Argentina

Population: 41,000,000 (est.)

Language(s):  Spanish

Capital: Buenos Aires

Interesting Facts:

• The Argentine peso is the official currency of Argentina.
• The Constitution guarantees freedom of religion but also requires the government to support Roman Catholicism economically.
• According to the World Christian Database Argentines are: 92.1% Christian, 3.1% agnostic, 1.9% Muslim, 1.3% Jewish, 0.9% atheist, and 0.9% Buddhist and others.
• As of 2011, Argentina is the most visited country in South America and the fourth most visited in the Americas.
• Argentina declared independence from Spain on the 9th of July, 1816.
• The economy of Argentina is an upper middle-income economy, and Latin America’s third-largest. The nation has a high quality of life and GDP per capita, which is since 2011 the highest in Latin America.
• Argentina is considered an emerging market by the FTSE Global Equity Index, and is one of the G-20 major economies.
• Argentina has a varied climate. The north is characterized by very hot, humid summers with mild drier winters, and is subject to periodic droughts.
• Central Argentina has a temperate climate, with hot summers with thunderstorms, and cool winters; and higher moisture at the east.
• The southern regions have warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall, especially in mountainous zones.
• It is the eighth-largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations.
• Pato is the official national sport of Argentina. It is a combination of polo and basketball.
• Football (soccer) is the most popular sport in Argentina.
• The hottest and coldest temperatures ever recorded in South America have occurred in Argentina.

Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in South America, bordered by Chile to the west and south, Bolivia and Paraguay to the north and Brazil and Uruguay to the northeast. Argentina claims sovereignty over part of Antarctica, the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.

The country is a federation of 23 provinces and the autonomous city of Buenos Aires, its capital and largest city. It is the eighth-largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations. Argentina is a founding member of the United Nations, Mercosur, the Union of South American Nations, the Organization of Ibero-American States, the World Bank Group and the World Trade Organization, and is one of the G-15 and G-20 major economies.

A recognised regional power, and middle power, Argentina is Latin America’s third-largest economy, with a “very high” rating on the Human development index. Within Latin America, Argentina has the fifth highest nominal GDP per capita and the highest in purchasing power terms. Analysts have argued that the country has a “foundation for future growth due to its market size, levels of foreign direct investment, and percentage of high-tech exports as share of total manufactured goods”, and it is classed by investors as middle emerging economy.

Source: Wikipedia

Related:

Paraguay Chile Brazil South America Colombia Uruguay Bolivia Venezuela