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
Population: 34.3 million (88% urban, 12% rural)
Life expectancy: 75 (female); 68 (male)
Infant mortality: 29 per 1,000 births
Literacy rate: 95% (female); 96% (male)
Ethnic divisions: white 85%; mestizo, Indian, or other nonwhite groups 15%
Principal religions: nominally Roman Catholic 90% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 6%
Principal languages: Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French
Rank of affluence among U.N. members: 42/183
Argentine history is a familiar one: indigenous Indian tribes wiped out by Spanish treasure hunters; independence from Spain in 1816; since then a succession of civil and military governments presiding over a roller-coaster economy with intermittent periods of social unrest. To many 19th-century Europeans, Argentina represented the fabled Land of Opportunity, a place where cowboys galloped over vast ranches teeming with cattle. Immigrants from Italy, Germany, and Spain poured in by the millions, and by the dawn of the 20th century Argentina was a modern, European-style nation, the world's leading exporter of corn and meat.
The Depression wrecked the export trade and led to a long period of alternating cycles of massive inflation followed by grinding recession. Matters were further complicated following World War II by the presence of Juan Peron, a charismatic military strongman who led the nation on a path of increasingly brutal authoritarianism. Ousted in 1955, Peron returned to power shortly before his death in 1974 and was succeeded by his wife, Isabel.
A 1976 coup turned the reins over to yet another military junta and launched a campaign of terror that killed thousands of opponents, leading to international condemnation. An ill-advised war with Britain over the Falkland Islands was fought in 1982, which Argentina lost. Resigning in disgrace, the military left behind a ruined economy whose annual inflation reached 6000% by the end of
the decade.
In recent years the civilian government has restructured debt, curbed inflation, and put the nation back on track to free-market prosperity, though its people are still suffering from the lingering effects of myriad belt-tightening reforms.
