Latin America
General
The National Institute of Statistics and Census of Argentina (INDEC) 2001 census showed the population of Argentina was 36,260,130. It ranks third in South America in total population and 30th globally. The 2007 estimate is for a population of 40,301,927 . Argentina's population density is 14 inhabitants/ km². However, the population is not evenly distributed: areas of the city of Buenos Aires have a population density of over 14,000 inhabitants/ km², while Santa Cruz province has less than 1 inhabitant/ km². Argentina is the only nation in South America with a net positive migration rate, of about +0.4 persons.
The majority of the population descends from early Spanish or Italian immigrants. Approximately 10% of the people are of indigenous Indian or mestizo descent.
Small but growing numbers of people from East Asia have also settled Argentina, mainly in Buenos Aires. The first Asian-Argentines were of Japanese descent; Koreans, Vietnamese and Chinese followed, now at over 60,000.
Argentina has a large Arab community, made up mostly of immigrants from Syria and Lebanon. Many have gained prominent status in national business and politics, including former president Carlos Menem, the son of Syrian settlers from the province of La Rioja. Most of the Arab Argentines are Christian of the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches.
The majority of Argentina's Jewish community derives from immigrants of north and eastern European origin (Ashkenazi Jews), and about 15–20% from Sephardic groups from Syria. Argentina is home to the fifth largest Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world.
Argentina's population is very highly urbanised. About 3.53 million people live in the autonomous city of Buenos Aires, and 12.4 million in Greater Buenos Aires (2007), making it one of the largest urban conglomerates in the world. Together with their respective metropolitan areas, the second- and third-largest cities in Argentina, Córdoba and Rosario, comprise about 1.3 and 1.1 million inhabitants respectively.
About 90% of the population is at least nominally Roman Catholic. The Jewish population, while only accounting for about 2% of the people, is the largest in Latin America and the fifth largest in the world. Spanish is the country's official language, although English, Italian, German and French are spoken as well. Argentina has one of South America's lowest population growth rates (under 1%).
Overview
| Population | : | 40,301,927 (July 2007 est.) |
| Age structure | : | 0-14 years: 24.9% (male 5,134,958/female 4,905,181) 15-64 years: 64.4% (male 12,979,588/female 12,967,507) 65 years and over: 10.7% (male 1,769,593/female 2,545,100) (2007 est.) |
| Median age | : | total: 29.9 years male: 29 years female: 31 years (2007 est.) |
| Population growth rate | : | 0.938% (2007 est.) |
| Birth rate | : | 16.53 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Death rate | : | 7.55 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Net migration rate | : | 0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Sex ratio | : | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.047 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.001 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.695 male(s)/female total population: 0.974 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate | : | total: 14.29 deaths/1,000 live births male: 16.11 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth | : | total population: 76.32 years male: 72.6 years female: 80.24 years (2007 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | : | 2.13 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | : | 0.7% (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | : | 130,000 (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | : | 1,500 (2003 est.) |
| Nationality | : | noun: Argentine(s) adjective: Argentine |
| Ethnic groups | : | white (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry), Amerindian, or other non-white groups 3% |
| Religions | : | nominally Roman Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4% |
| Languages | : | Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French |
| Literacy | : | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.2% male: 97.2% female: 97.2% (2001 census) |