disputes: short section of the boundary with Uruguay
is in dispute; short section of the boundary with Chile is
indefinite; claims British-administered Falkland Islands (Islas
Malvinas); claims British-administered South Georgia and the South
Sandwich Islands; territorial claim in Antarctica
Climate: mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in
southwest
Terrain: rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to
rolling plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western
border
lowest point: Salinas Chicas −40 m
highest point: Cerro Aconcagua 6,962 m
Natural resources: fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin,
copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium
Land use:
arable land: 9%
permanent crops: 4%
meadows and pastures: 52%
forest and woodland: 22%
other: 13%
Irrigated land: 17,600 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: erosion results from inadequate flood controls and
improper land use practices; irrigated soil degradation;
desertification; air pollution in Buenos Aires and other major
cities; water pollution in urban areas; rivers becoming polluted due
to increased pesticide and fertilizer use
natural hazards: Tucuman and Mendoza areas in the Andes subject to
earthquakes; pamperos are violent windstorms that can strike the
Pampas and northeast; heavy flooding
international agreements: party to - Antarctic-Environmental
Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Desertification,
Marine Life Conservation
Geographic note: second-largest country in South America (after
Brazil); strategic location relative to sea lanes between South
Atlantic and South Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle
Channel, Drake Passage)
People———
Population: 34,672,997 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0–14 years: 28% (male 4,904,380; female 4,707,293)
15–64 years: 63% (male 10,851,004; female 10,834,593)
65 years and over: 9% (male 1,414,412; female 1,961,315) (July 1996
est.)
Population growth rate: 1.1% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 19.41 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 8.62 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 28.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 71.66 years male: 68.37 years female: 75.12 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.62 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality: noun: Argentine(s) adjective: Argentine
Ethnic divisions: white 85%, mestizo, Indian, or other nonwhite
groups 15%
Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 90% (less than 20%
practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 6%
Languages: Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
total population: 96.2%
male: 96.2%
female: 96.2%
Government—————
Name of country:
conventional long form: Argentine Republic
conventional short form: Argentina
local long form: Republica Argentina
local short form: Argentina
Data code: AR
Type of government: republic
Capital: Buenos Aires
Administrative divisions: 23 provinces (provincias, singular -
provincia), and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Buenos
Aires; Catamarca; Chaco; Chubut; Cordoba; Corrientes; Distrito
Federal*; Entre Rios; Formosa; Jujuy; La Pampa; La Rioja; Mendoza;
Misiones; Neuquen; Rio Negro; Salta; San Juan; San Luis; Santa Cruz;
Santa Fe; Santiago del Estero; Tierra del Fuego, Antartida e Islas
del Atlantico Sur; Tucuman
note: the US does not recognize any claims to Antarctica or
Argentina's claims to the Falkland Islands
Independence: 9 July 1816 (from Spain)
National holiday: Revolution Day, 25 May (1810)
Constitution: 1 May 1853; revised August 1994
Legal system: mixture of US and West European legal systems; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state and head of government: President Carlos Saul MENEM
(since 8 July 1989) was elected for a four-year term by universal
suffrage; election last held 14 May 1995 (next to be held May 1999);
results - Carlos Saul MENEM was reelected; Vice President Carlos
RUCKAUF
cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the president
Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional)
Senate: elections last held NA May 1995 (next to be held NA);
results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (72 total) PJ 38,
others 34
Chamber of Deputies: one-half of the members elected every two years
to four-year terms; elections last held 14 May 1995; (next to be
held NA 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (257
total) PJ 132, UCR 68, Frepaso 26, other 31
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema), the nine Supreme
Court judges are appointed by the