Demographics & population — Argentina
Population size, age structure, migration, ethnicity, language, education, and health indicators.
Profile updated 2026-06-02
⚡ Demographics & population at a glance
Population size, age structure, migration, ethnicity, language, education, and health indicators. Key figure for Argentina: 46,994,384
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Population overview
- Population
46,994,384
- Population Growth Rate
0.79%
- Population Distribution
- one-third of the population lives in Buenos Aires
- pockets of agglomeration occur throughout the northern and central parts of the country
- Patagonia to the south remains sparsely populated
- Urban Population
- urban population: 92.5%
- of total population rate of urbanization: 0.97% annual rate of change
- Population in Major Urban Areas
15.490 million BUENOS AIRES (capital), 1.612 million Córdoba, 1.594 million Rosario, 1.226 million Mendoza, 1.027 million San Miguel de Tucumán, 914,000 La Plata
- Population: Male/Female
- male: 23,274,794
- female: 23,719,590
Age & family
- Age Structure
- years: 23.3% (male 5,632,983/female 5,301,778) 15-64
- years: 63.9% (male 15,071,215/female 14,956,069) 65
- years and over: 12.8% (male 2,570,596/female 3,461,743)
- Median Age
- total: 33.3
- years male: 32.1
- years female: 34.6 years
- Birth Rate - births/1,000 population
15
- Death Rate - deaths/1,000 population
7.3
- Total Fertility Rate - children born/woman
2.15
- Gross reproduction rate
1
- Child Marriage
- women married by age 15: 2.4%
- women married by age 18: 15.5%
- Contraceptive Prevalance Rate - female 12-49
70.1%
- Contraceptive Prevalence Rate - female 12-49
70.1%
- Currently married women (ages 15-49)
48.9%
- Sex Ratio at Birth - male/female
- at birth: 1.07
- male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.06
- male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01
- male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74
- male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female
Migration
- Net Migration Rate - migrant(s)/1,000 population
-0.1
- Demographic profile
Argentina's population continues to grow but at a slower rate because of its steadily declining birth rate.
Argentina's fertility decline began earlier than in the rest of Latin America, occurring most rapidly between the early 20th century and the 1950s, and then becoming more gradual.
Life expectancy has been improving, most notably among the young and the poor.
While the population under age 15 is shrinking, the youth cohort - ages 15-24 - is the largest in Argentina's history and will continue to bolster the working-age population.
If this large working-age population is well-educated and gainfully employed, Argentina is likely to experience an economic boost and possibly higher per capita savings and investment.
Although literacy and primary school enrollment are nearly universal, grade repetition is problematic and secondary school completion is low.
Both of these issues vary widely by region and socioeconomic group.
Argentina has been primarily a country of immigration for most of its history, welcoming European immigrants (often providing needed low-skilled labor) after its independence in the 19th century and attracting especially large numbers from Spain and Italy.
More than 7 million European immigrants are estimated to have arrived in Argentina between 1880 and 1930, when it adopted a more restrictive immigration policy.
European immigration also began to wane in the 1930s because of the global depression.
The inflow rebounded temporarily following WWII and resumed its decline in the 1950s when Argentina's military dictators tightened immigration rules and European economies rebounded.
Regional migration increased, however, supplying low-skilled workers escaping economic and political instability in their home countries.
As of 2015, immigrants made up almost 5% of Argentina's population, the largest share in South America.
Migration from neighboring countries accounted for approximately 80% of Argentina's immigrant population in 2015.
The first waves of highly skilled Argentine emigrant workers headed mainly to the United States and Spain in the 1960s and 1970s, driven by economic decline and repressive military dictatorships.
The 2008 European economic crisis drove the return migration of some Argentinean and other Latin American nationals, as well as the immigration of Europeans to South America, where Argentina was a key recipient.
In 2015, Argentina received the highest number of legal migrants in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The majority of its migrant inflow came from Paraguay and Bolivia.
Ethnicity & language
- Ethnic Groups
European (mostly Spanish and Italian descent) and Mestizo (mixed European and Indigenous ancestry) 97.2%, Indigenous 2.4%, African descent 0.4%
- Language Note
Spanish (official), Italian, English, German, French, indigenous (Quechua, Guarani, Mapudungun)
- Nationality Noun
- Argentine(s) adjective: Argentine
Education
- Literacy - total population
99%
- Literacy - male
98.9%
- Literacy - female
99.1%
- Literacy Definition
age 15 and over can read and write
- Education Expenditures - percent of GDP
5%
- Total School Life Expectancy - (primary to tertiary)
- total: 18
- years male: 17
- years female: 20 years
Health & living conditions
- Life Expectancy at Birth
- total population: 78.8
- years male: 75.8
- years female: 82 years
- Infant Mortality Rate
- total: 9 deaths/1,000
- live births male: 9.9 deaths/1,000
- live births female: 7.9 deaths/1,000 live births
- Infant Mortality Rate - total deaths/1,000 live births
- total: 9 deaths/1,000
- live births male: 9.9 deaths/1,000
- live births female: 7.9 deaths/1,000 live births
- Maternal Mortality Rate - deaths/100,000 live births
45
- Physicians Density - physicians/1,000 population
4.06
- Hospital Bed Density - beds/1,000 population
5
- Health Expenditures - percent of GDP
10%
- Obesity - adult prevalence rate
28.3%
- Tobacco Use
- total: 24.5%
- male: 29.4%
- female: 19.6%
- Alcohol consumption per capita
- total: 7.95
- liters of pure alcohol beer: 3.62
- liters of pure alcohol wine: 2.88
- liters of pure alcohol spirits: 0.72
- liters of pure alcohol other alcohols: 0.72 liters of pure alcohol
- Drinking Water Source - percent of urban population improved
- urban: 99.8%
- urban: 0.2% of population
- Sanitation Facility Access - percent of urban population improved
- urban: 100% of population
- Underweight - percent of children under five years
1.7%
