Because of longitudinal and elevation amplitudes, Argentina is subject to a variety of climates. As a rule, the climate is predominantly temperate with extremes ranging from subtropical in the north to subpolar in the far south. The north of the country is characterized by very hot, humid summers with mild drier winters, and is subject to periodic droughts. Central Argentina has hot summers with thunderstorms (in western Argentina producing some of the world's largest hail), and cool winters. The southern regions have warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall, specially in moutainous zones. Higher elevations at all latitudes experience cooler conditions.

The hottest and coldest temperature extremes recorded in South America have occurred in Argentina. A record high temperature of 48.8 °C (120 °F), was recorded at Rivadavia, Salta on December 11 1905. The lowest temperature recorded was −32.7 °C (−27 °F) at Sarmiento, Chubut, June 1st, 1907.

Major winds in Argentina include the cool Pampero blowing on the flat plains of Patagonia and the Pampas after a cold front; the Viento Norte, a warm wind that can blow from the north in mid and late winter creating mild conditions; and the Zonda, a hot and dry wind (''see'' Föhn wind), affecting west-central Argentina. Squeezed of all moisture during the 6,000 meter descent from the Andes, Zonda winds can blow for hours with gusts up to 120 km/h, fueling wildfires and causing damage. When the Zonda blows (June-November), snowstorms and blizzard (viento blanco) conditions usually affect the higher elevations.

The Sudestada (literally "southeaster") could be considered similar to the Noreaster, though snowfall is rarely involved (but is not unprecedented). Both are associated with a deep winter low pressure system. The sudestada usually moderates cold temperatures but brings very heavy rains, rough seas, and coastal flooding. It is most common in late autumn and winter along the coasts of central Argentina and in the Río de la Plata estuary.

The southern regions, particularly the far south, experience long periods of daylight from November to February (up to 19 hours), and extended nights from May to August. All of Argentina uses UTC-3 time zone. The country does not observe daylight savings.

Subtropical plants dominate the north, part of the Gran Chaco region of South America. The genus Dalbergia of trees is well disseminated with representatives like the brazilian jacaranda and the quebracho tree; also predominant are white and black algarrobo trees (prosopis alba and prosopis nigra). Savannah-like areas exist in the drier regions nearer the Andes. Acquatic plants thrive in the wetlands dotting the region.

In central Argentina the humid pampas are a true tallgrass prairie ecosystem. The original pampa had virtually no trees; today along roads or in towns and country estates (estancias), some imported species like the American sycamore or eucalyptus are present. The only tree-like plant native to the pampa is the ombú, an evergreen. The surface soils of the pampa are a deep black color, primarily humus, known commonly as compost. It is this which makes the region one of the most agriculturaly productive on Earth. However, this is also responsible for decimating much of the original ecosystem, to make way for commercial agriculture. The western pampas receive less rainfall, this dry pampa is a plain of short grasses or steppe.

Most of Patagonia in the south lies within a rain shade of the Andes. The plantlife, shrubby bushes and plants, is well suited to widthstand dry conditions. The soil is hard and rocky making large-scale farming impossible except along river valleys. Coniferous forests grow in far western Patagonia and on the island of Tierra del Fuego. Conifers native to the region include alerce (Fitzroya cupressoides), ciprés de la cordillera (Austrocedrus chilensis), ciprés de las guaitecas (Pilgerodendron uviferum), huililahuán (Podocarpus nubigenus), lleuque (Prumnopitys andina), mañío hembra (Saxegothaea conspicua), and pehuén (Araucaria araucana), while native broadleaf trees include several species of Nothofagus including coigüe or coihue, lenga (Nothofagus pumilio), ñire (Nothofagus antarctica). Other introduced trees present in forestry plantations include spruce, cypress, and pine. Common plants are the copihue and colihue (Chusquea coleou).

