Demographics of Argentina

Population projection and estimation between 1950 and 2015. Source: INDEC.

Pyramid of the population of Argentina. Year 2010. Source: INDEC.

The population of the Argentine Republic, according to the preliminary or provisional result of the census carried out on Wednesday, May 18, 2022, amounts to 46,044,703 inhabitants.

Argentina is a country with a low population density, highly concentrated in the Greater Buenos Aires agglomeration (38.9%), mostly urban, 92% as of 2011 and with a large proportion of people over 60 years of age (14,3%). It has high rates of life expectancy (77 years) and literacy (98.1%). Argentina is the fourth most populous country in Latin America, after Colombia, Mexico and Brazil. The Argentine Republic has been registering a declining birth rate in recent years throughout its territory, reaching an average of 2.2 children per woman at the end of 2020, the lowest figure in history.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the country registered high population growth rates due to immigration processes, added to a high natural growth, which since the 1960s, was stabilized and in continuous decline (with the exception of the 1960s). 1970-1980). Total growth is approximately the result of the difference between the crude birth rate and the crude death rate. In the census period 1980-1991, the average annual growth rate was 14.7 per thousand (1.47%), in the decade 1991-2001 it was 10.1 per thousand (1.01%) and between 2001- 2010 of 11.4 per thousand (1.14%). By 2011, 92% of the Argentine population lived in cities, making it one of the most urbanized countries in the world. In contrast, 40% of rural towns are at risk of extinction.

Argentina registers diversified socio-labour indices that are coupled to position and territorial distribution. The infant mortality rate is 8.4‰ (2020).

The composition of the current Argentine population is greatly influenced by the great wave of immigration, which provided contributions especially from Europe. To this is added the contribution of the natives, Asians (from the Near, Middle and Far East) and the population of Africa (taken as slaves to the territory that today makes up Argentina).

In addition, there are people who only have one of these ancestries, especially those who are directly descended from Far Eastern Asians and Europeans. Argentina is considered an "immigration country" due to the massive migratory flows it received over time, mainly from the European continent, mainly highlighting Italians, Spanish, Germans and Slavs (mainly Poles, Ukrainians, Russians and Croats).. Currently, it receives immigrants from Asia (China and South Korea) and from a large number of nearby South American countries, especially Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela, Chile and Colombia.

Since the mid-1960s, considerable emigration flows began to be registered, due to the process of "brain drain" with a great loss of human capital, to the political persecutions that existed until 1983 and to the repeated economic crises, the main destinations being Spain, Italy, the United States and Mexico. positive of the country.

Population

Total population

On May 18, 2022, the national government carried out the 2022 Census. On January 31, 2023, INDEC published some preliminary results, including the total population of the country, which turned out to be 46,044,703 inhabitants.

Projections

The following projections, made by the site Our World in Data, were rejected by the 2022 Census, because the amount that this organization estimated for 2030 is practically the same as the amount that it counted the census.

Source: Our World in Data: Population, including UN projections, 1950 to 2100

Total number of inhabitants

According to definitive data, the population of the Argentine Republic according to the census of October 27, 2010 carried out by INDEC amounts to 40,117,096 inhabitants, with an average density of 14.4 inhabitants/km² (without considering the surface of Argentine Antarctica and South Atlantic Islands).

As the 2001 census had yielded a total of 36,260,130 inhabitants, the population increase was 3,856,966 inhabitants with a 2001-2010 intercensal variation rate of 10.6%, lower than that registered between the censuses of 1991 and 2001 of 11.2%.

Due to the evolution of mortality rates and the international migratory flow, the masculinity index shows a constant decrease since the middle of the century XX: from 105 men for every 100 women to 95.9 for every 100 by 2010. Of the total population according to the 2010 census, 51.3% were women and 47.6% men.

Territorial distribution

Provinces

Population distribution.

