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This article is about the demographics (distribution, ethnicity, economic status and other features of the population) of Argentina.

Origins and ethnicity

Unlike most of its neighboring countries, Argentina's population overwhelmingly descends from Europeans. Argentines are a fusion of groups of various national and ethnic origins, the most predominant of these being from the initial Spanish settlers established during the colonial period, and the later Spanish and Italian immigrants who arrived in large and successive waves during the last years of 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, extending after World War II. Although also elevated, immigration of other Europeans — including Germans, Russians, Portuguese, Poles, Irish, French and English — was not as numerous when compared to either Spaniards or Italians.

The culturally indigenous population is concentrated in the provinces of the north, northwest, and south, and is less abundant in the central, more populous areas of the Atlantic coast and the Paraná river litoral. The figures of indigenous population are controversial, different sources estimate vastly differing numbers. According to the Encuesta Complementaria de Pueblos Indígenas (ECPI) 2004 - 2005 (Complementary Survey of Indigenous Peoples), which is based on the INDEC's National Census of Population (2001), 318,683 indigenous persons were counted in the country. This corresponds to a little over 0.8% of Argentina’s total population. These persons recognised themselves as pertaining, or descending in first generation, to an indigenous community. In addition, the agency maintains that on the basis of the results, some 2.8% of Argentine homes have at least one member that is recognized as pertaining to an indigenous community. Others place numbers at a maximum of 2 million persons (those with aboriginal genetic stock from both paternal and maternal lines, but in a destance greater than one generation and no longer culturally integrated to recognised aboriginal communities).

Recent genetics research conducted by the University of Buenos Aires on mtDNA and Y chromosome has also suggested that although the Argentine population is overwhelmingly of European ancestry, around 56% possess at least some Amerindian blood. . Similar research conducted in a local hospital of Buenos Aires states that, after searching for genetic markers that indicate African ancestry in blood samples, some 10 percent of those who identified themselves as white were, in a part, descendants of black Argentines.

The Patagonian Chubut Valley has a significant Welsh-descended population and retains many aspects of Welsh culture. German colonies settled in the provinces of Entre Ríos, Misiones, Formosa, Córdoba Province and the Patagonian region, as well as in Buenos Aires itself. from The French settled mostly in Buenos Aires city or around Buenos Aires province. Those from Scandinavia (especially Sweden), the United Kingdom and Ireland setteled mostly in Buenos Aires and Patagonia, where there are also those from Eastern European nations such as Poland, Russia, Ukraine and the Balkans (especially Croatians and Serbians). The overwhelming majority of Argentina's Jewish community, numbering about 395,379 , also derives from immigrants of Northern and Eastern European origin — Ashkenazi Jews. It is the largest Jewish community in Latin America and fifth largest in the world.

In the second half of the 20th century saw immigration from the Asian continent. There are those from the Middle East and also from East Asia, including Japanese (mostly from Okinawa), then Koreans, Vietnamese and Chinese. There are also smaller numbers of people from the Indian subcontinent.

In recent years there was a substantial influx of immigrants from neighboring Latin American countries, especially during the 1990s, when the peso-dollar exchange rate was advantageous to those willing to send money to relatives abroad.

Population and growth

The Argentine population has one of Latin America's lowest growth rates (about one percent per annum), and it also enjoys a comparatively small infant mortality rate. The age structure of the population is therefore similar to that of more developed countries, with a median age of about 29 years and a life expectancy of 75 years at birth.

As per the 2001 census , the total population is 36,260,130. The Argentine census agency estimates 38,592,150 for June 2005. This figure turns out to be lower than expected prior to the census; the difference was attributed to the impact of the economic recession.

Demographic distribution

Eighty percent of the Argentine population resides in cities or towns of more than two thousand inhabitants, and over one-third lives in the Greater Buenos Aires area. With 11.5 million inhabitants, this sprawling metropolis serves as the focus for national life.

An additional 1.3 million people live in the metropolitan area of Rosario, and a comparable amount in the city of Córdoba. Most of the Argentine population lives in the corresponding provinces (Buenos Aires, Santa Fe and Córdoba).

