Argentina fast facts

Argentina fast facts

Name of Country: Argentine Republic (Argentina)

Capital city: Buenos Aires

Size: 1.1 million square miles

Population: 40,677,348

80: Percentage of Argentines who reside in cities or towns of more than 2,000

Life expectancy: 76.36 years

Ethnic groups: white (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry), Amerindian, or other nonwhite groups 3%

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

Literacy: 97.2%

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

Terrain: plains in north, flat to rolling plateau in south, mountains along western border

Climate: temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest

Government: Republic

President: Cristina
Fernandez de Kirchner

Branches of government:
Executive ­— president, vice president, cabinet. Legislative — bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. Judicial — Supreme Court or Corte Suprema

Political parties: Justicialist Party and Radical Civic Union are the two major parties. There are numerous smaller parties.

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

GDP (2007 est.): $523.7 billion

Work force (urban areas only): agriculture 1%; industry 23%; services 76%

Currency: Argentine peso

Exchange rates: Argentine pesos per U.S. dollar — approximately 3.1

Telephone country code: 54

Internet country code: .ar