Provinces of Argentina

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Argentina and its provinces, including its claim to the Malvinas (Falkland Islands).

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Argentina is subdivided in twenty-three provinces (Spanish: provincias, singular provincia) and one federal district (Capital de la República or Capital de la Nación, informally the Capital Federal). The federal district and the provinces have their own constitutions, but exist under a federal system.

Provinces are then divided into departments (Spanish: departamentos, singular departamento), except for Buenos Aires Province, which is divided into partidos.

1 Regions
2 Provinces
3 Demographics
4 Politics
5 History
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] Regions

Main article: Geography of Argentina

The country is also divided into six or seven regions (seven when The Pampas is divided into the Pampas' plains and Pampas' sierras):

Region	Provinces included
Argentine Northwest	Jujuy, Salta, Tucumán, Catamarca, La Rioja
Gran Chaco	Formosa, Chaco, Santiago del Estero
Mesopotamia	Misiones, Entre Ríos, Corrientes
Cuyo	San Juan, Mendoza, San Luis
The Pampas	Córdoba, Santa Fe, La Pampa, Buenos Aires
Patagonia	Rio Negro, Neuquén, Chubut, Santa Cruz, Tierra del Fuego, Argentine Antarctica*
* Claim suspended by the Antarctic Treaty.

Even though there are provinces that belong to more than one region, they are shown here within the most representative region. In the Tucumán province, the smallest of Argentina, coexist three regions: the Pampas to the south, Gran Chaco to the northeast, and Argentine Northwest.

[edit] Provinces

^a Federal district. Also known as Ciudad de Buenos Aires.
^b or Provincia del Río Negro.
^c Tierra del Fuego, Antarctic claim, South Atlantic islands.

Administrative divisions of Argentina.

[edit] Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Argentina

Province/District	Capital	Population (2001)	Rank	Area (km²)	Rank	Density (/km²)	Rank
Buenos Aires	-	&&&&&&&&&2776138.02,776,138	4	203	24	&&&&&&&&&&&13675.60000013,675.6	1
Buenos Aires Province	La Plata	&&&&&&&&13827203.013,827,203	1	&&&&&&&&&&307571.0307,571	1	44.95	3
Catamarca Province	San Fernando del V.^a	&&&&&&&&&&334568.0334,568	20	&&&&&&&&&&102602.0102,602	11	3.26	19
Chaco Province	Resistencia	&&&&&&&&&&984446.0984,446	9	&&&&&&&&&&&99633.099,633	12	9.9	11
Chubut Province	Rawson	&&&&&&&&&&413237.0413,237	18	&&&&&&&&&&224686.0224,686	3	1.84	23
Córdoba Province	Córdoba	&&&&&&&&&3066801.03,066,801	2	&&&&&&&&&&165321.0165,321	5	18.6	6
Corrientes Province	Corrientes	&&&&&&&&&&930991.0930,991	11	&&&&&&&&&&&88199.088,199	16	10.6	10
Entre Ríos Province	Paraná	&&&&&&&&&1158147.01,158,147	7	&&&&&&&&&&&78781.078,781	17	14.7	7
Formosa Province	Formosa	&&&&&&&&&&486559.0486,559	16	&&&&&&&&&&&72066.072,066	19	6.75	14
Jujuy Province	San Salvador de Jujuy	&&&&&&&&&&611888.0611,888	14	&&&&&&&&&&&53219.053,219	20	11.5	8
La Pampa Province	Santa Rosa	&&&&&&&&&&299294.0299,294	21	&&&&&&&&&&143440.0143,440	8	2.0	22
La Rioja Province	La Rioja	&&&&&&&&&&289983.0289,983	22	&&&&&&&&&&&89680.089,680	14	3.23	20
Mendoza Province	Mendoza	&&&&&&&&&1579651.01,579,651	5	&&&&&&&&&&148827.0148,827	7	10.61	9
Misiones Province	Posadas	&&&&&&&&&&965522.0965,522	10	&&&&&&&&&&&29801.029,801	21	32.4	4
Neuquén Province	Neuquén	&&&&&&&&&&474155.0474,155	17	&&&&&&&&&&&94078.094,078	13	5.0	16
Río Negro Province	Viedma	&&&&&&&&&&552822.0552,822	15	&&&&&&&&&&203013.0203,013	4	2.72	21
Salta Province	Salta	&&&&&&&&&1079051.01,079,051	8	&&&&&&&&&&155488.0155,488	6	6.94	12
San Juan Province	San Juan	&&&&&&&&&&620023.0620,023	13	&&&&&&&&&&&89651.089,651	15	6.92	13
San Luis Province	San Luis	&&&&&&&&&&367933.0367,933	19	&&&&&&&&&&&76748.076,748	18	4.8	17
Santa Cruz Province	Río Gallegos	&&&&&&&&&&196958.0196,958	23	&&&&&&&&&&243943.0243,943	2	0.81	24
Santa Fe Province	Santa Fe	&&&&&&&&&3000701.03,000,701	3	&&&&&&&&&&133007.0133,007	10	22.56	5
Santiago del Estero Province	Santiago del Estero	&&&&&&&&&&804457.0804,457	12	&&&&&&&&&&136351.0136,351	9	5.9	15
Tierra del Fuego Province	Ushuaia	&&&&&&&&&&101079.0101,079	24	&&&&&&&&&&&21263.021,263^b	23	4.75^b	18
Tucumán Province	San Miguel de Tucumán	&&&&&&&&&1338523.01,338,523	6	&&&&&&&&&&&22524.022,524	22	59.42	2