The population is unevenly distributed, mainly concentrated in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA) where 15 million people live, equivalent to 35% of the total population. Being the AMBA one of the twenty most populous megacities in the world, and the third urban agglomeration in Latin America, considerably behind Mexico City and São Paulo.

The Province of Buenos Aires is by far the most populous in the country with 17,569,053 inhabitants (38.16% of the national total, according to the provisional results of the 2022 National Population, Household and Housing Census, of which approximately 12 million live in Greater Buenos Aires and 6 million in the rest of the province.With much less population, they are followed in magnitude by the neighboring provinces of Córdoba and Santa Fe plus the City of Buenos Aires with populations of around 3, 5 million In total, 60% of the population is concentrated in a region made up of the three provinces (Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Santa Fe) and the City of Buenos Aires, and in an area that does not reach 22% of the total from the country.

Then, it finds Mendoza with more than 2,014,000 inhabitants, Tucumán with 1,700,000 inhabitants and far from the indicated figures, around one million inhabitants are Entre Ríos, Salta, Chaco, Misiones and Corrientes. The province of Tucumán stands out in this group, with a population density of 60 inhab/km², higher than that of more populated provinces such as Córdoba and Santa Fe and even the average of the province of Buenos Aires but explained due to its small area. territorial.

Finally, there are the rest of the provinces, with Jujuy leading the way in population density, and this decreases as we move away from the Federal Capital, especially towards the South, where it can be affirmed that the population process continues today day.

Regarding the territorial distribution of the population, the 2010 Census highlights Patagonia as the region with the highest demographic growth, especially the Province of Santa Cruz with more than 39% increase, which is indicating a slow displacement of the population of the country to the south. The Autonomous City of Buenos Aires was the one with the slowest growth with just 4%, followed by La Pampa, with just over 5%. The Province of Misiones moved to ninth place by surpassing the Province of Chaco in population, while the Province of Neuquén surpassed that of Formosa.

Cities

This section is an excerpt from Annex:Cities of Argentina by population.[chuckles]edit]

This is a list of the localities of Argentina with more than 150 000 inhabitants within their area of jurisdiction, ordered by population according to the data of the 2010 Argentine census.

It should be noted that for the preparation of the list, those localities that have the status of the city are taken into account, not as parts of larger urban agglomerations, or of departments or parties that can be integrated. For example: the city of La Plata on this list appears in the 25th place, being that the Gran La Plata on the list of agglomerates of Argentina appears in the 6th place.

#	City	Province	Population (INDEC, 2010)	References
001	Buenos Aires	City of Buenos Aires	2 890 151
002	Córdoba	Córdoba	1 317 298
003	Rosario	Santa Fe	948 312
004	Mar del Plata	Buenos Aires	593 337
005	San Miguel de Tucumán	Tucumán	548 866
006	Balance	Balance	520 683
007	Santa Fe	Santa Fe	391 164
008	Current	Current	346 334
009	Bahía Blanca	Buenos Aires	291 327
010	Resistance	Chaco	290 723
011	Posadas	Missions	275 028
012	Merlo	Buenos Aires	268 961
013	Quilmes	Buenos Aires	262 379
014	San Salvador de Jujuy	Jujuy	257 970
015	Guaymallén	Mendoza	252 618
016	Santiago del Estero	Santiago del Estero	252 192
017	Gregorio de Laferre	Buenos Aires	248 362
018	José C. Paz	Buenos Aires	247 217
019	Paraná	Between Rios	247 139
020	Banfield	Buenos Aires	246 467
021	González Catán	Buenos Aires	238 067
022	Neuquén	Neuquén	231 198
023	Formosa	Formosa	222 226
024	Lanús	Buenos Aires	215 956
025	The Silver	Buenos Aires	193 144
026	Godoy Cruz	Mendoza	191 299
027	Isidro Casanova	Buenos Aires	190 696
028	The Heras	Mendoza	189 067
029	Berazategui	Buenos Aires	180 523
030	La Rioja	La Rioja	178 872
031	Comodoro Rivadavia	Chubut	175 196
032	Moreno	Buenos Aires	171 849
033	San Luis	San Luis	169 947
034	San Miguel	Buenos Aires	168 762
035	San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca	Catamarca	159 139
036	Rio Fourth	Córdoba	157 010
037	Virrey del Pino	Buenos Aires	156. 132

