ARGENTINA

Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic[5] (Spanish: República Argentina, Spanish pronunciation: [reˈpuβlika aɾxenˈtina]), is a country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the second largest country in South America and eighth in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico, Colombia and Spain are more populous. Its continental area is 2,766,890 km2 (1,068,302 sq mi), between the Andes mountain range in the west and the southern Atlantic Ocean in the east and south. Argentina borders Paraguay and Bolivia to the north, Brazil and Uruguay to the northeast, and Chile to the west and south. Argentina also claims 969,464 km2 (374,312 sq mi) of Antarctica, known as Argentine Antarctica, overlapping other claims made by Chile (Chilean Antarctic Territory) and the United Kingdom (British Antarctic Territory); all such claims have been suspended by the Antarctic Treaty of 1961.
Argentina has the second highest Human Development Index level[6] and the second highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in purchasing power parity in Latin America.[7] Argentina's nominal GDP is the 30th largest in the world;[8] but when purchasing power is taken into account, its total GDP makes it the 23rd largest economy in the world.[9]
The country is currently classified as an Upper-Middle Income Country[10] or as a secondary emerging market by the World Bank.[11][12] Argentina is also one of the G-20 major economies.
Geography
The total surface area of Argentina (not including the Antarctic claim) is 2,766,891 km2 (1,068,303 sq mi), of which 2,736,691 km2 (1,056,642 sq mi) is land and 30,200 km2 (11,700 sq mi) (1.1%) is water.
Argentina is about 3,900 km (2,500 mi) long from north to south, and 1,400 km (870 mi) from east to west (maximum values). It can roughly be divided into four parts: the fertile plains of the Pampas in the center of the country, the source of Argentina's agricultural wealth; the flat to rolling, oil-rich plateau of Patagonia in the southern half down to Tierra del Fuego; the subtropical flats of the Gran Chaco in the north, and the rugged Andes mountain range along the western border with Chile.
The highest point above sea level in Argentina is located in Mendoza. Cerro Aconcagua, at 6,962 m (22,841 ft). It is the highest mountain in the Americas, the Southern,[33] and Western Hemisphere.[34] The lowest point is Laguna del Carbón in Santa Cruz, −105 meters (−344 ft) below sea level.[35] This is also the lowest point on the South American continent. The geographic center of the country is located in south-central La Pampa Province.
Rivers and lakes
Major rivers in Argentina include the Pilcomayo, Paraguay, Bermejo, Colorado, Río Negro, Salado, Uruguay and the largest river, the Paraná. The latter two flow together before meeting the Atlantic Ocean, forming the estuary of the Río de la Plata. Regionally important rivers are the Atuel and Mendoza in the homonymous province, the Chubut in Patagonia, the Río Grande in Jujuy and the San Francisco River in Salta.
There are several large lakes in Argentina, many of them in Patagonia. Among these are lakes Argentino and Viedma in Santa Cruz, Nahuel Huapi between Río Negro and Neuquén and Fagnano in Tierra del Fuego and Colhué Huapi and Musters in Chubut. Lake Buenos Aires and O'Higgins/San Martín Lake are shared with Chile. Mar Chiquita, Córdoba, is the largest salt water lake in the country. There are numerous reservoirs created by dams. Argentina features various hot springs, such as those at Termas de Río Hondo with temperatures between 65°C and 89°C.[38]
The largest oil spill to ever occur in fresh water was caused by a Shell tanker ship in the Rio de la Plata, Magdalena, Argentina, on January 15, 1999, polluting the environment, drinkable water, plants and animals.[39]
Population
Contemporary figures
The National Institute of Statistics and Census of Argentina (INDEC) 2001 census showed the population of Argentina was 36,260,130. It ranks third in South America in total population and 30th globally. The 2008 estimate is 40,482,000. Argentina's population density is 15 persons per square kilometer of land area, well below the world average of 50 persons. The population is not evenly distributed with the city of Buenos Aires having a population density of over 14,000 inhab./km², while Santa Cruz province has fewer than 1 inhab./km². Benefiting from a moderate birth rate since the 1930s,[41] Argentina is the only nation in Latin America with a net positive migration rate; about +0.4 net immigrants per 1,000 locals, yearly.
