Argentina

Argentina or the República Argentina, is a country in south South America. Argentina is the second-largest country in South America and the eighth-largest country in the world.

República Argentina
[[Image: |125px|Flag]] [[Image: |75px|Coat of arms]] Official flag Official Coat of Arms
National information
National motto:	Spanish: En Unión y Libertad (English: "In Union and Liberty")
National anthem:
About the people
Official languages:
Population: (# of people)	Total: 39,921,833 (ranked #30) Density: 13 per km²
Geography / Places
[[Image: |250px|none|country map]] Here is the country on a map of the world.
Capital city:
Largest city:	Buenos Aires
Area	Total: 2,791,810¤ (ranked #8) Water: 30,000 km² (1.1%)
Shares border with:
Politics / Government
Established:	1816
Leaders:
Legislative body
Economy / Money
Currency: (Name of money)
International information
Time zone:	-03:00
Telephone dialing code:	54
Internet domain:
ISO 3166 country codes	, ,

About 39 million people live in the Argentina. Spanish is the language most people speak, but many other languages are spoken. Some of these are Guarani, Mapudungum and Quechua and even Welsh in Patagonia.

The capital city of the Argentina is Buenos Aires, one of the largest cities in the world, in eastern Argentina. In order by number of people, the largest cities in Argentina are Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Rosario, Mendoza, La Plata, Tucumán, Mar del Plata, Salta, Santa Fe, and Bahía Blanca.

Argentina is located between the Andes mountain range in the west and the southern Atlantic Ocean in the east and south. It is bordered by Paraguay and Bolivia in the north, Brazil and Uruguay in the northeast, and Chile in the west and south. It also claims the British overseas territories of the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.

History

The name Argentina comes from the Latin argentum (silver) as the Spanish conquistadors believed the area had silver.

The oldest signs of people in Argentina are located in the Patagonia (Piedra Museo, Santa Cruz), and are more than 13,000 years old. In 1480 the Inca Empire conquered northwestern Argentina, making it part of the empire. In the northeastern area, the Guaraní developed a culture based on yuca and sweet potato.

People from Spain arrived in 1502. Spain founded Buenos Aires in 1580, and the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata in 1776. In 1806 and 1807 the British Empire attacked, but the local people managed to beat them. On May 25, 1810, after Napoleon brought down King Ferdinand VII, the most important people of Buenos Aires created the First Government Junta. Independence from Spain was declared on July 9, 1816. Centralist and federationist groups (Spanish: Unitarios and Federales) were at war until Argentina was unified and the constitution accepted in 1853.

Politics

Argentina is a federal republic. The people of Argentina vote for a President to rule them and Senators and Deputies to speak for them and make laws for them. Today, the President is Néstor Kirchner since 2003.

Administrative divisions

Argentina is divided into 23 provinces (provincias; singular: provincia), and 1 autonomous city (commonly known as capital federal):

Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires* Buenos Aires (Province) Catamarca Chaco Chubut Córdoba Corrientes Entre Ríos Formosa Jujuy La Pampa La Rioja

Mendoza Misiones Neuquén Río Negro Salta San Juan San Luis Santa Cruz Santa Fe Santiago del Estero Tierra del Fuego Tucumán

Geography

Main article: Geography of Argentina

Map of Argentina

Argentina is almost 3,700 km long from north to south, and 1,400 km from east to west (maximum values). It can be divided into three parts: the Pampas in the central part of the country, Patagonia in the southern part down to Tierra del Fuego; and the Andes mountain range along the western border with Chile, with the highest point located in the province of Mendoza. Cerro Aconcagua, at 6,960 metres (22,834 ft), is the Americas' highest mountain.

The most important rivers include the River Plate, Paraguay, Bermejo, Colorado, Uruguay and the largest river, the Paraná.

Other Information

Most of the population is made up of descendants of Spanish, Italian and other European people.

Football is the most popular sport, although the national sport of the country is Pato. Argentina has a number of highly-ranked Polo players.

See also: List of Argentines

Argentina is a Christian country. Most of Argentina's people (80 percent) is Roman Catholic. Roman Catholicism is the state religion

References

• General information and maps
• Geography and tourism
• Pictures from Argentina grouped by provincia

External links

Government

• Argentina.gov.ar - Official national portal
• Gobierno Electrónico - Official government website
• Presidencia de la Nación - Official presidential website
• Honorable Senado de la Nación - Official senatorial website
• Honorable Cámara de Diputados de la Nación - Official lower house website
• Secretaría de Turismo de la Nación - Official tourism board website