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This article is about the demographics features of the population) of Argentina, including distribution, ethnicity, economic status and other.
Origins and ethnicity
Main article: ]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 component being from the initial Spanish settlers established during the colonial period, and 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. Immigration included also other European peoples, mainly Germans, Russians, Portuguese, Poles, Irish, French and English.
The mestizo and culturally indigenous Amerindian 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.
According to the Complementary Survey of Indigenous Peoples (ECPI) 2004 - 2005 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.
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. . A 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 settled 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, under-populated; 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
Main article: Economy of ArgentinaArgentines 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
Main article: List of Indigenous languages in ArgentinaThe official language of Argentina is Spanish, and it is spoken by practically the entire population in several different dialects. The most common dialect of Spanish in Argentina is Rioplatense Spanish, and it is so named because it evolved in the central areas around the Río de la Plata basin. Rioplatense Spanish is the standard form of Spanish as used by the Argentine media. Its distinctive feature is voseo; the use of the pronoun vos instead of tú for the second person singular. 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-eastern provinces of Formosa, Corrientes and Misiones there is influence from Paraguayan Spanish, and in the north-western Andean provinces influence from Bolivian Spanish.
Some people in the litoral provinces of the north-east speak Guaraní, an Amerindian language, usually mixing it with Spanish. Guaraní holds official status alongside Spanish in the province of Corrientes. Quechua, another Amerindian language, is also spoken by some indigenous people and is confined primarily to Santiago del Estero. Along the Brazilian border it is quite common to hear a mixture of Portuguese and Spanish.
There is a small but prosperous community of Argentine Welsh-speakersin 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 languages 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.)
- 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.)
- 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.)
- Adult prevalence rate: 0.7% (2001 est.)
- People living with HIV/AIDS: 130,000 (2001 est.)
- Deaths: 1,500 (2003 est.)
- White (mostly Spanish, Italian and German) 97%
- Mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry), Amerindian, or other non-white groups represent the remainder
Religions:
Main article: Religion in Argentina- 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
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
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