Municipalities

In Argentina there are 2,171 municipalities and communes with an average of 17,173 inhabitants per municipality. The province with the most municipalities and communes is Córdoba with 428, followed by Santa Fe with 363, Entre Ríos with 265 and the Province of Buenos Aires with 135. The municipalities with the largest population are:

Population dynamics

The population of the Argentine Republic (according to INDEC estimates) as of July 1, 2022 amounts to 46,234,830 inhabitants. According to estimates by the CIA The World Fackbook it amounted to 46,245,668 inhabitants. According to data from the Ministry of Health of the Argentine Republic in 2020, the crude birth rate reached 11.8 per thousand, the mortality rate 8.3 per thousand with a vegetative growth rate of 3.5 per thousand. A strong reduction of almost 68% is observed in this last indicator if compared to that of 2010, which reached 10.8 per thousand (18.7 per thousand births and 7.9 per thousand deaths) and almost 80% if compared to the 1980 value of 16.4 per thousand (25.0 per thousand births and 8.6 per thousand deaths). In addition, in 2020 the global fertility rate was the lowest of which there is a record reaching 1.54 children per woman.

The infant mortality rate has been registering a progressive improvement: 63.1‰ in 1970; 33.2‰ in 1980; 25.6‰ in 1990; 16.6‰ in 2000, 12.1‰ in 2009, 11.1‰ in 2012. and 9.69‰ in 2015. In 2020 it reached 8.4‰.

Regarding the demographic evolution of Argentina, an ascending growth rate was registered until the year 1914, mainly due to the high rate of immigration, a moderate growth between 1914 and 1947, and an even milder growth rate from 1960 to 2001. This is explained by the demographic transition process. In 2010, a slight increase in the growth rate is seen with respect to the previous census (10.1 per thousand) with an average annual growth rate of 11.4 per thousand.

Demographic variables are not homogeneous among the different jurisdictions of the country. This is how the city of Buenos Aires, the main city of the oldest urban agglomeration in the country, presents a demographic conformation similar to that of European countries, distinguishing itself from the rest of the country: the average annual growth rate of 4.5 per thousand between 2001 and 2010 was the lowest in the country.

Projection and estimation of the Argentine population 1950-2015.

Then there are the provinces -among them the most populated- such as Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Entre Ríos, Mendoza, Santa Fe and La Pampa that in general present demographic variables consistent with the national average.

In another order, are the majority of the northwestern and northeastern provinces (Chaco, Corrientes, Formosa, Jujuy, Misiones, Salta, San Juan, Santiago del Estero and Tucumán) that at a general level the 2010 census showed that they maintain birth rates above the national average but their populations have experienced a strong emigration to urban centers such as Greater Buenos Aires or Greater Rosario, thus envisioning a total growth lower than the national average.

The provinces of Patagonia have shown strong growth between 2001 and 2010, including the Province of Santa Cruz where the population increased by 38.4%, the highest in the country. According to INDEC authorities, the large population growth in this region is not due to an increase in fertility, but rather to a strong immigration process in search of better working conditions.

