Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Argentina. note 1: 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 Carbón is the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere; shares Iguazú Falls, the world's largest waterfalls system, with Brazil
note 2: southeast Bolivia and northwest Argentina seem to be the original development site for peanuts. Mother's mean age at first birth is (), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 45 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Location | Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay |
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Geographic coordinates | 34 00 S, 64 00 W |
Map references | South America |
Tarrain | rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western border |
Natural Resources | fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium, arable land |
Natural Hazards | San Miguel de Tucumán 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 volcanism: volcanic activity in the Andes Mountains along the Chilean border; Copahue (2,997 m) last erupted in 2000; other historically active volcanoes include Llullaillaco, Maipo, Planchón-Peteroa, San José, Tromen, Tupungatito, and Viedma |
Irrigated Land | 23,600 sq km (2012) |
Major rivers (by length in km) | Río de la Plata/Paraná river mouth (shared with Brazil [s], Paraguay, and Uruguay) - 4,880 km; Paraguay (shared with Brazil [s], and Paraguay [m]) - 2,549 km; Uruguay (shared with Brazil [s] and Uruguay [m]) - 1,610 km note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth |
Major aquifers | Guaraní Aquifer System |
Land Boundaries | 11,968 km |
Border Countries | Bolivia 942 km; Brazil 1,263 km; Chile 6,691 km; Paraguay 2,531 km; Uruguay 541 km |
Coastline | 4,989 km |
Climate | mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest |
Area | |
Total Area | |
Land Area | 2,736,690 sq km |
Water Area | 43,710 sq km |
comparative Area | slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US |
Maritime Claims | |
Territorial sea | 12 nm |
Contiguous zone | 24 nm |
Exclusive economic zone | 200 nm |
Continental shelf | 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Elevations | |
Highest point | Cerro Aconcagua (located in the northwestern corner of the province of Mendoza; highest point in South America) 6,962 m |
Lowest point | Laguna del Carbón (located between Puerto San Julián and Comandante Luis Piedra Buena in the province of Santa Cruz) -105 m |
Mean elevation | 595 m |
Land Use | |
Agricultural land | 53.9% (2018 est.) |
Agricultural land: arable land | arable land: 13.9% (2018 est.) |
Agricultural land: permanent crops | permanent crops: 0.4% (2018 est.) |
Agricultural land: permanent pasture | permanent pasture: 39.6% (2018 est.) |
Forest | 10.7% (2018 est.) |
Other | 35.4% (2018 est.) |
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
In Argentina, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: European (mostly Spanish and Italian descent) and Mestizo (mixed European and Indigenous ancestry) 97.2%, Indigenous 2.4%, African descent 0.4% (2010 est.)
Population | |
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Pop growth rate | 0.79% (2024 est.) |
Birth rate | 15.2 births/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
Death rate | 7.3 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
Health expenditure | 10% of GDP (2020) |
Physicians Density | |
Hospital bed Density | 5 beds/1,000 population (2017) |
Total fertility rate | 2.15 children born/woman (2024 est.) |
Gross reproduction rate | 1.04 (2024 est.) |
Contraceptive prevalence rate | 70.1% (2019/20) |
Est married women (ages 15-49) | 48.9% (2023 est.) |
Literacy | age 15 and over can read and write |
Education expenditures | 5% of GDP (2020 est.) |
Net Migration rate | -0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
Nationality | Argentine | Argentine(s) |
Languages | |
Religions | Roman Catholic 62.9%, Evangelical 15.3% (Pentecostal 13%, other Evangelical 2.3%), Jehovah's Witness and Church of Jesus Christ 1.4%, other 1.2% (includes Muslim, Jewish), none 18.9% (includes agnostic and atheist), unspecified 0.3% (2019 est.) |
Age Structure | |
0-14 years | 23.3% (male 5,632,983/female 5,301,778) |
15-64 years | 63.9% (male 15,071,215/female 14,956,069) |
65 years and over | 12.8% (2024 est.) (male 2,570,596/female 3,461,743) |
Dependency Ratios | |
Total dependency ratio | 54.3 |
Youth dependency ratio | 36 |
Elderly dependency ratio | 18.2 |
Potential support ratio | 5.5 (2021 est.) |
Median Age | |
Total | 33.3 years (2024 est.) |
Male | 32.1 years |
