ARGENTINA

POPULATION

Argentina, located in South America, has an area of 2,780,400 km2. So, it can be considered a big
country.

Argentina has a population of 44,494,502 million people, is in position 31 of the table of

population, composed of 196 countries and maintains a very low population density, 16
inhabitants per square kilometer.

Its capital is Buenos Aires and its currency are Pesos Argentines.

LANGUAGE

Argentina has no official language, the de facto national language is Spanish, spoken by practically
the entire population.

Guaraní is present in the northeast (especially in the interior of the province of Corrientes);
Quechua in the province of Santiago de Estero and in areas of the province of Jujuy; Qom, Wichí
and Mocoví in Chaco, Mapudungun in the provinces of Patagonia; Portuñol (hybrid language
between Portuguese and Spanish) in some areas of the border with Brazil (in Corrientes, Entre
Ríos and, above all, in the province of Misiones).

After Spanish, the most spoken languages are:

English (2.8 million), Italian (1.5 million), Arabic (1 million), German (400,000), Yiddish (200,000),
Guarani (200,000), Catalan (174,000), Quechua (65,000), Wichí (53,700), Roma Vlax (52,000),
Albanian (40,000), Japanese (32,000), Aymara (30,000), Ukrainian (27,000) and Welsh (25,000).
These figures take into account both native and second language speakers; if only native speakers
are taken into account, Italian is the country's second language (since English has barely 100,000
native speakers).

In total, up to 24 languages coexist in Argentina, of which 15 are indigenous and 9 are

allochthonous. Another 5 indigenous languages were present in the country in the past, now
extinct.

In education, English is compulsory from primary school in several provinces.

Indigenous languages in Argentina. Source: Total Atlas of the Argentine Republic.

Spanish is spoken by almost the entire population. It is the only language used in administrative
functions, even though it is not declared official. The Spanish spoken in Argentina has Italianisms
(laburo, manyar...), Quechuisms, guaranisms and araucanisms. Another characteristic feature is
the rethreaded Yeism (pronunciation of the (y) and (ll) in the same way, as if it were the sound sh),
with the exception of the north. The Guarani vocabulary is commonly used as the expression che.

The best-known dialect outside the country is Rioplatense, with strong influences of Italian, and
with use of voseo even in formal registers.
RELIGION

Christianity in its Catholic denomination is today the predominant cult, due to the influence of
years of Spanish colonialism to which is added the massive Italian immigration of previous years.

In Argentina, freedom of religion is guaranteed by "article 14" of the National Constitution,

although the State recognizes a pre-eminent character to the Catholic Church, which has a
different legal status from the rest of churches and confessions: according to article 2 of the
Constitution, the national State must uphold it and according to the Civil Code, it is legally
assimilable to a non-state public law entity. It is, however, a differentiated regime that does not
entail its official status as a religion of the Republic. The Archbishop of Buenos Aires, currently
Cardinal Mario Aurelio Poli, is the Primate of the Catholic Church in Argentina. The former
Archbishop of Buenos Aires was Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who since March 13, 2013 is the current
Pope Francisco and maximum leader of the Roman Catholic religion. In Argentina the Catholics are
organized in several groups that respond to the pontiff in Rome but that have diverse rites and
traditions, the most popular rite is the Latin or Roman, but there are thousands of groups and
religious sects, Christianity captures the majority of the followers.

Yoruba Religion

This African cult hardly has a presence in Argentina is limited to groups of immigrants from other
countries in the region who mix their practices with those of, for example, Christianity.

Umbanda Religion

Practitioners of this very small cult in Argentina have had to endure its association with situations
involving the killing of animals and activities related to (witchcraft).

Christian Religion

Christianity in Argentina has various forms the vast majority of the population follows Catholic
rites, but there are other denominations that emerged in Europe from the Protestant
Reformation, among which can be cited Anglicans, Lutherans, Evangelicals, Pentecostals, etc.

While Catholics respond to a pope in Rome, smaller Christian groups have local or regional leaders
and very diverse practices.

Christian processions almost all Catholic gather crowds on certain festivities or days of the year.

Buddhist Religion

Buddhism settled in Argentina basically with the arrival of Chinese immigrants who settled in the
country at various times when their country was going through various economic and political
difficulties. Influence can be seen in various places in the nation for example in the Chinatown of
Buenos Aires.

Amish Religion

The Amish are another small Protestant Christian group present in Argentina since waves of
immigrants seeking religious freedom settled in various parts of the country. They are not as
influential as they would be in other American countries such as the United States or Canada, but
they contribute to enriching the country's culture with their particular lifestyle based on
renouncing many of the modern comforts.

