Argentina, a presidential federal republic, gained its independence from Spain on 9 July 1816. It has 23 Provinces, each with its own Governor and Elective Assembly, and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. The federal capital is Buenos Aires; the province of Buenos Aires has 24 districts. Ruled by the military-reformist regime of Juan Domingo Perón from 1946 to 1955, Argentina was subsequently governed by unstable coalitions or military juntas. Perón returned to power in 1973 and, after his death (1974), the post of president was occupied by his wife, María Estela Martínez de Perón, known as “Isabelita”. A military coup in 1976 ushered in a harsh dictatorship that ended in 1983 when Argentina lost the war with the United Kingdom over possession of the Falkland Islands (2 April-14 June 1982). President Raul Alfonsín (1983-89) was succeeded by Carlos Menem (two terms, 1989-99), whose governments pursued a liberalist economic policy based on peso-US dollar parity. The ongoing financial crisis also created serious problems for his successor, the radical Fernando de la Rúa (elected 1999), who was forced to resign on 20 December 2001 in response to widespread popular protest over the catastrophic economic situation. Elected in 2003, the Peronist Néstor Kirchner was succeeded by his wife Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in 2007, who remained in office until 2015.
The Constitution which came into force on 24 August 1994 reduced the Presidential mandate from six to four years. The President is also the head of government, directly elected for a maximum of two terms. The Argentinian Congress comprises the Chamber of Deputies (257 members directly elected with a mandate of four years, with half of the members re-elected every two years) and the Senate (72 members elected with a mandate of six years, with a third of the members re-elected every two years).

Defence and justice.
Military service is voluntary. The legal system is essentially European in inspiration with some US features. The highest federal court is the Supreme Court; every province has its own judicial courts that deal with non-political crimes. In 2010 same-sex marriages became legal.

Population by age and gender (% - 2018)
	75+ 60-74 45-59 30-44 15-29 0-14
MALE	AGE	FEMALE

The urban population rate is among the highest in the world. About a third of the population is of Italian origin and a quarter of Spanish origin. Attempts to exterminate the indigenous Amerindians continued into the early 20th century. Some nomadic tribes survive in the Chaco province, together with the Guaraní in the Misiones province.

Economic situation.
To counteract low economic growth, high inflation and lower purchasing power, Mauricio Macri’s government adopted measures aimed at liberalizing the economy, going against the statist policy of previous administrations: controls were removed on the movement of capital, protectionist measures were reduced that affected exports, the exchange rate was liberalized, subsidies were reorganized, accords with international creditors were established and social security spending was slashed.
In 2018-19, the deficit decreased, but the country entered a recession; furthermore, the international increase in the cost of money led to a reduction in foreign investments, a rapid devaluation of the peso and the central bank to raise interest rates many times; the continuation of high inflation is eroding purchasing power, causing poverty and social tensions. To shore up the economy and stem speculation, in 2018 the country obtained significant loans from the IMF.

Primary sector
Agriculture.
Government support for agriculture has extended and diversified the range of crops, leading to an increase in fruit and oil (soya) production (provinces of Córdoba, Buenos Aires and Santa Fe). Cereal farming is mainly maize (Buenos Aires, Santa Fe and Córdoba), followed by wheat (Buenos Aires) and barley. Flax and sunflowers are grown in the Buenos Aires, Entre Ríos, Santa Fe and Córdoba provinces; cotton in the Chaco province; tobacco and tea in the Corrientes, Misiones, Salta and Jujuy provinces; sugar cane in the Tucumán province; and vines and fruit (apples, peaches, pears) in the Mendoza, San Juan, Río Negro and La Rioja provinces.
Livestock.
Livestock farming, one of the major national industries, is practised on the Pampas (cattle and horses) and in Patagonia (sheep and goats).
Argentina is one of the largest producers in the world of meat, milk, butter, cheese and wool.

Secondary sector
Minerals.
Argentina is virtually self-sufficient in energy. The most important product is oil, about a third of which comes from the oil fields in Comodoro Rivadavia (Chubut province), and the rest from wells in the provinces of Santa Cruz (Cerro Redondo), Neuquén (Plaza Huincul), Río Negro, Salta (Campo Durán), Mendoza (Tupungato, Mendoza, Barrancas) and in Tierra del Fuego. The major pipelines are the Campo Durán to San Lorenzo (1489 km) and the Puerto Rosales to La Plata. Natural gas production is strong, distributed via a network of pipelines that cross the country and link up with the networks of Bolivia, Chile and Uruguay.
Lithium production and reserves are among the largest in the world. There are also coal (Río Turbio), boron, copper, silver, gold, bentonite and feldspar mines.
Industry.
Industry contributes about a quarter to GDP and is among the most diversified in Latin America. Some twenty oil refineries are located along the Río de la Plata (La Plata, Campana, Avellaneda, Dock Sud, San Lorenzo), at Bahía Blanca and in drilling areas (Comodoro Rivadavia, Luján de Cuyo, Campo Durán, Plaza Huincul).
There are major chemical plants in Córdoba and Rosario, as well as cement works in the province of Buenos Aires and in the north-west of the country. Also important are iron and steelworks (especially in the provinces of Santa Fe and Buenos Aires), lead (Barranqueras, Mercedes, San Justo), zinc (Comodoro Rivadavia, Zárate, Rosario) and aluminium (Puerto Madryn) plants. The main centres of mechanical engineering are Córdoba (aircraft, tractors, cars), Tafí Viejo, San Cristóbal, Cruz del Eje, Remedios and Junín (railways), Escobar (oil industry), Buenos Aires (office machines), and Tigre and San Fernando (shipyards). The automobile industry is mostly located in the provinces of Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Sante Fé.
The food industry is very developed (wine making, edible oils, preserves and pasta production), and operates mostly in national products.

Tertiary sector
Foreign trade.
Argentina is a major exporter of farm produce and foodstuffs.
It imports mainly machinery, motor vehicles and chemicals.

Main exports
(M US$ - 2017) 
residues and waste of food industry 9 822, vehicles and parts thereof 4 230, maize 3 883, soya beans and soybean oil 6 458, chemicals 2 755, wheat 2 362, gold 2 260, fish and crustaceans 1 950, meat 1 836, fruit and vegetables 1 651, cars 1 542, crude oil and petroleum products 1 215, fruit & vegetable juices and preserves 1 149, vegetable oils 1 127, machinery 1 109, plastics 995, wine 806, aluminium 793, iron and steel 768, pharmaceuticals 744, cereals 721, leather 720, cosmetics 635, milk and dairy products 580, malt extract and flours 499, aircraft and parts thereof 489, oil seeds 417

Finance and banking.
The banking system is governed by the Banco Central. The main stock exchange is in Buenos Aires. Argentina is a founding member of Mercosur and helped to set up the Banco del Sur (2007), which finances economic and social development projects throughout Latin America.

Tourism.
The main destinations are the Andes, the Atlantic beaches, the Iguazú Falls, Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego.

Transport.
The road and rail networks radiate from Buenos Aires; a road tunnel is planned under the Agua Negra Pass, on the border with Chile. The railways were privatized in the Nineties, but were later partly renationalized. The national airline Aerolíneas Argentinas, taken over by Iberia in 1991, returned to state control in 2008.

Education and research.
Education is free at all levels. Primary education (seven years) is compulsory; secondary education lasts from five to seven years depending on the type of certificate. There are a hundred universities, of which about half are private.