1143 (Kingdom of Portugal recognized); 5 October 1910 (republic proclaimed)
Religions
nominally Roman Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4%
Roman Catholic 84.5%, other Christian 2.2%, other 0.3%, unknown 9%, none 3.9% (2001 census)
Languages
Spanish (official), Italian, English, German, French
Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official - but locally used)
Exports
soybeans and derivatives, petroleum and gas, vehicles, corn, wheat
agricultural products, food products, oil products, chemical products, plastics and rubber, skins and leather, wood and cork, wood pulp and paper, textile materials, clothing, footwear, minerals and mineral products, base metals, machinery and tools, vehicles and other transport material, and optical and precision
External Debt
$136,800,000,000 $
$548,300,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Argentine pesos (ARS) per US dollar - 3.1636 (2008 est.), 3.1105 (2007), 3.0543 (2006), 2.9037 (2005), 2.9233 (2004)
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6734 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.800%
2.300%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
6
2
Location
Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay
Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain
Area
2,780,400 km sq
92,090 km sq
Coastline
4,989 km
1,793 km
Climate
mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest
maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south