^a San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca.
^b Not including claims on the Malvinas (Falkland Islands) or Argentine Antarctica.

[edit] Politics

The internal products of the provinces are merged into the national product, and then the national budget is decided, including what percentage of it is given to each province. Provinces are free to choose their own utilization of the assigned percentage of the national product.

Each province has also its own government, with a governor, a senate and a deputy chamber. It is not uncommon though, for the national government to intervene in a province under internal instability or after a corruption scandal, designating an intervenor to replace the local government until the situation is normalized.

Many provinces have had, or still have, governments controlled by a single family. This is the case of the Rodríguez Saá in San Luis Province,[1] the Saadi family in Catamarca Province,[2] and many others, often involved in corruption or criminal scandals that are never solved, such as the murder of María Soledad Morales in Catamarca while Ramón Saadi was its governor.[3]

[edit] History

Main article: History of Argentina

The north of Argentina was the first part of the present country to be explored by the Spanish colonisation, searching for the routes that would allow them to bring the gold and silver extracted in the Viceroyalty of Peru to the port of Buenos Aires.

Santiago del Estero, in the year 1553, was the first city founded in the territory with such ends, but lost its importance when Tucumán and Salta replaced it as mid-stops to the Atlantic coast when these two cities secured from the aboriginal attacks, and economically strengthened.

The centre of the country was also soon explored and inhabited, being the most important of the first founded cities the city of Córdoba, that became not only a political but also cultural centre with the creation of the first university, the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba in 1622.

Most capital cities of the centre-northern Argentina were founded before the year 1600, except for Santa Rosa in La Pampa Province, and Resistencia in Chaco Province.

To the south of the Colorado River, the Patagonia reminded under control of the aboriginals. The river itself served as natural frontier.

It was not until the infamous Roca's Conquest of the Desert, started in 1879, when the southern part of Argentina was conquered in what meant the near annihilation of the aboriginal people living in these lands.

The current political division of the provinces of Patagonia was set in 1884 and has not been changed since then, except between 1944 and 1955 when a stripe covering the southern part of Chubut Province and the northern part of Santa Cruz Province was named Comodoro Rivadavia Military Zone.

But the National Territories didn't have provincial status until the 20th century. They where named provinces in 1957, except for Tierra del Fuego Province named in 1990.

Due to the late conquest of the south of the country and the cold weather that reigns in it, most people live in the central or northern provinces, but recent immigration to the south, mainly from Buenos Aires Province and Buenos Aires city, is demising this difference.