Language
The official language of Argentina is Spanish, usually called castellano (Castilian) by Argentines.
A phonetic study conducted by the Laboratory for Sensory Investigations of CONICET and the University of Toronto showed that the accent of the inhabitants of Buenos Aires (known as porteños) is closer to the Neapolitan dialect of Italian than any other spoken language. Italian immigration and other European immigrations influenced Lunfardo, the slang spoken in the Río de la Plata region, permeating the vernacular vocabulary of other regions as well.
Argentines are the largest Spanish-speaking society that universally employs what is known as voseo (the use of the pronoun vos instead of tú (you), which occasions the use of alternate verb forms as well). The most prevalent dialect is Rioplatense, whose speakers are primarily located in the basin of the Río de la Plata.
According to one survey, there are around 1.5 million Italian speakers (which makes it the second most spoken language in the country) and 1 million speakers of North Levantine Spoken Arabic.[125]
Standard German is spoken by between 400,000 and 500,000[126] Argentines of German ancestry, though it has also been stated that the there could be as many as 1.8 million.[127] German is the third or fourth most spoken language in Argentina.
Architecture, painting and sculpture
Numerous Argentine architects have enriched their own country's cityscapes and, in recent decades, those around the world. Juan Antonio Buschiazzo helped popularize Beaux-Arts architecture and Francisco Gianotti combined Art Nouveau with Italianate styles, each adding flair to Argentine cities during the early 20th century. Francisco Salamone and Viktor Sulĉiĉ left an Art Deco legacy. Clorindo Testa introduced Brutalist architecture locally and César Pelli's and Patricio Pouchulu's Futurist creations have graced cities, worldwide. Pelli's 1980s throwbacks to the Art Deco glory of the 1920s, in particular, made him one of the world's most prestigious architects.
One of the most influential Argentine figures in fine arts was Xul Solar, whose surrealist work used watercolors as readily as unorthodox painting media; he also "invented" two imaginary languages. The works of Cándido López (in Naïve art style), Ernesto de la Cárcova (realism), Fernando Fader (impressionism), Emilio Pettoruti (cubist), Antonio Berni (neo-figurative), Gyula Košice (constructivism) and Guillermo Kuitca (abstract) are appreciated internationally.
Natural resources
Argentina is one of the world's major agricultural producers, ranking third worldwide in production of honey, soybeans and sunflower seeds and is ranked as fifth in the production of maize and eleventh in wheat. In 2007, agricultural output accounted for 9.4% of GDP and nearly one third of all exports. Soy and its byproducts, mainly animal feed and vegetable oils, are major export commodities at 24% of the total. Wheat, maize, sorghum and other cereals totaled 8%.[66] Cattle-raising is also a major industry, though mostly for domestic consumption. Beef, leather and dairy were 5% of total exports.[66] Sheep-raising and wool are important in Patagonia, though these activities have declined by half since 1990.[66]
Fruits and vegetables made up 4% of exports: apples and pears in the Río Negro valley; oranges and other citrus in the northwest and Mesopotamia; grapes and strawberries in Cuyo and berries in the far south. Cotton and tobacco are major crops in the Gran Chaco, sugarcane and chile peppers in the northwest and olives and garlic in Cuyo. Yerba Mate (Misiones), tomatoes (Salta) and peaches (Mendoza) are grown for domestic consumption. Argentina is the world's fifth-largest wine producer, and fine wine production has taken major leaps in quality. A growing export, total viticulture potential is far from having been met. Mendoza is the largest wine region, followed by San Juan.[76] A strike by farmers, protesting an increase in export taxes for their products, began 13 March 2008 and butchers and supermarkets were among the first affected by shortages.[77] Following a series of failed negotiations and the 16 July defeat of the export tax-hike in the Senate, the strikes and lockouts largely subsided