Country name:
conventional long form: Argentine Republic
conventional short form: Argentina
local long form: Republica Argentina
local short form: Argentina
etymology: originally the area was referred to as Tierra Argentina, i.e., "Land beside the Silvery River" or "silvery land," which referred to the massive estuary in the east of the country, the Rio de la Plata (River of Silver); over time the name shortened to simply Argentina or "silvery"

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)

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 Atlantico Sur (Tierra del Fuego), Tucuman
note: the US does not recognize any claims to Antarctica

Independence:
9 July 1816 (from Spain)

National holiday:
Revolution Day (May Revolution Day), 25 May (1810)

Constitution:
several previous; latest effective 11 May 1853; amended many times, last in 1994 (2016)

Legal system:
civil law system based on West European legal systems; note - in mid-2015, Argentina adopted a new civil code, replacing the old one in force since 1871

International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship:
citizenship by birth: yes
citizenship by descent: 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
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Mauricio MACRI (since 10 December 2015); Vice President Gabriela MICHETTI (since 10 December 2015); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Mauricio MACRI (since 10 December 2015); Vice President Gabriela MICHETTI (since 10 December 2015)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections/appointments: president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by qualified majority popular vote for a 4-year term (eligible for a second consecutive term); election last held in 2 rounds on 25 October and 22 November 2015 (next to be held in October 2019)
election results: Mauricio MACRI elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Daniel SCIOLI (PJ) 37.1%, Mauricio MACRI (PRO) 34.2%, Sergio MASSA (FR/PJ) 21.4%, other 7.3%; percent of vote in second round - Mauricio MACRI (PRO) 51.4%, Daniel SCIOLI (PJ) 48.6%

Legislative branch:
description: bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate (72 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 6-year terms with one-third of the membership elected every 2 years) and the Chamber of Deputies (257 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms with one-half of the membership renewed every 2 years)
elections: Senate - last held on 22 October 2017 (next to be held in October 2019); Chamber of Deputies - last held on 22 October 2017 (next to be held in October 2019)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA; seats by bloc or party - Cambiemos 12, UC 6, PJ 4, FRC 2; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA; seats by bloc or party - Cambiemos 61, UC 28, PJ 18, FR 7, FCS 3, FRC 2, other 8

Judicial branch:
highest court(s): Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (consists of the court president, vice-president, and 5 judges)
judge selection and term of office: judges nominated by the president and approved by the Senate; judges can serve until mandatory retirement at age 75
subordinate courts: federal level appellate, district, and territorial courts; provincial level supreme, appellate, and first instance courts

Political parties and leaders:
Cambiemos [Mauricio MACRI] (coalition of CC-ARI, PRO, and UCR) Citizen's Unity or UC [Cristina FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER] Civic Coalition ARI or CC-ARI [ Elisa CARRIO] Civic Front for Santiago or FCS [Gerardo ZAMORA] Dissident Peronists (PJ Disidente) or Federal Peronism (a right-wing faction of PJ which is opposed to the Kirchners) [Eduardo DUHALDE] Front for the Renewal of Concord or FRC Front for Victory or FpV (left-wing faction of PJ) [Cristina FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER] Justicialist Party or PJ [Jose Luis GIOJA] Progresistas [Margarita STOLBIZER] Radical Civic Union or UCR [Lilia PUIG DE STUBRIN] Renewal Front (Frente Renovador) or FR [Sergio MASSA] Republican Proposal or PRO [Mauricio MACRI] Socialist Party or PS [Antonio BONFATTI] United for a New Alternative or UNA (includes FR) numerous provincial parties

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Argentine Association of Pharmaceutical Labs or CILFA Argentine Industrial Union (manufacturers' association) Argentine Rural Confederation or CRA (small to medium landowners' association) Argentine Rural Society (large landowners' association) Blue and White CGT (dissident CGT labor confederation) Central of Argentine Workers or CTA (a union for employed and unemployed workers) General Confederation of Labor or CGT (Peronist-leaning umbrella labor organization) Roman Catholic Church
other: business organizations; Peronist-dominated labor movement; Piquetero groups (popular protest organizations that can be either pro- or anti-government); students

International organization participation:
AfDB (nonregional member), Australia Group, BCIE, BIS, CAN (associate), CD, 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, SICA (observer), UN, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina (observer), UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Fernando ORIS DE ROA (since 24 January 2018)
chancery: 1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 238-6400
FAX: [1] (202) 332-3171
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Washington, DC

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Tom COONEY (since 20 January 2017)
embassy: Avenida Colombia 4300, C1425GMN Buenos Aires
mailing address: international mail: use embassy street address; APO address: US Embassy Buenos Aires, Unit 4334, APO AA 34034
telephone: [54] (11) 5777-4533
FAX: [54] (11) 5777-4240

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 (delineated in brown) known as the Sun of May; the colors represent the clear skies and snow of the Andes; the sun symbol commemorates the appearance of the sun through cloudy skies on 25 May 1810 during the first mass demonstration in favor of independence; the sun features are those of Inti, the Inca god of the sun

National symbol(s):
Sun of May (a sun-with-face symbol); national colors: sky blue, white

National anthem:
name: "Himno Nacional Argentino" (Argentine National Anthem)
lyrics/music: Vicente LOPEZ y PLANES/Jose Blas PARERA
note: adopted 1813; Vicente LOPEZ was inspired to write the anthem after watching a play about the 1810 May Revolution against Spain