Female | 34.6 years |
Urbanization | |
Urban population | 92.5% of total population (2023) |
Rate of urbanization | 0.97% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
Major urban areas (Pop) | 15.490 million BUENOS AIRES (capital), 1.612 million Córdoba, 1.594 million Rosario, 1.226 million Mendoza, 1.027 million San Miguel de Tucumán, 914,000 La Plata (2023). |
Sex Ratio | |
At birth | 1.07 male(s)/female |
0-14 years | 1.06 male(s)/female |
15-64 years | 1.01 male(s)/female |
65 years and over | 0.74 male(s)/female |
Total population | 0.98 male(s)/female (2024 est.) |
Infant Motality | |
Total | 9 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.) |
Male | 9.9 deaths/1,000 live births |
Female | 7.9 deaths/1,000 live births |
Life Expectancy at birth | |
Total population | 78.8 years (2024 est.) |
Male | 75.8 years |
Female | 82 years |
Drinking Water Sources | |
Improved: urban | urban: 99.8% of population |
Improved: rural | rural: NA |
Improved: total | total: NA |
Unimproved: urban | urban: 0.2% of population |
Unimproved: rural | rural: NA |
Unimproved: total | total: (2020 est.) NA |
Sanitation facility acess | |
Improved: urban | urban: 100% of population |
Improved: rural | rural: NA |
Improved: total | total: NA |
Unimproved: rural | rural: NA |
Unimproved: total | total: (2020 est.) NA |
Alcohol consumption per capita | |
Total | 7.95 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Beer | 3.62 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Wine | 2.88 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Spirits | 0.72 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Other alcohols | 0.72 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Tobacco use | |
Total | 24.5% (2020 est.) |
Male | 29.4% (2020 est.) |
Female | 19.6% (2020 est.) |
Child marriage | |
Women married by age 15 | 2.4% |
Women married by age 18 | 15.5% (2020 est.) |
Argentina’s population continues to grow but at a slower rate because of its steadily declining birth rate. Argentina’s fertility decline began earlier than in the rest of Latin America, occurring most rapidly between the early 20th century and the 1950s and then becoming more gradual in the 1990s. Life expectancy has been improving, most notably among the young and the poor. While the population under age 15 is shrinking, the youth cohort – ages 15 – 24 – is the largest in Argentina’s history and will continue to bolster the working-age population. If this large working-age population is well-educated and gainfully employed, Argentina is likely to experience an economic boost and possibly higher per capita savings and investment. Although literacy and primary school enrollment are nearly universal, grade repetition is problematic and secondary school completion is low. Both of these issues vary widely by region and socioeconomic group. Only 24% of Argentinians complete tertiary education. With wages failing to keep pace with soaring inflation – one of the highest in the world – the poverty rate has climbed to over 4]0% in the first half of 2023.
Argentina has been primarily a country of immigration for most of its history, welcoming European immigrants (often providing needed low-skilled labor) after its independence in the 19th century and attracting especially large numbers from Spain and Italy. More than 7 million European immigrants are estimated to have arrived in Argentina between 1880 and 1930 (composing 30% of the total population by 1914), when it adopted a more restrictive immigration policy. European immigration also began to wane in the 1930s because of the global depression. The inflow rebounded temporarily following WWII and resumed its decline in the 1950s when Argentina’s military dictators tightened immigration rules and European economies rebounded. Regional migration increased, however, supplying low-skilled workers escaping economic and political instability in their home countries. As of 2022, immigrants make up 3.1% of the population, with over half coming from Paraguay and Bolivia. Despite runaway inflation, hundreds of thousands immigrants arrive each year.
The first waves of highly skilled Argentine emigrant workers headed mainly to the United States and Spain in the 1960s and 1970s, driven by economic decline and repressive military dictatorships. The 2008 European economic crisis drove the return migration of some Argentinean and other Latin American nationals, as well as the immigration of Europeans to South America, where Argentina was a key recipient.
Want to know more about Argentina? Check all different factbooks for Argentina below.