In Cuyo, semiarid thorny bushes and other xerophile plants abound. Along the many river oasis, grasses and trees grow in significant numbers. The area presents optimal conditions for the large scale growth of grape vines. In the northwest of Argentina there are many species of cactii. In the highest elevations (often above 4,000mts), no vegetation grows due to the extreme altitude, and the soils are virtually devoid of any plant life.

The ceibo flower (belonging to the tree Erythrina crista-galli), is the national flower of Argentina.

Argentina benefits from rich natural resources, a highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a diversified industrial base. The country historically had a large middle class compared to other Latin American countries, but this segment of the population was decimated by a succession of economic crises. Today, while a significant segment of the population is still financially well-off, they stand in sharp contrast with millions who have seen their purchasing power drastically reduced. Since 2002, there has been an improvement in the situation of the poorer sectors and a strong rebound of the middle class.

Since the late 1970s, the country piled up public debt and was plagued by bouts of high inflation. In 1991, the government pegged the peso to the U.S. dollar and limited the growth in the monetary base. The government then embarked on a path of trade liberalization, deregulation, and privatization. Inflation dropped and the gross domestic product grew, but external economic shocks and failures of the system diluted its benefits, causing it to crumble in slow motion, from 1995 and up to the collapse in 2001.

By 2002, Argentina had defaulted on its debt, its GDP had shrunk, unemployment was more than 25%, and the peso had depreciated 75% after being devalued and floated. However, careful spending control and heavy taxes on now-soaring exports gave the state the tools to regain resources and conduct monetary policy.


In 2003, import substitution policies and soaring exports coupled with lower inflation and expansive economic measures, triggered a surge in the GDP. It was repeated in 2004 and 2005, creating millions of jobs and encouraging internal consumption. Capital flight decreased, and foreign investment slowly returned. The influx of foreign currency from exports created a huge trade surplus. The Central Bank was forced to buy dollars from the market, and continues to do a various times today to be accumulated as reserves. It does this to prevent the argentine peso from appreciating significantly and cutting competitiveness.

The situation by 2006 was further improved, the year is on track to match the large GDP growth of the last three (predictions are between 8.5% and 9.0%), though inflation, estimated at around 10 to 12%, has become an issue again, and income distribution is still considerably unequal. In a variety of reports, internationals organizations criticize Argentina for remaining a somewhat closed economy.

Even as the effects of the crisis have abated but not disappeared, Argentina remains one of the most developed countries in Latin America. It boasts the highest GDP per capita based on purchasing power parity, and the 3rd highest in US$ (nominal) GDP. The country enjoys the highest levels of education measured by university attendance, and a reasonable infrastructure that in many aspects equals that found in fully industrialized nations.

In 2002, 57,5% of the population was below the poverty line, but the last report of August 2006 showed a 31,4% poverty level. Similarly, unemployment was more than 25 percent, by July 2006 it was 10.2 percent. GDP per capita has surpassed the previous pre-recession peak of 1998 in PPP, but still lags in nominal GDP, mostly due to an undervalued currency. The economy grew 8.9 percent in 2003, 9.0 percent in 2004, and 9.2 percent in 2005. As of 2006 foreign debt stands at 68 percent of GDP and is slowly decreasing.

More than any other Latin American country, Argentina's population is of European origin. Most of the population is made up of descendants of Spanish, Italian, and other European settlers.

The largest ethnic minority is the Mestizo (European/Amerindian) population, specially in the northern provinces. Estimates range from 3 to 15%. In recent decades, especially during the 1990s, there has been an influx of immigrants from neighboring countries. Principally from Paraguay, Bolivia, and Peru, but some Mexican and Central American immigration took place.


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. The Chinese population alone has risen dramatically, now at over 60,000. Argentina is home to a significant refugee population from Laos.

Argentina has a large Arabic 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, other than Muslims who represent a small portion of Arab Argentines.

