istered
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas); claims British-administered South Georgia and
the South Sandwich Islands; territorial claim in Antarctica

Climate: mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest

Terrain: rich plains of the Pampas in northern half, flat to rolling
plateau of Patagonia in south, rugged Andes along western border

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

Land use: 9% arable land; 4% permanent crops; 52% meadows and pastures;
22% forest and woodland; 13% other; includes 1% irrigated

Environment: Tucuman and Mendoza areas in Andes subject to earthquakes;
pamperos are violent windstorms that can strike Pampas and northeast; irrigated
soil degradation; desertification; air and water pollution in
Buenos Aires

Note: second-largest country in South America (after Brazil);
strategic location relative to sea lanes between South Atlantic and
South Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage)

- People
Population: 32,290,966 (July 1990), growth rate 1.2% (1990)

Birth rate: 20 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 32 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 67 years male, 74 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 2.8 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Argentine(s); adjective--Argentine

Ethnic divisions: 85% white, 15% mestizo, Indian, or other nonwhite groups

Religion: 90% nominally Roman Catholic (less than 20% practicing), 2%
Protestant, 2% Jewish, 6% other

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

Literacy: 94%

Labor force: 10,900,000; 12% agriculture, 31% industry, 57% services
(1985 est.)

Organized labor: 3,000,000; 28% of labor force

- Government
Long-form name: Argentine Republic

Type: republic

Capital: Buenos Aires (tentative plans to move to Viedma by
1990 indefinitely postponed)

Administrative divisions: 22 provinces (provincias, singular--provincia),
1 national territory* (territorio nacional), and 1 district** (distrito);
Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Chaco, Chubut, Cordoba, Corrientes,
Distrito Federal**, 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 F