is implementing a modernization plan aimed at making the ground forces lighter and more responsive (2008)

Argentina continues to assert its claims to the UK-administered Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), South Georgia, and the South Sandwich Islands in its constitution, forcibly occupying the Falklands in 1982, but in 1995 agreed no longer to seek settlement by force; UK continues to reject Argentine requests for sovereignty talks; territorial claim in Antarctica partially overlaps UK and Chilean claims; uncontested dispute between Brazil and Uruguay over Braziliera/Brasiliera Island in the Quarai/Cuareim River leaves the tripoint with Argentina in question; in 2010, the ICJ ruled in favor of Uruguay's operation of two paper mills on the Uruguay River, which forms the border with Argentina; the two countries formed a joint pollution monitoring regime; the joint boundary commission, established by Chile and Argentina in 2001 has yet to map and demarcate the delimited boundary in the inhospitable Andean Southern Ice Field (Campo de Hielo Sur); contraband smuggling, human trafficking, and illegal narcotic trafficking are problems in the porous areas of the border with Bolivia

a transshipment country for cocaine headed for Europe, heroin headed for the US, and ephedrine and pseudoephedrine headed for Mexico; some money-laundering activity, especially in the Tri-Border Area; law enforcement corruption; a source for precursor chemicals; increasing domestic consumption of drugs in urban centers, especially cocaine base and synthetic drugs (2008)