Muslim Religion

In Argentina, Islam arose as a consequence of the arrival of Arab groups (Palestinians, Branchies,
Lebanese, Syrians among others) who settled in the country in search of better living conditions.

Hindu Religion

It is another of the very small religious groups that can be found in Argentina, basically come from
countries such as India, Pakistan or Bangladesh or the so-called Indian subcontinent. Due to their
small number of followers is easy to locate concentrated in large cities such as the capital Buenos
Aires or the province of Cordoba.
Jewish Religion

Argentina has one of the largest Hebrew congregations in Latin America, at least 300,000 Jews are
scattered throughout the territory of that country. They have contributed with diverse
contributions to strengthen that nation and have a lot of influence in the Latin American
associations that group the Jewish minorities of the Latin American region.

Rastafari Religion

The Rastafarians can be divided in the country in two groups those that have a religious
connection and those that have an affinity for the cultural practices of that community that bases
its cult or culture in traditions that come from distant countries like Jamaica or Ethiopia.

ECONOMY

Argentina, officially called Republic Argentina, is a sovereign country of South America, located in
the extreme south and southeast of this subcontinent. It adopts a republican, democratic,
representative and federal form of government.

Currency: Argentine Peso

Gross Domestic Product: 637.6 billion USD (2017) World Bank

GDP Per Capita: 14,401.97 USD (2017) World Bank

GDP Growth Rate: 2.9% annual change (2017) World Bank

Gross Domestic Product in Dollars PPP: 897.2 billion Dollars PPP (2017) World Bank

Gni Per Capita In Dollars Ppa: 20,270 Dollars

Internet Users as Percentage of Population: 47.7% of Population (2011) World Bank

MAIN ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES:

Argentine agriculture is one of the main economic activities since it not only supplies the country,
but the surplus is destined for export.

Argentina has a continental area of about 2.8 million square kilometers and has approximately 34
million hectares of agricultural crops.

The main crops that occupy this area are soybean, wheat, corn, sunflower, sorghum and rice.

The production of vegetables and legumes occupies only 1.5% of that total, with some 600,000
hectares. The production volume is 10 million tons, and although it is much lower than cereals and
oilseeds that usually exceed 100 million tons (99 million tons in the 2017/2018 campaign), is noted
primarily for its high economic value per unit weight and high production per unit of cultivated
area.

The agricultural activity is developed in three zones: temperate, subtropical and arid, which differ
by their climatic conditions and their suitability for agriculture.
The different soils and climates of the country, offer a diversity of agricultural productions,
adapted to the possibilities of each region.

In 1988, Argentina's livestock production included 75 million head of cattle, including cattle,
sheep, pigs and horses, according to figures from the Census conducted by the National Institute
of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC). The head of cattle was reduced to 69 million according to the
2002 census. Of the total number of heads of cattle, approximately 60% correspond to cattle of
refined breeds, 30% to sheep, and the remaining 10% to the rest.

According to the opinion of some representatives of the bovine livestock sector, in the last sixty
years 120 refrigerators, more than 15,000 jobs and 10 million head of cattle have been lost. The
historical average of head of cattle, with some ups and downs in the last decade, is 54 million
cattle.

According to the Service National de health y Calidad Agri-food (Senasa), as of March 2018,
54,816,050 animals had been counted. The cattle stock shows a recomposition of 2.7% over the
same period in 2017. That is to say that the current bovine stock is the largest in the last decade,
taking as a reference 2008 with just over 48 million animals.

Argentina's fishing activity is an economic activity, with many expectations for the future. This is
due to the importance of fishing resources. Indeed, Argentina is a country with an extensive
maritime coastline. It has 4700 km of coastline, 1,000,000 square kilometers of continental shelf
towards the South Atlantic Ocean, and 1,000 fish species.

The Atlantic coast is characterized by its extension and its biodiversity, making it one of the richest
fishing banks on the planet. They add, among fish, mollusks and mammals, about a thousand
different species that coexist in the waters of the Argentine Sea, Although, of insipient
development, is not minor, the importance of the continental waters, and aquaculture. However,
it is from the Argentine Sea, from where the greatest amount of resources are extracted.

Argentina's industrial activity is a fundamental economic activity for the country's growth. Its
importance lies in the fact that it allows the transformation of raw materials into finished products
for consumption, or to be applied to other industries.

Within the organization of industrial activity in the country, the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA) is
one of the pillars of the sector. The UIA represents 115,000 establishments and 1,382,000 formal
jobs in the country.

