HOW TO ENTRY INTO THE COUNTRY

You´ll need your travel documents: a valid passport and a visa if needed (check this with your consular authorities or our diplomatic authorities). Passengers from not bordering nations with Argentina don´t pay customer tax on personal effects and new products for a value under usd 300. If this goods were bought in a free shop you have additional usd 300. You won´t need international certificate of vaccination unless you are coming from areas where cholera and yellow fever are endemic disseases.

TIME

(GMT -3,00) Buenos Aires

CLIMATE

Mostly temperate

PHONES

Public telephones accept coins, tokens or cards. You can buy telephone cards and tokens from shops and telephone companies. There are shops specially equipped to offer 24 hour comunication services where you must pay cash. If you want to call from abroad you have to dial the national code: 54 and then the area code. In order to make inbound calls add number 0 to the respective code. To make calls outbound, you have to dial 00, then the country code and finally the area code. The cheapest time to make a call is from 10:00 p.m. to 08:00 a.m. Since January 1999 the digit 4 must be added to all telephone numbers and number 1 to Buenos Aires and suburbs area codes, number 2 to Southern region area codes and 3 to the Northern region area codes.

POPULATION

The population is roughly 36 millions of habitants, and most of them live in the Capital and in the Buenos Aires region. The population density is 12,9 habitants per sq Km. The 95% of argentine people has immigrant ancestors mainly from Italy and Spain. After the great immigration, crossbred between white and natives start to decrease and now they are only 4.5 % of the whole population. Aboriginal population like -mapuches, collas, tobas, matacos y chiriguanos- represents only 0.5 % of settlers.

LANGUAGE

The official language is spanish. In the city of Buenos Aires -el lunfardo- a widespread slang is also spoken.

RELIGION

In Argentina exists freedom of religion although Catholic Apostolic Roman is the official one, yet other cults are practised like Protestantism, Judaism, Islamism Orthodox Greeck Cult, Orthodox Russian Cult, etc.

CURRENCY

The official currency is the peso. There are notes of 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 pesos, coins of 1, 2 and 5 pesos and 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 cents. 1 peso argentino = 100 centavos

POLITICAL SYSTEM AND CONSTITUTION

The Argentine political system is organized like a Federal Representative Democratic Republic with 23 provinces and the Capital Buenos Aires. There are three powers: The executive, the judiciary and the legislature. The executive is run by the President who stays for 4 years. He has extensive control on legislation by the posibility to approve or object Parliament decisions. The Congress has two chambers; deputies with 254 members chosen directly and senators with 72 members chosen according to provincial districts: three for each one included the Capital. The provinces are autonomous and choose their own authorities; the governor is the main authority. The inforce Constitution was written in 1853, nevertheless, it was reformed several times. The last reform was in august 1994 and the principal aspect reformed was to permit the presidential re-election

TWO HISTORIC DATES

25th of May, 1810. The first government council was created. 9th of July, 1816. The independence from Spain was declared.

WHERE TO REPORT LOST OR STOLEN CREDIT CARDS

American Express: 4312-0900 Master Card: 4345-1322 Visa: 4379-3400 Diners Club: 47082484

Home page | Who we are | Your reservation | Contact us

Buenos Aires | General information of Argentina

---