- Country name
- conventional long form: Argentine Republic
conventional short form: Argentina
local long form: República Argentina
local short form: Argentina
etymology: the name is derived from one of the Spanish words for "silver," but the origin is unclear; it may have described the land next to the Rio de la Plata ("Silver River"), a major river that forms the boundary between Argentina and Uruguay; another possible source is the Spanish explorers in the 16th century mistakenly believing that the silver ornaments they bought from inhabitants came from a local source of silver - Government type
- presidential republic
- Capital
- name: Buenos Aires
geographic coordinates: 34 36 S, 58 22 W
time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
etymology: the name translates as "fair winds" in Spanish; the full original name, Nuestra Senora Santa Maria de los Buenos Aires, was given only to the port; the city was founded separately from the port in 1536 and was named Ciudad de la Santissima Trinidad (City of the Most Holy Trinity); the shortened version of the port name eventually became the city name - Administrative divisions
- 23 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 autonomous city*; Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Chaco, Chubut, Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires*, Cordoba, Corrientes, Entre Rios, Formosa, Jujuy, La Pampa, La Rioja, Mendoza, Misiones, Neuquen, Rio Negro, Salta, San Juan, San Luis, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Santiago del Estero, Tierra del Fuego - Antartida e Islas del Atlántico Sur (Tierra del Fuego - Antarctica and the South Atlantic Islands), Tucuman
- Legal system
- civil law system based on Western European legal systems
- Constitution
- history: several previous; latest effective 11 May 1853
amendment process: a declaration of proposed amendments requires two-thirds majority vote by both houses of the National Congress followed by approval by an ad hoc, multi-member constitutional convention - International law organization participation
- has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
- Citizenship
- citizenship by birth: yes
citizenship by descent only: yes
dual citizenship recognized: yes
residency requirement for naturalization: 2 years - Suffrage
- 18-70 years of age; universal and compulsory; 16-17 years of age: optional for national elections
- Executive branch
- chief of state: President Javier Gerardo MILEI (since 10 December 2023)
head of government: President Javier Gerardo MILEI (since 10 December 2023)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
election/appointment process: president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by qualified majority vote (to win, a candidate must receive at least 45% of votes, or 40% of votes and a 10-point lead over the second-place candidate; if neither occurs, a second round is held); the president serves a 4-year term (eligible for a second consecutive term)
most recent election date: 22 October 2023, with a runoff held 19 November 2023
election results: 2023: Javier Gerardo MILEI elected president in second round; percent vote in first round - Sergio Tomás MASSA (FR) 36.7%, Javier Gerardo MILEI (PL) 30%, Patricia BULLRICH 23.8% (JxC/PRO), Juan SCHIARETTI (PJ) 6.8%, Myriam BREGMAN (PTS) 2.7%; percent of vote in second round - Javier Gerardo MILEI 55.7%, Sergio Tomás MASSA 44.3%2019: Alberto Ángel FERNÁNDEZ elected president; percent of vote - Alberto Angel FERNÁNDEZ (TODOS) 48.1%, Mauricio MACRI (PRO) 40.4%, Roberto LAVAGNA (independent) 6.2%, other 5.3%
expected date of next election: October 2027 - Legislative branch
- legislature name: National Congress (Congreso de la nación)
legislative structure: bicameral - Legislative branch - lower chamber
- chamber name: Chamber of Deputies (Cámara de Diputados)
number of seats: 257 (all directly elected)
electoral system: proportional representation
scope of elections: partial renewal
term in office: 4 years
most recent election date: 10/22/2023
parties elected and seats per party: Union for the Homeland (UP) (48); Freedom Advances (LLA) (28); Together for Change (JxC/Juntos) (27); Other (25)
percentage of women in chamber: 42.4%
expected date of next election: October 2025 - Legislative branch - upper chamber
- chamber name: Senate (Senado)
number of seats: 72 (all directly elected)
electoral system: proportional representation
scope of elections: partial renewal
term in office: 6 years
most recent election date: 10/22/2023
parties elected and seats per party: Union for the Homeland (UP) (9); Freedom Advances (LLA) (6); Together for Change (JxC/Juntos) (2); Front for the Renewal of Social Concord – Federal Innovation (2); Federal Renewal (2); For Santa Cruz (2); Other (1)
percentage of women in chamber: 45.8%
expected date of next election: October 2025 - Judicial branch
- highest court(s): Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (consists of the court president, vice president, 2 judges, 1 vacancy)
