Area
The surface of the country is 2.791.810 km2 (South American portion) and 3.761.274 km2 considering the Antártida Argentina.

Official Language
Spanish.

Standard time
GMT -3 hours.

Telephone code
00 + 54 + Code of telephone area + #.

Geographic location



Monetary unit: Peso

Languages: Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French

Ethnicity/race: white (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%; mestizo, Amerindian, other 3%

Religions: Roman Catholic 92%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4%

Literacy rate: 96.2% (1995 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2003 est.): $432.7 billion; per capita $11,200.

Real growth rate: 8%.

Inflation: 3.7%.

Unemployment: 16.3% (Sept. 2003).

Arable land: 9%.

Agriculture: sunflower seeds, lemons, soybeans, grapes, corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea, wheat; livestock.

Labor force: 15 million (1999); agriculture n.a., industry n.a., services n.a.

Industries: food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel.

Natural resources: fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium.

Exports: $29.57 billion (f.o.b., 2003 est.): edible oils, fuels and energy, cereals, feed, motor vehicles.

Imports: $13.27 billion (f.o.b., 2003 est.): machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal manufactures, plastics.

Major trading partners: Brazil, U.S., Chile, Spain, Germany, China.

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 7.5 million (1998); mobile cellular: 3 million (Dec. 1999).

Radio broadcast stations: AM 260 (including 10 inactive stations), FM n.a. (probably more than 1,000, mostly unlicensed), shortwave 6 (1998).

Radios: 24.3 million (1997).

Television broadcast stations: 42 (plus 444 repeaters) (1997).

Televisions: 7.95 million (1997).

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 33 (2000).

Internet users: 3.88 million (2001).

Transportation: Railways: total: 33,744 km (141 km electrified) (2000est.).

Highways: total: 215,434 km; paved: 63,553 km (including 734 km of expressways); unpaved: 151,881 km (1998 est.).

Waterways: 10,950 km.

Ports and harbors: Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Comodoro Rivadavia, Concepcion del Uruguay, La Plata, Mar del Plata, Necochea, Rio Gallegos, Rosario, Santa Fe, Ushuaia.

Airports: 1,369 (2001).

Total Population
36,260,130

Population by sex

• Femenine: 18,601,058
• Masculine: 17,659,072

Population Density
13 by Km2

Population by zone

• 89.57 % - Urban
• 10.43% - Rural

Population of main cities

Source: INDEC. 2001