| |
| Geography |
| |
| Argentina is a part of South America, constituted as a federation of twenty- four provinces and an autonomous city. It is worlds eight largest country, covering an area of 2.8 million sq. km. It comprises of some of the world tallest mountains, extensive deserts, enthralling waterfalls, with variety and diversity of land from the wild to the remote areas of southern Patagonia to cosmopolitan and metropolitan Buenos Aires in the north. |
| |
| The six major regions of Argentina are:- |
| |
Pampas:- This region consists of the Buenos Aires and along with the world- class beaches. This fertile region is also known as the bread basket of the country. Its comprises of the Humid pampas along the
seacoast and the dry Pampas in the south and West |
| |
| Gran Chaco:- Part of the northern region of the country, chaco consists of grasslands, thorny forest and some wetlands. The region is seasonal dry or wet, mainly into growing cotton and raising livestock. |
| |
| Mesopotamia:- The land between Parana and Uruguay rivers is called Mesopotamia. Basically a broad flat plain perfect for grazing and plant growing. The northern province of Misiones, which is a mountainous region nearly encompassed by Brazil and Paraguay, is thickly forested and features the subtropical rainforest and majestic Iguazu Falls. |
| |
| Patagonia:- The region south to the Rio Colorado. Although the temperature is cold in the north and arid in the far South, it has forests and several large lakes at the western border. Grazing land supporting flocks of sheep, and great number of fruit and vegetable farms can be found in the valleys. Patagonia also holds vast reserves of oil and coal. |
| |
| Cuyo:- This region is surrounded by Andes mountains. With volcanic peaks and salt lake this region is left with very few miners. Although, cuyo receives very little rainfall, fertile river valleys and subtropical lowlands can be found in the east. |
| |
NOA:- This is the highest region, with several mountain ranges and some peakes higher than 20,000 feet. Moving towards the north the ranges gets wider. They are cut across by fertile river valleys.
A General overview of the country: |
| |
Full name: Argentine
Republic Population: 39.5 million (UN, 2007)
Capital: Buenos
Airesm Area: 2.8 million sq km (1.1 million sq miles)
Major language: Spanish
Major religion: Christianity
Monetary unit: 1 peso = 100 centavos
Main exports: Food and live animals, mineral fuels, cereals, machinery
International dialling code: +54
President: Cristina Fernandez |
| |
| Argentina is rich with resources, has a well-educated workforce and is one of South America's largest economies. The very popular Tango is a gift to the world by Argentina. They are crazy about soccer, and are believed to be the best polo players. Their love of horses is best personified by the figure of the Argentine 'gaucho', the solitary, independent ranch-hand. Rivers lakes and coastal lines Argentina has 4,665 km of coastline. It has wide continental platform. Major rivers in Argentina are the Pilcomayo, Paraguay, Bermejo, Colorado, Rio Negro, Salado, Uruguay and the largest river, the Parana. The latter two join and flow together before meeting the Atlantic ocean, forming the estuary of the Rio de la Plata. |
| |
| Climate |
| |
Argentina is subject to diverse climate. The northern region of the country is primarily hot, with humid summers and mild dry winters, also faces periodic drought. The southern region has warm summers and
cold winter with heavy snowfalls. Argentina main Food Lunch king size is what the Argentinean follow. Most of the cities excluding Buenos Aires close for lunch time. Traditionally lunches in Argentina are long and most of the popular food has European roots. Ample of meats, pastas and bread are included in an Argentina diet
|
| |
| People |
| |
The total population is upto 40,677,348. The major ethnic groups are white mostly Spanish and Italian comprising 97% of the population, mestizo i.e. the mixed white and Amerindian ancestry, Amerindian, or other non-white groups comprises 3%.
92% of the population is Roman Catholic, Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4%. The official language is Spanish and other languages used are Italian, English, German and French |
| |
| Government |
| |
Argentina follows a republic political framework. President is both Chief of the state and the head of the government. The president appoints the cabinet. The president and vice president is elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms and is also eligible for a second term. Argentina is administratively divided into 3 provinces and 1 autonomous city Buenos Aires Capital Federal, the provinces are Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Chaco, Chubut, Cordoba, Corrientes, Entre Rios, Formosa, Jujuy, La Pampa, La Rioja, Mendoza, Misiones, Neuquen, Rio Negro, Salta, San Juan, San Luis, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Santiago del Estero, Tierra del Fuego - Antartida e Islas del Atlantico Sur, Tucuman.
Capital: Buenos Aires
Independence: 9 July 1816
President: Cristina Fernandez De Kirchner
|
| |
| Economy |
| |
| Argentina enjoys rich natural resources which are highly beneficial for the economy boost, a highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a diversified industrial base. The maximum concentration of the labor force is in the services sector with 76% , followed by the industrial sector with 23% and agriculture with mere 1% of the labor force. The chief agricultural products are sunflower seeds, soybeans, grapes, lemons, corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea, wheat and livestock. The industrial products are food processing, consumer durables, textiles, motor vehicles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy and steel |
| |
| |
| |
|