Historical evolution of the total population

Historical evolution of the population in OC urban centers

The population of the large urban centers of Argentina had the following evolution:

Fertility

The total fertility rate based on data from the 2010 Census and the Ministry of Health dropped to 2.24 children per woman compared to the 2.64 registered in the 2001 Census. In several jurisdictions of the country, this rate is below the replacement rate of 2.1 compared to 2001. The Autonomous City of Buenos Aires is the one with the lowest rate with 1.85 children per woman and the Province of Santa Cruz the highest with 3.14. These two jurisdictions were the only ones in which there was an increase in the total fertility rate in the period 2001-2010. According to the latest data provided by the Ministry of Health (533,299 births) together with the INDEC projections of the population of women by age, the global fertility rate in 2020 is around 1.54 children per woman, a value below the limit of generational replacement (2.1 children per woman). In this way, this index is located as the lowest since it has been recorded, since in 2019 it reached 1.8 children per woman, in 2010 the 2.3 children per woman, in 2001 the 2.4 children per woman, in 1991 the 2.9 and in 1980 the 3.3 children per woman.

Structure of the population

Population structure of Argentina. Source: INDEC.

Distribution by sex

According to data from the 2010 National Population, Homes and Housing Census, there are 48.7% men and 51.3% women, with a masculinity index (number of men for every 100 women) of 94, 8, similar to that of 2001 of 94.9. Historically, this index reached a maximum in 1914 with a value of 115.5 (53.5% of men); in 1960 both populations were already balanced, having been the decrease since the 1991 Census of 7 tenths (95.6).

Age distribution

According to data from the 2010 Census, the population 65 years or older would correspond to 10.2% of the total and that of 60 years or older, to 14.3%. %, making Argentina the third oldest country in Latin America after Uruguay and Cuba. In turn, over the decades, a gradual decrease in the population between 0 to 14 years old is noted, representing 25.5% in 2010, less than 28.3% in 2001.

Pyramid of the population of Argentina. Year 2010 Source: INDEC.

In the region, Argentina is part of the group of countries with an advanced demographic transition, along with Chile, Cuba and Uruguay, characterized by populations with moderate or low birth rates and mortality rates, which translates into low natural growth of order of 1%.

The population pyramid (2010) confirms the trend towards an increase in the relative weight of the elderly population and, at the same time, shows lower birth rates. The latter is reflected in the shrinking of the base of the pyramid.

Urban/rural distribution

According to data from the 2001 Census, Argentina is an eminently urban country:

• Urban population (localities of more than 2000 inhabitants): 89.31% (48.27% male)
• Grouped rural population (localities of less than 2000 inhabitants): 3.40% (50.81% male)
• Rural population dispersed (open living): 7.28% (54.02% male)

Population with disability(ies)

7.1% of the population has some type of disability. The percentage of people with disabilities increases with age.

Ethnic composition

The current Argentine population is the result of a process of establishment of different ethnic groups in the territory of Argentina, which resulted in the Argentine ethnicity that lasts until today, where the main components were the Mediterranean contribution (mainly Spanish, and in second place Italian, as in the rest of South America) and of the native peoples.

In times prior to the birth of Argentina as an independent country, the Argentine natives were established as forming groups, with more than 30 different ethnic groups, although racially related, and estimated there since at least 40,000 B.C. as evidenced by the archaeological findings of Antofagasta de la Sierra in Catamarca dated in carbon 14. There are also human remains of up to 16 millennia found in Patagonia and in many other parts of the Argentine territory that increasingly strengthen the Ameghinean theory of an American settlement "from south to north"; the Creoles descendants of Spaniards at the time of the Conquest; and Afro-descendants, coming from the old colonial slave trade. However, Argentina did not bring a large number of black slaves to other countries in the region such as Chile, Bolivia and Paraguay in colonial times, which explains why, unlike countries like Brazil, in Argentine territory the black population today is almost nil, with the exception of current African immigrants. Thus, if in 1778 the official census registered 34% of Afro-descendants (generally mulattoes) in the total Argentine population, today a recent census registers 0.4% of Afro-descendants who self-identify as such. However this original population base was quantitatively modest, and the country was sparsely populated.

