Argentina Map

Description: This map shows governmental boundaries of countries; provinces, province capital cities, islands, and major cities and towns in Argentina.

Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic (Spanish: República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of about 2,780,085 km² (1,073,397 sq mi). That makes it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourth-largest in the Americas and the eighth-largest in the world. It is also the largest Spanish-speaking country by area. Argentina shares land borders with Chile to the west, Bolivia and Paraguay to the north, Brazil to the northeast, and Uruguay to the east. The South Atlantic Ocean lies to the east and the Drake Passage to the south. The capital and largest city is Buenos Aires.

The country's name comes from the Latin word argentum, meaning "silver".

Argentina is a federal republic made up of 23 provinces and one autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It also claims sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, which are administered by the United Kingdom, and over part of Antarctica.

Spanish colonization of the region began in the 16th century. In 1776 the Spanish Crown created the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, with Buenos Aires as its capital. The May Revolution of 25 May 1810 began the movement for independence, which was formally declared on 9 July 1816 at the Congress of Tucumán. Civil wars and conflict between centralists and federalists followed, and the national constitution was adopted in 1853. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Argentina received large waves of European immigrants, mainly from Italy and Spain. During this period it became one of the world's leading exporters of agricultural products.

The 20th century brought political instability and several military coups. Juan Perón served as president from 1946 to 1955 and again from 1973 until his death in 1974. A military dictatorship governed from 1976 to 1983, a period marked by the persecution of political opponents known as the Dirty War. In 1982 Argentina fought the Falklands War against the United Kingdom and was defeated. Democracy returned in 1983 with the election of Raúl Alfonsín. In 2001 the country went through a severe economic, political and social crisis.

Argentina's terrain is highly varied. The Andes run along the western border and include Aconcagua, which rises to 6,961 m (22,838 ft) and is the highest mountain outside Asia. The fertile Pampas plains lie in the centre and east. Patagonia stretches across the south, and the Gran Chaco covers the north. The main river system is formed by the Paraná and Uruguay rivers, which flow into the Río de la Plata estuary. Laguna del Carbón in Santa Cruz Province, at about 105 m (344 ft) below sea level, is the lowest point in South America. The Iguazú Falls lie on the border with Brazil.

According to the 2022 national census, Argentina has a population of more than 46 million. Most of its people are of European descent. About a third of the population lives in the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area. Spanish is the de facto national language, and Roman Catholicism is the largest religion.

Argentina has a presidential system of government. The National Congress has two chambers: the Senate, with 72 members, and the Chamber of Deputies, with 257 members. The country belongs to the United Nations, the G20, Mercosur and the Organization of American States.

Argentina's economy is classed as upper-middle-income. Its main exports include soybeans and soybean products, maize, wheat and beef. The country also has large reserves of shale oil and gas, especially in the Vaca Muerta formation, as well as significant lithium deposits. The currency is the Argentine peso. Over its history the economy has gone through repeated periods of high inflation and debt crises.

Argentine culture has been shaped mainly by European immigration. The tango developed in the Río de la Plata region in the late 19th century, and UNESCO added it to its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009. Football is the most popular sport. The national team has won the FIFA World Cup three times, in 1978, 1986 and 2022. Five Argentines have received the Nobel Prize: Carlos Saavedra Lamas, Bernardo Houssay, Luis Federico Leloir, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel and César Milstein.