Mining and energy in Argentina are closely linked to the growth of the country's economic
activities. The Republic of Argentina is a country rich in mining reserves and energy resources that
have not yet been exploited to the extent of their potential. Although dead cow is the 2nd
unconventional gas resource in the world and the 4th unconventional oil resource, Argentina
should bet on the development of renewable energies. As the Secretariat of Environment and
Sustainable Development, which depends on the Presidency of the Nation, has recognized, large-
scale extractive activities generate a serious impact on the environment.

On the other hand, Argentina has great resources to develop the renewable energy sector. These
energies are characterized by the use of resources capable of unlimited renewal. Their
environmental impact is less since they do not generate pollutants. Their benefits are multiple. In
principle, they promote the diversification of the country's energy matrix. In addition, they
promote industry and the development of the country's regional economies.

Argentina's transport and communications capacity are linked to its economic potential. It is not
enough to have a good production. In addition, economic development implies, to be able to
transport the products inside and outside the territory, in short time and low cost.

In 1990, transport and communications represented 5% of the Gross Domestic Product. Later, in
2017, they reached 9.8% of the GDP.

According to a report from the Rosario Stock Exchange (2018), it is estimated that the freight
transport market in Argentina could reach 450 million tons per year. This figure arises from the
sum of truck, rail, air and river loads by the Paraná-Paraguay Waterway.

If we analyze the participation of each sector, it is observed that 91% of the total, is transferred by
truck. The railway would be responsible for 4.2% of transport, while 4.8% is moved by the
Hydrovía Paraná. On the other hand, less than 0.1% corresponds to transport by air.

The Argentine tourism industry has developed favored by the magnitude of the wealth of tourist
attractions that the country has. The tourist offer in Argentina is multiple and varied, due to the
richness of its landscapes and the important tourist infrastructure. From Quiaca to Ushuaia, and
from the Andes to the Atlantic Coast, Argentina has a wide range of tourist destinations, with a
variety of climates and different sceneries, and the most spectacular landscapes. These conditions
have driven the development of a powerful Argentine tourism industry.

Argentina's foreign trade is the exchange of goods, products and services with other countries or
economic regions. Since the implementation of Mercosur in 1995, Argentina's foreign trade has
been mainly with Brazil. The latter being Argentina's main trading partner, both in exports and
imports, ahead of the US, China and the EU.

Since 2015, new policies have been established to stimulate international trade. To this end,
withholding taxes on agricultural exports have been eliminated or reduced. For this very reason,
Argentina seeks to deepen trade relations with the EU, since the signing of the Free Trade
Agreement, in addition to stimulating ties with the U.S., China.

In recent years, Argentina has been working on an ambitious program of structural reforms and, at
the same time, has begun to correct some of the macroeconomic imbalances. The new
administration has moved quickly to implement key reforms such as exchange rate unification,
agreement with international creditors, modernization of the import regime, and reform of the
national statistical system.

In addition, Argentina has taken up a very active agenda in international politics and was at the
forefront of the presidency of the G-20 during 2018, at the same time as it expressed its intention
to join the OECD and inaugurated its observer role in the Pacific Alliance.

The financial turbulence of 2018, which impacted a 50.6% depreciation of the Argentine peso,
implied the revision of the economic plan and an agreement with the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) for some US$57 billion until 2021, which includes a strong reduction in spending. In 2018,
the government met its fiscal targets, and aims to achieve primary fiscal balance in 2019 and a
primary fiscal surplus of 1% in 2020.

The economic context remains volatile. After a fall of 2.5% of GDP in 2018, a contraction of 1.3% is
expected by 2019. In a context of annual inflation above 50% (the highest level since 1991), the
Argentine peso regained volatility and depreciated more than 13% during 2019.

Argentina has an active portfolio of 26 investment projects with committed credits totaling US$6.8
billion, two guarantees for US$730 million and two grants for US$10 million. The portfolio focuses
on support for economic reforms, health, the environment, education, infrastructure, the labor
market, and social protection.

The World Bank Board approved two new projects for US$950 million, including the first
Programmatic Financing for Development Policy (DPF) in support of structural reforms that
promote sustainable growth; and an additional US$450 million for the Child and Youth Protection
Project, with the goal of reaching 250,000 children not yet included in family allowance programs,
has also approved two projects and a guarantee for a total of US$700 million during 2018. The
Integrated Risk Management in the Rural Agro-Industrial System project (US$150 million) is
expected to benefit 20,000 vulnerable rural producers by increasing their resilience to climatic
phenomena, such as climate change, drought and drought.

In turn, the Universal Health Coverage Support Project (US$300 million) seeks to promote
equitable access to quality health services for 15 million people.

In order to ensure that 20 percent of Argentina's energy comes from clean sources by 2025,
support was provided to the Renewable Energy Development Fund (FODER) with two guarantees
totaling US$730 million. The development of renewable energies in Argentina is key to
diversifying the energy matrix and thus contributing to the mitigation of climate change.

