ARGENTINA INFORMATION
As varied is Argentina’s geography, so is its culture. It is composed of an ethnic mix of foreigners from Europe, including people from Italy, Germany, England, Spain, Basque, and the Irish. Because of the strong European migration, this influenced the demise of pre-Columbian cultures, leaving the present lack of dominant indigenous populations. Each culture established their own role throughout the country—the Basque and Irish controlled sheep farming, Germans and Italians established farms, and the British predominately invested in developing the country’s infra-structure. Small populations of Japanese, Chileans, Bolivians, Paraguayans, and Uruguayans are also found scattered throughout the country.
| Full country name: |
Republic of Argentina |
| Area: |
1,056,636 sq mi (2,736,690 sq km) |
| Population: |
40,301,927 (growth rate: 0.9%) |
| Capital city: |
Buenos Aires, 13,349,000 (metro. area), 2,768,772 (city proper) |
| People: |
White (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%; Mestizo, Amerindian, Other 3% |
| Language: |
Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French |
| Religion: |
Roman Catholic 92%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4% |
| Government: |
Democracy |
| President: |
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner |
| GDP: |
US$542.8 billion |
| GDP per head: |
US$13,700 per head |
| Annual growth: |
8.7% |
| Inflation: |
12.3% |
| Major industries: |
food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel |
| Major trading partner: |
Brazil, Chile, U.S., China, Spain, Germany |
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