The rest of the country is, by comparison, underpopulated; for example, the whole southern province of Santa Cruz has about 200,000 inhabitants. Large extensions of the Argentine territory are dedicated to agriculture and pastures.

Economic status

Argentines enjoy high standards of living compared to other Latin American countries; half the population considers itself middle class. The general empoverishment of the country during the last part of the 1990s, culminating with the economic crisis at the turn of the millennium, have greatly diminished this impression. As of 2006, about 30% of the population is under the official poverty line, and income distribution has become considerably unequal.

The educational level is good, at least in urban areas with ready access to public schools and universities. The Argentine literacy rate is very high (98.1%).

Huge ranches, called estancias, cover much of the Pampa and Patagonia. Some rural people work on estancias, while others own small farms. As a general rule, country people do not live as well as city people. Because of this fact the rural population is declining as farm workers seek better life in the cities. Many rural houses are built of adobe. The poorer people live in houses with adobe walls, dirt floors, and roofs of straw and mud. Wealthy landowners have elegant country estates and luxurious city homes.

Linguistic survey

The official language of Argentina is Spanish, which is spoken by practically the whole population, employing several dialects. Rioplatense Spanish is the name given to the dialect spoken in the central areas (around the Río de la Plata basin), which is also the standard in the media. Rioplatense's distinctive feature is the use of the pronoun vos instead of tú for the second person singular (voseo).

The province of Córdoba has a dialect with a particularly curious intonation pattern. People in the province of Mendoza speak a dialect influenced by Chilean Spanish, while in the north-west Andean provinces there is influence from Bolivian dialects.

Some people in the litoral provinces of the north-east, especially near Paraguay, speak Guaraní, an indigenous language, usually mixing it with Spanish. Near the Brazilian border, it is common to hear a mixture of Portuguese and Spanish.

There is a small but prosperous community of Welsh speakers in the province of Chubut, in the Patagonia, who descend from 19th century immigrants.

English language is a required subject in many schools, and there are also many private English-teaching academies and institutions. Young people have become accustomed to English through movies and the Internet, and knowledge of the language is also required in many jobs, so most middle-class children and teenagers now speak, read and/or understand it with various degrees of efficiency.

Due to the similarity with Spanish and the social influence of both countries, the average Argentine can also understand Italian and Portuguese, if spoken properly.

Many Argentines also speak other Indo-European lanauages due to the vast number of immigrants from Europe that came to Argentina.

Demographic data

Population: 39,921,833 (June 2006 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 25.2% (2006)

15-64 years: 64.1% (2006)

65 years and over: 10.6% (2006)

Median age:

Total: 29.7 years

Male: 28.8 years

Female: 30.7 years (2006 est.)

Annual population growth rate: 0.96% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 16.73 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 7.55 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:

At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

Under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female

Total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

Total: 14.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2006)

Life expectancy at birth:

Total population: 76.12 years

Male: 72.38 years

Female: 80.05 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.16 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS:

Adult prevalence rate: 0.7% (2001 est.)

People living with HIV/AIDS: 130,000 (2001 est.)

Deaths: 1,500 (2003 est.)

Ethnic groups:

White (mostly Spanish and Italian) over 85%

Mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry), Amerindian, or other non-white groups represent the remainder

Religions:

Nominally Roman Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing)

Protestant 2%

Jewish 2%

Other, including non-confessional and atheists 4%

Languages:

Spanish (official; most spoken dialect: Rioplatense Spanish)

Italian, English, French, German, Welsh, Yiddish

Portuguese (near Brazilian border)

Guaraní (north-eastern litoral areas and near Paraguayan border)

Literacy (defined as individuals of age 15 and over who can read and write):

Total population: 97.1%

male: 97.1%

female: 97.1% (2003 est.)

See also

• Immigration in Argentina
• Welsh settlement in Argentina

References

• Template:CIA WFB 2006
•  This article incorporates public domain material from U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets. United States Department of State.
• Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos

• Demographics of Argentina