At the urban level, two projects aim to improve basic services in vulnerable neighborhoods and
improve access to formal housing throughout the country. The US$200 million Habitat and
Housing Comprehensive Project is supporting the government's first national housing subsidy
program (Own House Solution Line). Simultaneously, it will seek to improve living conditions in
informal settlements through improved infrastructure, public services and social programs. On the
other hand, the US$200 million project Urban Transformation in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan
Area seeks better housing conditions and access to basic services and infrastructure in
disadvantaged neighborhoods of the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (such as Barrio 31, in the
City of Buenos Aires).

More than 600,000 public transport users in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area benefit from the
"Urban Transport in Metropolitan Areas Project (PTUMA)", which is financing a new collective
corridor (Metrobus) in the province of Buenos Aires and a transshipment center in the south of
the City of Buenos Aires.

In the north of the country, close to 900,000 inhabitants are improving road connectivity thanks to
the Northwest Development Corridor Project (US$300 million) and access to safe water and
sanitation thanks to the Belgrano Plan (US$125 million).
Other outstanding projects are: the Sustainable Development of the brook slaughter Basin project,
which provides US$718 million for sanitation of the polluted river by improving drainage services
and expanding water treatment capacity; strengthening flood risk management in the City of
Buenos Aires, which will improve drainage systems to benefit three million people (US$ 200
million); and the Protection of the Vulnerable Population against Chronic Non-Communicable
Diseases project (US$350 million), which seeks to improve access to control and prevention
services for 3.2 million adults between 40 and 64 years of age.

The World Bank is also conducting a series of analytical studies to achieve sustained poverty
reduction in Argentina. The most recent reports focus on issues such as agriculture, the
environment, pensions, subsidies and cities, among others.

CULTURE OF DOING BUSINESS

Argentina has an area of 3,761,274 km2, becoming the seventh country in the world with the
largest area, in the Americas ranks fourth after countries like the U.S. and Canada and in South
America is second after Brazil. It is bordered to the north by Bolivia and Paraguay, to the south by
Chile and the Atlantic Ocean, to the east by Brazil, Uruguay and the Atlantic Ocean.

This characteristic and the geographical position it occupies in the continent make the southern
country one of the most important in the region.

According to data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the population of Argentina is 42.9
million. The country's territory has a great variety of landscapes, including plateaus, ice fields, arid
zones, rivers, mountains and reliefs.

The main cities where most of the business, commercial and tourism are developed are Buenos
Aires, which is the capital, Cordoba, La Plata, Mar del Plata, Mendoza, Rosario and San Carlos de
Bariloche.

The hard-economic cycles that Argentina has suffered over time have caused its inhabitants to
have a much more serious and immediate business culture, so that the business vision is always
going to be short or medium term.

In general, local entrepreneurs prefer to invest their own funds as credit lines are very limited or
with too high an interest margin. On the other hand, their outlook for finding new and better
investment and business opportunities keeps the willingness to receive proposals from foreign
countries open.

BUSINESS GUIDELINES

Personal relationships are of great value to Argentines, so it is common for them to be interested
in knowing a little more about you, for them knowing more about the person gives them an idea
of how you can behave on the business and professional level. That said, you may need more than
one meeting before successfully closing a business.

Keep in mind that courtesy and kindness take on great importance in business relationships, try to
raise a topic of conversation other than business to initiate meetings.
The best way to make a formal presentation is to shake hands, call your host by the name of a
"Don" or "Doña", then start your presentation with an "enchanted" followed by your own name
and that of the company. The surname is not usually used and can be easily tutear. It is common in
Argentine culture to kiss on the cheek between men and two kisses with women, so don't be
surprised or misinterpreted if you are greeted in this way. After the presentations are done you
can exchange the cards, these will serve as a reminder of charges and names of the people who
attend the meetings.

In the commercial relations that are developed with Argentina:

- Be patient, doing business in Argentina requires time since decisions are not made at the first
meeting.

- All agreements must be formalized in writing.

- In order to understand the bureaucratic and governmental procedures, it is ideal to have a local
intermediary.

- Always maintain good personal relations with your partners, these are determinants in the
success of your business.

- Be clear about all issues related to foreign trade regulations, customs, documentation, etc.

https://datosmacro.expansion.com/paises/argentina
https://queidioma.com/hablan-en-argentina/
https://hablemosdeargentina.com/c-generalidades-del-pais/religion-en-argentina/
https://surdelsur.com/es/argentina-actividades-economicas/
https://www.legiscomex.com/Documentos/video-cultura-negocios-argentina-rci307