Pre-Trip Information

The Argentine population has one of Latin America's lowest growth rates at .98 percent; the total population is over 40 million. Over three-fourths of the population resides in urban areas of more than 2,000 and more than one-third of the population lives in the greater Buenos Aires area. This sprawling metropolis, the capital city, with more than 12 million inhabitants, serves as the focus for national life.

 

Argentines are a fusion of diverse national and ethnic groups. Descendants of Italian and Spanish immigrants dominate this country. Waves of immigrants from many European countries arrived in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries adding to the mix. Syrian, Lebanese and other Middle Eastern immigrants number about 500,000, mainly in urban areas, and further diversify the population. A number of Asians, including Japanese, are also represented. In addition, Argentina has the largest Jewish population in Latin America, about 250,000 strong. In recent years, there has also been a substantial influx of immigrants from neighboring Latin American countries. The native Indian population, now estimated at 50,000, is concentrated in the peripheral provinces of the north, northwest and south.

 

As a consequence of demographic trends set in motion by the arrival of the Spaniards, about 90 percent of Argentina's population are of European ancestry, with about 10 percent being indigenous, mestizo or from non-European groups, such as other Latin Americans, Asians and Arabs.

 

The predominant religion is Roman Catholicism, although less than 20 percent of nominal Roman Catholics are practicing. There are substantial minorities of Protestants and Jews.

 

Spanish is the major language - a lega cy of the Spanish colonial history - but Italian, German, French and English are also widely spoken. Arabic, Japanese, and indigenous languages such as Guarani, Quechuan and Mataco are also spoken languages in Argentina.

 

 

 

Argentines enjoy comparatively high standards of living; half the population considers itself middle class. Argentina also boasts a very high standard of education. The literacy rate of Argentina's total population age 15 and above is estimated to be 97 percent. Males and females were found to be about equally literate. Indeed, Argentines are, perhaps, some of the most educated people in the southern cone of the Americas. Likewise, the country has a strong health and welfare system. According to recent estimates, Argentina's infant mortality rate is 11.11 deaths per 1,000 live births. Life expectancy rates were 76.8 years of age on average.

 

Argentina's high levels of health and welfare - in conjunction with the fact that the country is a functioning democracy - are impressive factors when one considers that from 1976 to 1983, the period known as the "Dirty War," Argentines were subject to a period of untold human rights abuses. Today, the Argentine people enjoy increased democratization and a stable social infrastructure, despite the market fluctuations that the entire region of Latin America has endured.

 

One notable measure used to determine a country's quality of life is the Human Development Index (HDI), which has been compiled annually since 1990 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The HDI is a composite of several indicators, which measure a country's achievements in three main arenas of human development: longevity, knowledge and education, as well as economic standard of living. In a recent ranking of 169 countries, the HDI placed Argentina in the high human development category, at 46th place.

Note: Although the concept of human development is complicated and cannot be properly captured by values and indices, the HDI, which is calculated and updated annually, offers a wide-ranging assessment of human development in certain countries, not based solely upon traditional economic and financial indicators.