Argentina

República Argentina
Official flag Official Coat of Arms
National information
National motto:	Spanish: En Unión y Libertad (English: "In Union and Liberty")
National anthem:	Himno Nacional Argentino
About the people
Official languages:	Spanish
Population: (# of people)
- Total:	39,921,833 (ranked 30)
- Density:	13 per km²
Geography / Places
Here is the country on a map of the world.
Capital city:	Buenos Aires
Largest city:	Buenos Aires
Area
- Total:	2,791,810¤ (ranked 8)
- Water:	30,000 km² (1.1%)
Politics / Government
Established:	1816
Leaders:	Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Economy / Money
Currency: (Name of money)	Peso
International information
Time zone:	-03:00
Telephone dialing code:	54
Internet domain:	.ar

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.

About 39 million people live in the Argentina. Spanish is the language most people speak and the official language, but many other languages are spoken. Some of these are Guarani, Mapudungun 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. In the Americas, Canada, US, Brazil and Argentina are the largest countries (in that order).

The oldest signs of people in Argentina are located in the Patagonia (Piedra Museo, Santa Cruz), and are more than 13,000 years old.^[1] 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 however typical dishes all around Argentina are pasta, red wines (Italian influence) and beef.

Other languages spoken are Italian, English and German. Lunfardo is Argentinean slang and is a mix of Spanish and Italian. Argentineans are said to speak Spanish with an Italian accent.

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. The President is Cristina Fernández de Kirchner since December 2007.

Administrative divisions

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

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. River Plate was incorrectly translated though, and should have been translated to English as River of (the) Silver. River Plate is also a famous Buenos Aires soccer team.

Other information

The majority of the Argentineans are descendants of Europeans mainly from Spain, Italy, Germany, Ireland, France and other Europeans countries representing more than 90% of the total population of the country.[1]

Football or soccer is the most popular sport, although the national sport of the country is Pato. Argentina has a number of highly-ranked Polo players. Field hockey (for women) rugby and golf are also favorites.

See also: List of Argentines

Argentina is a Christian country. Most of Argentina's people (80 percent) are Roman Catholic. Roman Catholicism is the state religion but Argentina also has the largest population of Jewish community after Israel and US. Many Middle Eastern immigrants who were Muslims converted to Catholicism, but there are still Muslims as well.

Medicine is socialized and so is education, making Argentina's literacy rate about 98%. State University is free as well.

References

Other websites