Some Facts About Argentina

The country is a republic which gained its independence from Spain in the year 1816. It has a population of about 37 million and its capital is Buenos Aires, which is situated on the River Plate estuary, on the east coast of the country. The official language is Spanish. The ethnic origin of around 85% of the inhabitants is European, the rest being of mixed European and Indian race. The vast majority of the population follow the Roman Catholic religion, but there are some Protestant and Jewish minorities.

The climate varies across the country from temperate to sub-tropical. There are four broad regions: the sub-tropical north-east plains, the Pampa, Patagonia, and the Andes mountains. The Andes stretch the entire length of Argentina, and they form the boundary with Chile. The highest mountain is Aconcagua, which stands at 22831 ft. Patagonia, in the south, is a region of uneven, semi-desert, arid steppe country. The Pampa is an area of grassland with very few trees. The north east region receives a lot of rain, and it can suffer from serious flooding. Three large rivers flow out of it, the Paraguay, the Parana, and the Uruguay, which join in the River Plate estuary.

One of its main contributions to the world economy is in agriculture and meat production, but it also has important reserves of metals and minerals, such as iron ore, coal, copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver, uranium, and manganese.

Pre-colonially, Inca farmers lived in the north-west of the country, and nomadic Indian hunters in the south. It was colonized by the Spanish in the 16th century, achieving independence in the early 19th. There was a very large number of immigrants from Europe during the 19th century, after the Pampa region was opened up and found to be ideal country for the breeding of cattle.

The government of the country has had several periods of instability during its history. Notable events include the presidency of Juan Peron, whose wife became the subject of the musical Evita, and that of General Galtieri, who unwisely involved the country in a war with the UK in 1981. The currency, the peso (formerly the austral) has suffered from severe inflation in recent years, causing some economic hardship.