The officially recognized indigenous population in the country, according to the 2005 Complementary Survey of Indigenous Peoples, stands at approximately 318,700 people (0.8 percent of the total population), who are either members or first-generation descendants of a recognized indigenous community. These parameters may imply an under-count, as most indigenous Argentines are no longer tribally affiliated; in some circumstances they have not been for several generations.

Argentina's population is very highly urbanized. About 2.7 million people live in the autonomous city of Buenos Aires, and 11.5 million in Greater Buenos Aires (2001), 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.

Most European immigrants to Argentina settled in the cities, which offered jobs, education, and other opportunities that enabled newcomers to enter the middle class. Many also settled in the growing small towns along the expanding railway system. Since the 1930s, many rural workers have moved to the big cities.

The 1990s saw many rural towns become ghost towns when train services ceased and local products manufactured on a small scale were replaced by massive amounts of cheap imported goods. Many slums (villas miseria) sprouted in the outskirts of the largest cities, inhabited by empoverished lower-class urban dwellers, migrants from smaller towns in the interior, and also a large number of immigrants from neighbouring countries that came during the time of the convertibility and did not leave after the 2001 crisis.


Argentina's urban areas have a European look, reflecting the influence of European settlers. Many cities are built in a Spanish-grid style around a main square called a plaza. A cathedral and important government buildings often face the plaza. The general layout of the cities is called a damero, or checkerboard, since it is based on a pattern of square blocks, though modern developments sometimes depart from it (the city of La Plata, built at the end of the 19th century, is organized as a checkerboard plus diagonal avenues at fixed intervals).

Argentine culture has been primarily informed and influenced by its European roots. Buenos Aires, considered by many its cultural capital, is often said to be the most European city in South America, due both to the prevalence of people of European descent and to conscious imitation. The other big influence on the development of a national identity is the culture of the gauchos and their traditional country lifestyle of self-reliance. Finally, indigenous American traditions (like mate tea drinking) have been absorbed into the greater cultural realm.

Argentina has a rich history of world-renowned literature, including one of 20th century's most critically acclaimed writers, Jorge Luis Borges. The country has been a leader in Latin American literature since becoming a fully united entity in the 1850s, with a strong constitution and a defined nation-building plan. The struggle between the Unitarians (who favored a loose confederation of provinces based on rural conservatism) and the Federalists (pro-liberalism and advocates of a strong federal government that would encourage European immigration), set the tone for Argentine literature of the time.

The ideological divide between gaucho epic Martín Fierro by José Hernández, and Facundo by Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, is a great example. Hernández favored the pastoral lifestyle of early Argentina and vehemently opposed European immigration. Sarmiento wrote immigration was the only way to save Argentina from becoming subject to the rule of a small number of dictatorial caudillo families, arguing such immigrants would make Argentina more modern and enlightened to Western European thought, and therefore a more prosperous society.

Argentine literature of that period was fiercely nationalist. It was followed by the modernist movement, which emerged in France in the late 19th century, and this period in turn was followed by vanguardism, with Ricardo Güiraldes as an important reference. Jorge Luis Borges is Argentina's most acclaimed writer. Borges found new ways of looking at the modern world in metaphor and philosophical debate, and his influence has extended to writers all over the globe. Borges is most famous for his works in short stories such as Ficciones and The Aleph.

Argentina has produced many more internationally noted writers, poets, and intellectuals: Juan Bautista Alberdi, Roberto Arlt, Enrique Banchs, Adolfo Bioy Cásares, Eugenio Cambaceres, Julio Cortázar, Esteban Echeverria, Leopoldo Lugones, Eduardo Mallea, Ezequiel Martínez Estrada, Tomás Eloy Martínez, Victoria Ocampo, Manuel Puig, Ernesto Sabato, Osvaldo Soriano, Alfonsina Storni, and María Elena Walsh. The one and only Quino (born Joaquin Salvador Lavado), has entertained readers the world over, while dipping into the events of modern times, with soup-hating Mafalda and her comic strip gang.