6th Grade Report - Argentina

6th Grade Report - Argentina

REPORT on ARGENTINA

Location, Early History, Flag, Government and Official Language:

Argentina is the second largest South American country second in size only to Brazil. It is located in-between the countries of Bolivia and Paraguay (on its northern border) and Uruguay and Brazil (on the east). Argentina contains some of the highest mountains in the world outside of Asia. The national flag of Argentina is a horizontal white stripe across the middle with a light blue stripe above and below. Each stripe is one-third as high as the height of the flag. In the center, there is a yellow sun with a smiling face in the middle.

Anthropologists believe that Argentina has been inhabited by people for thousands of years, but the Spanish explorer Juan Diaz de Solis claimed Argentina for Spain in 1516, about 25 years after Christopher Columbus discovered North America.

Argentina declared its national independence in 1810, a few years after Napoleon conquered Spain in 1808. Spanish is the official language and its political system is called a federal presidential republic. The current President is Christina Fernandez de Kirchner and her Vice President is Julio Cobos.

In the 20th century, Argentina was ruled by Juan D. Peron, a dictator who was elected President from 1946 until 1955 when he was removed by a political coup.

Argentina was ruled by military dictatorships and martial law for most of the time until the early 1980s and there was a lot of political violence between the political parties trying to gain control over the government until a more stable government was finally established.

Capital City, Population, Local Currency, Agriculture and Main Industries:

Buenos Aires is the capital city as well as the largest city in the country. The population of Argentina is more than 40 million people and more than 13 million of them live in Buenos Aires. The official monetary currency is the Spanish Peso. Argentina exports a lot of frits, vegetables, soy, vegetable oils, wheat and oats. The cattle industry, industrial chemical production and mining are also important industries. Tourism also plays an important part in the economy of the country.

Education, Foods, Recreation and Famous Citizens: