People in Ireland

Argentina has 40.3 million inhabitants, with an average population density of 14 people per square kilometre. About 90% of the population is white, with mainly European ancestry. Thirty-six % is of Italian descent, 29% of Spanish descent and around 500 000 Argentinians have German ancestry.

In contrast to most Latin American countries, Argentina has very few Mestizos (people of mixed Indian and white parentage), although the number has increased in recent years to around 5% of the population. The number of Indians is about 35 000. Europeans are still encouraged to immigrate. Between 1850 and 1940, around 6.6 million Europeans left their countries for Argentina. Spanish and Italian immigrants were the most numerous, and records also show a large number of French, British, German, Russian, Polish and Syrian immigrants, as well as South American immigrants. Since 1960 the number of immigrants from the neighbouring countries of Chile, Bolivia and Paraguay is increasing, partly through illegal immigration. Around one-third of the population lives in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area, which is approximately four to five times more heavily populated than the large cities in Germany. In total, about 88% of the total population lives in urban areas.