Argentina
Article
May 28, 2022
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic (pronounced in Spanish: [reˈpuβlika aɾxenˈtina]), is the second largest country in South America by territory and third by population, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires, capital of country. It is the eighth largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, although Mexico, Colombia and Spain, which have a smaller territory, are more populous. The continental area of Argentina is between the Andes mountain range to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. It borders Paraguay and Bolivia to the north, Brazil and Uruguay to the northeast, and Chile to the west and south. Argentina claims a part of Antarctica, overlapping the claims of Chile and the United Kingdom on the Antarctic continent, even after all claims were suspended by the Antarctic Treaty of 1961. The country still claims the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, which are administered by the United Kingdom as British Overseas Territories. The oldest record of human presence in the area currently known as Argentina is dated to the Paleolithic period. Spanish colonization began in 1512. Argentina emerged as the successor state to the Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata, a Spanish colony founded in 1776. The declaration and struggle for independence (1810–1818) was followed by a long war. civil war, which lasted until 1861 and ended with the reorganization of the country into a federation of provinces, with the city of Buenos Aires as its capital. During the second half of the 20th century, Argentina faced several military coups and periods of political instability, along with periodic economic crises that held back its full economic and social development. A recognized middle power, Argentina is one of the largest economies in South America, ranking very highly on the Human Development Index. In Latin America, Argentina has the fifth highest GDP per capita (nominal) and the highest GDP per capita in purchasing power parity. Analysts argue that the country has "a strong foundation for future growth due to the size of its market, levels of foreign direct investment and the percentage of high-tech exports as part of total manufactured goods" and is rated by investors as a emerging economy. Argentina is a founding member of the United Nations, Mercosur, the Union of South American Nations and the World Trade Organization and remains one of the G20.