| Area |
2,780,400 sq km (1,073,518 sq miles). |
| Population |
37,486,938 (2001). |
| Capital |
Buenos Aires - population 2,776,138 (2001). |
| Climate |
The north is subtropical with rain throughout the year, while the Tierra del Fuego in the south has a sub-arctic climate. The main central area is temperate, but can be hot and humid during summer (December to February) and cool in winter. |
| Language |
Spanish is the official language. English is widely spoken with some French and German. |
| Religion |
More than 90 per cent Roman Catholic, 2 per cent Protestant with small Muslim and Jewish communities. |
| Time |
GMT - 3 (GMT - 4 in summer).
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| Highlights |
Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina is a lively, cosmopolitan centre with elegant colonial buildings, interesting museums, designer shops and home of the tango. The haciendas in the Pampas around Buenos Aires offer visitors a taste of the gaucho way of life. The Iguassu Falls, on the border between Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil are one of the world's most awesome series of cataracts surrounded by subtropical rainforest. In the Andean northwest, Salta has the best-preserved colonial architecture in Argentina and is home to traditional music and folklore. Mendoza, in the west, is Argentina's main wine-producing region and further south, Bariloche is the best-known resort of the Lake District which runs into Chile via stunning lakes and forested mountains. The unique southern region of Patagonia is a vast area made up of parks and nature reserves, the most exciting of which are Peninsular Valdes with its huge colonies of sea lions, elephant seals and penguins and further south the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Glaciares National Park with its huge glaciers and glacial lakes. Ushuaia is the world's southernmost city.
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| Country Facts |
Argentina is the second largest country in South America and the climate and geography varies considerably in the different regions, ranging from the great heat of the Chaco in the north through the pleasant climate of the central Pampas to the sub Antarctic cold of the Patagonian Sea. Argentina is bordered by the Andes into Chile in the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the east and Uruguay, Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazil to the north and northeast. |