Argentina (GPS: 34 00 S, 64 00 W) located in Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay. The country’s area measurements are total: 2,780,400 sq km; land: 2,736,690 sq km, water: 43,710 sq km. This sovereign state is slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US. The total irrigated land is 23,600 sq km (2012).
One of the critical features of Argentina: Second-largest country in South America (after Brazil). Strategic location is 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. Shares Iguazu Falls, the world’s most extensive waterfalls system, with Brazil.
It’s significant, and at the same time, the principal city, Buenos Aires’s GPS coordinates are 34 36 S 58 22 W. Buenos Aires’s local time is 2 hours ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time. The capital’s time difference: UTC-3.
Google Maps Argentina and Buenos Aires, South America
About Argentina in detail
Flag of Argentina
Map of Argentina
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, with Italy and Spain providing the largest percentage of newcomers from 1860 to 1930. Until about the mid-20th century, much of Argentina’s history dominated by periods of internal political unrest and conflict 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 Islands (Islas Malvinas) by force and has persisted despite numerous challenges, the most formidable of a severe economic crisis in 2001-02 that led to violent public protests and the successive resignations of several presidents. The years 2003-15 saw Peronist rule by Nestor and Cristina FERNANDEZ de KIRCHNER, whose policies isolated Argentina and caused economic stagnation. With the election of Mauricio MACRI in November 2015, Argentina began a period of reform and international reintegration.
Argentina’s names conventional long form: the Argentine Republic, traditional short way: Argentina, local long way: Republica Argentina, local temporary state: Argentina, etymology: originally the area was referred to as Tierra Argentina, i.e., “Land beside the Silvery River” or “silvery land,” which referred to the massive estuary in the east of the country, the Rio de la Plata (River of Silver); over time the name shortened to simply Argentina or “silvery.” Originally the area was referred to as Tierra Argentina, i.e., “Land beside the Silvery River” or “silvery land,” which referred to the massive estuary in the east of the country, the Rio de la Plata (River of Silver); Over time the name shortened to simply Argentina or “silvery.”
Argentina’s terrain is typically rich plains of the Pampas in the northern half, flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in the south, the rugged Andes along the western border. The country’s mean elevation: 595 m, elevation extremes; lowest point: Laguna del Carbon -105 m, highest point: Cerro Aconcagua 6,960 m.
The country’s general climate is mostly temperate: arid in the southeast: subantarctic in the southwest.
The total number of border countries is 5, Bolivia 942 km, Brazil 1,263 km, Chile 6,691 km, Paraguay 2,531 km, Uruguay 541 km are the neighboring nations with the indicated border lengths. Argentina’s coastline is 4,989 km. Its marital claims are territorial sea: 12 nautical miles, contiguous zone: 24 nautical miles, exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles, continental shelf: 200 nautical miles or the edge of the continental margin. Waterways: 11,000 km (2012). Land use: agricultural land: 53.9%; arable land 13.9%; permanent crops 0.4%; permanent pasture 39.6%; forest: 10.7%; other: 35.4% (2011 estimate).
The population in Argentina 44,694,198 (July 2018 estimate), urban population: 91.8% of total population (2015), central metropolitan area’s population: BUENOS AIRES (capital) 15.18 million; Cordoba 1.511 million; Rosario 1.381 million; Mendoza 1.009 million; San Miguel de Tucuman 910,000; La Plata 846,000 (2015), while Argentina has one-third of the population lives in Buenos Aires; pockets of agglomeration occur throughout the northern and central parts of the country; Patagonia to the south remains sparsely populated.
Their spoken languages are Spanish (official language), Italian, English, German, French, indigenous (Mapudungun, Quechua). Main religions in Argentina are nominally Roman Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4%. The nation uses civil law system based on West European legal systems; in 2014, Congress passed government-backed reform to the civil code that will go into effect in 2016. It is a(n) presidential republic, National holiday(s) Revolution Day, 25 May (1810).
Economic overview for the country: 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. Cristina FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER succeeded her husband as president in late 2007, and in 2008 the rapid economic growth of previous years slowed sharply as government policies held back exports and the world economy fell into recession. In 2010 the economy rebounded strongly but slowed in late 2011 even as the government continued to rely on expansionary fiscal and monetary policies, which kept inflation in the double digits. To deal with these problems, the government expanded state intervention in the economy: it nationalized the oil company YPF from Spain’s Repsol, expanded measures to restrict imports, and further tightened currency controls to bolster foreign reserves stem capital flight. Between 2011 and 2013, Central Bank’s foreign reserves dropped $21.3 billion from a high of $52.7 billion. In July 2014, Argentina and China agreed on an $11 billion currency swap; The Argentine Central Bank has received the equivalent of $3.2 billion in Chinese yuan, which it counts as international reserves.
With the election of President Mauricio MACRI in November 2015, Argentina began a historic political and economic transformation, as his administration took steps to liberalize the Argentine economy, lifting capital controls, floating the peso, removing export controls on some commodities, cutting some energy subsidies, and reforming the country’s official statistics. Argentina negotiated debt payments with holdout bond creditors, continued working with the IMF to shore up its finances, and returned to international capital markets in April 2016. In 2017, Argentina’s economy emerged from recession, with GDP growth of nearly 3.0%. The government passed critical pension, tax, and fiscal reforms. And after years of international isolation, Argentina took on several global leadership roles, including hosting the World Economic Forum on Latin America and the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference, and is set to assume the presidency of the G-20 in 2018.
Natural resources of Argentina: fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium, arable land.
Main export partners for Argentina, South America, are Brazil 17%, China 8.6%, US 5.9% (2015) for soybeans and derivatives, petroleum and gas, vehicles, corn, wheat, while the main import partners for the country are: Brazil 22.4%, US 16.3%, China 15.5%, Germany 5.1% (2015) for machinery, motor vehicles, petroleum and natural gas, organic chemicals, plastics.
When you visit this country in South America, consider the natural hazards in Argentina: San Miguel de Tucuman and Mendoza areas in the Andes subject to earthquakes, pamperos are violent windstorms that can strike the pampas and northeast, massive flooding in some area volcanism: volcanic activity in the Andes Mountains along the Chilean border, Copahue (elevation 2,997 m) last erupted in 2000, other historically active volcanoes include Llullaillaco, Maipo, Planchon-Peteroa, San Jose, Tromen, Tupungatito, and Viedma, while infectious diseases noted: active local transmission of Zika virus by Aedes species mosquitoes has been identified in this country (as of August 2016); it poses a substantial risk (a large number of cases possible) among US citizens if bitten by an infective mosquito; other less common ways to get Zika are through sex, via blood transfusion, or during pregnancy, in which the pregnant woman passes Zika virus to her fetus (2016).
Also, note that Argentina faces the following environmental issues: Environmental problems (urban and rural) typical of an industrializing economy such as deforestation, soil degradation (erosion, salinization), desertification, air pollution, and water pollution.
You may also be interested in the countries next to Argentina worldwide: 11,968 km border, like Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay.
