Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is a country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city. It is the second largest country in South America by land area, and eighth in the world. Its continental area is 2,766,890 km? , between the Andes mountain range in the west and the southern Atlantic Ocean in the east and south. Argentina borders Paraguay and Bolivia to the north, Brazil and Uruguay to the northeast, and Chile to the west and south. Argentina also claimed 969,464 km? of Antarctica, known as Argentine Antarctica, overlapping other claims made by Chile and the United Kingdom ; all such claims have been suspended by the Antarctic Treaty of 1961.
Argentina has the highest Human Development Index level and the second highest Gross Domestic Product per capita in purchasing power parity in Latin America. Argentina's nominal GDP is the 31st largest in the world; but when purchasing power is taken into account, its total GDP makes it the 23rd largest economy in the world.
The country is currently classified as an Upper-Middle Income Country or as a secondary emerging market by the World Bank.
Etymology
Main article: Origin and history of the name of Argentina
The name Argentina was first used extensively in the 1612 book Historia del descubrimiento, poblaci?n, y conquista del R?o de la Plata by Ruy D?az de Guzm?n, naming the territory Tierra Argentina .
History
R?o de la Plata aboriginals, as pictured by Hendrick Ottsen .
The Buenos Aires Cabildo, scene of the 1810 resolution that led to independence.
Main article: History of Argentina
The earliest evidence of human presence in Argentina found thus far is in Patagonia ">Piedra Museo, Santa Cruz) and dates from 11,000 BC ">Huarpes, Diaguitas and Sanavirones, among others). The Inca Empire under the rule of King Pachacutec launched an offensive in 1480 and conquered present-day northwestern Argentina, integrating it into a region called Collasuyu; in the northeastern area, the Guaran? developed a culture based on yuca and sweet potato
