Argentina - Kelly's Country Profile

Country Profile
Physical Geography
1. Official Name of Country: Argentine Republic
2. Climate: mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest
3. Map
1. Absolute Location (find the latitude and longitude): 34°36′S 58°23′W
2. Relative location (is it the 7th largest country in the world? What countries, bodies of water, mountains, and desserts are it next to?): Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay
Political Geography
1. Type of government, names of the officials, and major political parties: republic/?/Coalicion Civica (a broad coalition loosely affiliated with Elisa CARRIO); Front for Victory or FpV (a broad coalition, including elements of the UCR and numerous provincial parties) [Nestor KIRCHNER]; Interbloque Federal or IF (a broad coalition of approximately 12 parties including PRO); Justicialist Party or PJ [Nestor KIRCHNER]; Radical Civic Union or UCR [Gerardo MORALES]; Republican Proposal or PRO [Mauricio MACRI] (including Federal Recreate Movement or RECREAR [Esteban BULLRICH]; Socialist Party or PS [Ruben GIUSTINIANI]; Union For All [Patricia BULLRICH]; several provincial parties
2. Capital: Buenos Aires
3. International Organization participation: AfDB (nonregional members), Australia Group, BCIE, BIS, CAN (associate), FAO, G-15, G-20, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, NSG, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, SICA (observer), UN, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina (observer), UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
4. Size of armed forces: 15-64 years: male 12,961,725 female 13,029,265
Cultural Geography
1. Official language, and other languages spoken, ethnic composition, and major religions: Spanish/Italian, English, German, French/white (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry), Amerindian, or other non-white groups 3%/nominally Roman Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4%
2. Population, population growth rate, and population distribution: 40,913,584 (July 2009 est.)/1.053% (2009 est.)/?
3. Major cities: ?
4. Infant mortality rate and average life expectancy: 11.44 deaths, 1000 live birth/76.56 years
5. Teachers and doctors per population: ?
Economic Geography
1. GNP (Gross National Product) and GDP (Gross Domestic Product): ?/$573.9 billion (2008 est.)
2. Percent of arable land used for agriculture: 10.03%
3. Natural resources: fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium
4. Major agricultural and industrial products: sunflower seeds, lemons, soybeans, grapes, corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea, wheat; livestock/food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel
5. Major exports and imports: soybeans and derivatives, petroleum and gas, vehicles, corn, wheat/machinery, motor vehicles, petroleum and natural gas, organic chemicals, plastics
6. Currency (include exchange rate vs. TWD): 1.00ARS=8.47448TWD
7. Balance of trade (include amounts in TWD currency of total exports and imports): ?
8. Historical events (Timeline format from 1980 to present; give your teacher 10 major events):
1982 April - Argentine forces occupy the British-held Falkland Islands.
1990 - Full diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom are restored
1994 - A Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires is bombed. 86 people are killed and more than 200 injured.
1996 - Economic hardship leads to a general strike in September.
1997 - A judge in Spain issues orders for the arrest of former Argentine military officers on charges of participating in the kidnapping and killing of Spanish citizens during the 'Dirty War'.
1998 - Argentine judges order arrests in connection with the abduction of hundreds of babies from women detained during the 'Dirty War'.
1999 - Fernando de la Rua of the centre-left Alianza opposition coalition wins the presidency, inherits 114 billion-dollar public debt.
2001 February - Castro made the remarks in an apparent reference to Argentina's support for US condemnation of Cuba's record on human rights.
2002 June - Two killed in anti-government and IMF protests in Buenos Aires.
2002 November - Argentina defaults on an $800m debt repayment to the World Bank, having failed to re-secure IMF aid.

Sources: CIA World fact book, xe.com,