Argentina is a South American country, constituted as a federation of twenty-three provinces and an autonomous city. It is second in size on the continent to Brazil and eighth in the world. Argentina occupies a continental surface area of 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.

It is bordered by Paraguay and Bolivia in the north, Brazil and Uruguay in the northeast, and Chile in the west and south. The country claims the British controlled territories of the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Argentina also claims 969,464 km² (374,312 sq mi) of Antarctica, known as Argentine Antarctica, overlapping other claims made by Chile and the United Kingdom.

Argentina has the highest Human Development Index level and the second highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in purchasing power parity in Latin America after its neighbor Chile and is the 19th largest in the world. The country is currently classified as an Upper-Middle Income Country or as a secondary emerging market by the World Bank. Argentina's nominal GDP makes it the 31st largest economy in the world.

Population
The Argentine population has one of Latin America's lowest growth rates (about one percent per annum), and it also enjoys a comparatively small infant mortality rate.

The age structure of the population is therefore similar to that of more developed countries, with a median age of about 29 years and a life expectancy of 75 years at birth. However, unlike most other developed countries (including its European mother countries of Spain and Italy), it does not yet have sub-replacement fertility and the worries and problems associated with it.

Eighty percent of the Argentine population resides in cities or towns of more than two thousand inhabitants, and over one-third lives in the Greater Buenos Aires area. With 11.5 million inhabitants, this sprawling metropolis serves as the focus for national life.

This population is unequally distributed across the country, centering in the zone of the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area or "Great Buenos Aires" (Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and Conurbano Buenos Aires) approximately 12 million people, equivalent to 33% of the total population. This turns Buenos Aires into the fourth megalópolis of the 23 existing ones into the world, and the third urban agglomerate of Latin America, considerably behind Mexico City and Sao Paulo.

An additional 1.1 million people live in the metropolitan area of Rosario, and 1.3 million in the city of Córdoba. Most of the Argentine population lives in the corresponding provinces (Buenos Aires, Santa Fe and Córdoba). In 1989, the Argentine government voted but never got to construct a master-planned capital in Viedma near the coastal city of Bahía Blanca, in order to generate development in the central provinces.

The Province of Buenos Aires is the most populated province of the country with 13,827,203 inhabitants (37% of the national population), of which 9.7 million live in Great Buenos Aires and 4.5 millions in the rest of the province.

Natural Resources
Argentina comprises of a vast variety with regards to It's natural resources, these include the fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum and uranium

Fauna & Flora
Subtropical plants dominate the north, part of the Gran Chaco region of South America. The genus Dalbergia of trees is well disseminated with representatives like the Brazilian Rosewood and the quebracho tree; also predominant are white and black algarrobo trees (prosopis alba and prosopis nigra).

Savannah-like areas exist in the drier regions nearer the Andes. Aquatic plants thrive in the wetlands dotting the region. Most of Patagonia in the south lies within the rain shadow of the Andes. The flora, shrubby bushes and plants, is well suited to withstand dry conditions. The soil is hard and rocky, making large-scale farming impossible except along river valleys.

Coniferous forests grow in far western Patagonia and on the island of Tierra del Fuego. Conifers native to the region include alerce (Fitzroya cupressoides), ciprés de la cordillera (Austrocedrus chilensis), ciprés de las guaitecas (Pilgerodendron uviferum), huililahuán (Podocarpus nubigenus), lleuque (Prumnopitys andina), mañío hembra (Saxegothaea conspicua), and pehuén (Araucaria araucana), while native broadleaf trees include several species of Nothofagus including coigüe or coihue, lenga (Nothofagus pumilio), ñire (Nothofagus Antarctica).

Other introduced trees present in forestry plantations include spruce, cypress, and pine. Common plants are the copihue and colihue (Chusquea culeou) Many species live in the subtropical north. Big cats like the jaguar, cougar, and ocelot; primates (howler monkey); large reptiles (crocodiles), and a species of caiman.

Other animals include the tapir, capybara, giant anteater, peccary, bush dog, raccoon, maned wolf, and various species of turtle and tortoise. There are many birds, notably hummingbirds, flamingos, toucans, and parrots. The central grasslands are populated by the armadillo, pampas cat, mara and the rhea (ñandú), a flightless bird. Hawks, falcons, herons, partridges inhabit the region. There are also deer and foxes. Some of these species extend into Patagonia.

Climate
Because of longitudinal and elevation amplitudes, Argentina is subject to a variety of climates. As a rule, the climate is predominantly temperate with extremes ranging from subtropical in the north to subpolar in the far south.

The north of the country is characterized by very hot, humid summers with mild drier winters, and is subject to periodic droughts. Central Argentina has hot summers with thunderstorms (in western Argentina producing some of the world's largest hail), and cool winters.

The southern regions have warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall, especially in mountainous zones. Higher elevations at all latitudes experience cooler conditions. The hottest and coldest temperature extremes recorded in South America have occurred in Argentina.

A record high temperature of 49.1 °C (120.4 °F), was recorded at Villa de María, Córdoba on January 2, 1920. The lowest temperature recorded was -39 °C (-38.2 °F) at Valle de los Patos Superior, San Juan, July 17, 1972.

Language
The official language of Argentina is Spanish, usually called "Castellano" (Castilian) by Argentines. 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.

Standard German is spoken by between 400,000 and 500,000 Argentines of German ancestry, though it has also been stated that the there could be as much as 1,800,000. German today, is the third or fourth most spoken language in Argentina.

Some indigenous communities have retained their original languages. Guaraní is spoken by some in the northeast, especially in Corrientes (where it enjoys official status) and Misiones. Quichua is spoken by some in the northwest, and has a local variant in Santiago del Estero. Aymara is spoken by members of the Bolivian community who migrated to Argentina from Bolivia.

In Patagonia there are several Welsh-speaking communities. More recent immigrants have brought Chinese and Korean, mostly to Buenos Aires. English, Brazilian Portuguese and French are also spoken. English is commonly taught at schools, with Portuguese and French behind.

Religion
Argentines are predominantly Roman Catholic. Around 93% declare themselves Roman Catholic according to different surveys; the Church estimates an affiliation of 70%. According to the Constitution, the Argentine government should support Roman Catholicism.

However, this does not imply that it is the official religion of the Argentine Republic, nor does it imply that people working in the government should have this faith.

Evangelical churches have gained a foothold in Argentina since the 1980s, and their followers now number more than 3.5 million, about 10% of the total population. Traditional Protestant communities are present in most communities.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) numbering over 330,300, the seventh-largest concentration in the world, are also present. The country also hosts the largest Jewish population in all of Latin America, about 2 percent of the population.

Islam in Argentina constitutes approximately 1.5% of the population, or an estimated 500,000-600,000 (93% Sunni). Argentina is also home to one of the largest mosques in Latin America, serving Argentina's Muslim community. Approximately 12% of Argentines can be considered agnostic, and 4% are atheists.


-information courtesy of wikipedia