judge selection and term of office: judges nominated by the president and approved by the Senate; ministers can serve until mandatory retirement at age 75; extensions beyond 75 require renomination by the president and approval by the Senate
subordinate courts: federal-level appellate, district, and territorial courts; provincial-level supreme, appellate, and first-instance courts - Political parties
- Avanza Libertad or ALCivic Coalition ARI or CC-ARIConsenso Federal (Federal Consensus) or CFFrente Cívico por Santiago (Civic Front for Santiago)Frente de Izquierda y de los Trabajadores – Unidad (Workers' Left Front) or FIT-U (coalition of leftist parties in lower house; includes PTS, PO, and MST) Frente de la Concordia Misionero (Front for the Renewal of Social Concord) or FRCSFrente Renovador (Renewal Front) or FRGeneración por un Encuentro Nacional (Generation for a National Encounter) or GENHacemos por Córdoba (We do for Cordoba) or HCHacemos por Nuestro Pais (We Do For Our Country) or NHPJuntos por el Cambio (Together for Change) or JxC (includes CC-ARI, PRO, and UCR); note - primary opposition coalition since 2019Juntos Somos Río Negro (Together We Are Rio Negro) or JSRN Partido Justicialista (Justicialist Party) or PJLa CámporaLa Libertad Avanza (The Liberty Advances) or LLAMovimiento Popular Neuquino (Neuquén People's Movement) or MPNMovimiento Socialista de los Trabajadores (Workers' Socialist Movement) or MST Partido de los Trabajadores Socialistas (Socialist Workers' Party) or PTSPartido Demócrata (Democratic Party) or PDNPartido Libertario (Libertarian Party) or PL; note - party is also a founding member of the coalition La Libertad AvanzaPartido Obrero (Workers' Party) or POPartido Socialista or PSPropuesta Republicana (Republican Proposal) or PROUnidad Federal (coalition of provencial parties in the lower house; includes FRCS and JSRN)Unión Cívica Radical (Radical Civic Union) or UCRUnión por la Patria (Union for the Homeland) or UP (formerly Frente de Todos (Everyone's Front) or FdT) (includes FR, La Cámpora, and PJ); note - ruling coalition since 2019; includes several national and provincial Peronist political partiesVamos con Vos (Let's Go with You) or VcV
- Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission: Ambassador Alejandro (Alec) Carlos Francisco OXENFORD (since 11 June 2025)
chancery: 1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 238-6400
FAX: [1] (202) 332-3171
email address and website: eeeuu@mrecic.gov.arhttps://eeeuu.cancilleria.gob.ar/en
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York - Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission: Ambassador Peter LAMELAS (since 4 November 2025)
embassy: Avenida Colombia 4300, (C1425GMN) Buenos Aires
mailing address: 3130 Buenos Aires Place, Washington DC 20521-3130
telephone: [54] (11) 5777-4533
FAX: [54] (11) 5777-4240
email address and website: Buenosairespublicaffairs@state.govhttps://ar.usembassy.gov/ - International organization participation
- AfDB (nonregional member), Australia Group, BCIE, BIS, CAN (associate), CD, CABEI, CELAC, FAO, FATF, G-15, G-20, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, Paris Club (associate), PCA, PROSUR, SICA (observer), UN, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNHRC, UNIDO, Union Latina (observer), UNOOSA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
- Independence
- 9 July 1816 (from Spain)
- National holiday
- Revolution Day (May Revolution Day), 25 May (1810)
- Flag
- description: three equal horizontal bands of sky blue (top), white, and sky blue; centered in the white band is a radiant yellow sun with a human face that is known as the Sun of Maymeaning: the colors represent the clear skies and snow of the Andes Mountains; the sun commemorates the first mass demonstration in favor of independence on 25 May 1810, when the sun broke through the clouds; the sun is designed to look like Inti, the Incan god of the sun
- National symbol(s)
- Sun of May (a sun-with-face symbol)
- National color(s)
- sky blue, white
- National anthem(s)
- title: "Himno Nacional Argentino" (Argentine National Anthem)
lyrics/music: Vicente LOPEZ y PLANES/Jose Blas PARERA
history: adopted 1813; Vicente LOPEZ was inspired to write the anthem after watching a play about the 1810 May Revolution against Spain; a 1900 presidential decree declared that only the first and last verses would be considered official, rather than the original nine verses - National heritage
- total World Heritage Sites: 12 (7 cultural, 5 natural)
selected World Heritage Site locales: Los Glaciares National Park (n); Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis (c); Iguazú National Park (n); Cueva de las Manos (c); Valdés Península (n); Ischigualasto/Talampaya National Parks (n); Jesuit Block and Estancias of Córdoba (c); Quebrada de Humahuaca (c); Qhapaq Ñan/Andean Road System (c)