It was the great wave of immigration in Argentina (1880-1930) that began after the sanction of the Argentine Constitution of 1853, which would shape "modern" Argentina, giving rise to a great increase in population figures and the establishment of Argentine demography up to the present. The main sources of immigration came from the European Mediterranean, mainly Spanish and Italian, with Arabs (mostly Syrians and Lebanese) being the most prominent minority. The immigrant population that arrived in Argentina corresponded, in effect, to the European immigration current that was escaping from a situation of wars, famine, epidemics, poverty, among other causes. This in turn was promoted in national plans to increase the local population and develop agriculture, industry and commerce, something that South American governments promoted in almost all countries since the end of the century 19th century to mid XX century.

Most of these immigrants came from Europe, especially Italians and Spaniards, and to a lesser extent Germans (especially from the Volga), Slavs from all regions (both West Slavs such as Poles and Czechoslovaks; East Slavs such as Russians and Ukrainians; and South Slavs such as Yugoslavs and Bulgarians), French, Swiss, Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Dutch, Belgian, Austro-Hungarians, Scandinavians (from Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland and Denmark), Balts (from Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia), Armenians, Portuguese, among many other origins. There were also significant flows of Arab and Ashkenazi immigration.

Most of them settled in the currently most populated provinces of the country: Buenos Aires, Santa Fe and Córdoba in particular, concentrating above all in cities, highlighting the city of Buenos Aires as the center of greatest concentration. There were also rural colonies that were founded by European immigrants in La Pampa and Patagonian provinces such as Río Negro, Neuquén and Chubut, as well as provinces on the Argentine coast such as Entre Ríos, Corrientes, Chaco and Misiones. Many direct descendants of immigrants continue to reside there and have an identity deeply rooted in the memory of their ancestors. As a celebration of the legacy and roots of immigrants, the National Immigrant Festival is celebrated in Argentina in September in the city of Oberá (Misiones province), a city that was founded by immigrants, as well as other community festivals that are celebrated in various points of the Argentine territory at various times of the year.

Starting in the second half of the XX century, there was a change in migratory characteristics and various phenomena occurred that influenced the Argentine demographic composition. On the one hand, the great wave of immigration in Argentina closes after a little more than 100 years of an uninterrupted phenomenon, the European economic improvement promoted by the Marshall Plan causes that there is no European exodus to America and the numbers of European immigrants to Argentina almost vanish. To this is added a strong rural exodus after 1930 that influenced the ethnic composition of the cities.

Without any more flow of European immigration, the small but constant contribution of immigrants from Bolivia, Peru and Paraguay, which has been taking place for centuries, remains alone. Along with these three countries are added those of immigrants from Chile, Uruguay, Colombia, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Immigrants from South Korea began to arrive from Asia in the 1960s, Taiwan in the 1980s, and mainland China in the 1990s. The latter group developed rapid growth, becoming in 2013 the fourth largest immigrant group., only below Paraguayans, Bolivians and Peruvians.

Demographic statistics compiled by INDEC and the CIA World Factbook

The following data taking as calculation numbers the data from the 2010 Census carried out by the INDEC (in population), and other data from the CIA World Factbook database (median age and total population growth rate):

Argentine population in 2010

40.117.096 (Censo 2010-INDEC)

0-14 years: 25.5% (varones 5.195.096/women 5.027.221)

15-64 years: 64.3% (varies 12.654.528/women 14.135.603)

65 years and more: 10.2% (several 1.674.142/women 2.490.846)

Estimated or projected Argentine population for 2020

45.479.118

0-14 years: 24.02%

15-24 years: 15.19%

25-54 years: 39.60%

55-64 years: 9.07%

65 years and more: 12.13%. (2020 est. CIA World Factbook)

Middle Ages

Total: 32.4 years

Males: 31.1 years

Women: 33.6 years (2020 est. CIA World Factbook)

Total population growth rate

0.82% (2022 est. CIA World Factbook)

1.44% per year between 2010 and 2022 according to the respective Argentine censuses of those two years in particular.