Local name: República Argentina
Capital city: Buenos Aires
Language: Spanish
International codes: AR, ARG
Time zone: GMT-5
Area: 2,766,890 sq km
Population: 37,813,000 (2002 estimate)
Government type: republic
Independence: from 1816
National holiday: May 25 (1810)
Ethnic groups: European descent (85%), Euro-Indian descent (15%)
Currency: Argentinian peso (ARP)
GDP: USD 453 billion; USD 12,000 per capita (2001 estimates)
Religion: Catholic (90%), Protestant (2%)
Bordering countries: Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay

Description:
The Europeans arrived here in the early 1500s. Buenos Aires was founded by the Spanish in 1580, and today this wonderful city of European architecture and culture is home to more than one-third of the country's population.
The Andes cover the western edge of Argentina, then give way to vast, almost treeless plains (Pampas) that blanket the central region and stretch to the Atlantic Ocean. Patagonia - to the south - is a legendary landscape of jagged mountains, thick forests, glaciers and lakes, and home to penguins, seals and whales.
It's a incredibly diverse land of beaches, waterfalls, rain forests and mountains, and it all ends at the town of Ushuaia on Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost town on the planet.

Climate:
Ranges from subtropical conditions in the north to subarctic in the south. Patagonia is mild most of the year. The central part of the country is generally temperate, with dry winters and summers that can be brutally hot. The higher elevations of the Andes are much colder with frequent snow.

GLBT:
Homosexuality per se isn't banned by the law, but the major influences from the Catholic church, the Latin-American machoism and the political pressures result in prejudice and homophobia. Dispite the official non-discrimination policy, the moral offence policy is also enforced which often discriminates gay and lesbians. Legal age of consent in Argentina is 21, for heterosexual and same-sex intercourses.
Argentina reached a historical landmark in Latin-America in the end of 2002 - Buenos aires legalised same-sex unions. Under the law, same-sex couples will receive health insurance and pension rights given to married spouses. The law recognizes the civil union of same-sex couples but does not term the union a marriage.  

Links and sources:
http://www.ljudmila.org/sgs/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=168
http://www.geocities.com/WestHollywood/2144/l-argentina.html
http://www.sigla.org.ar
http://www.ilga.org/Information/legal_survey/americas/argentina.htm
http://www.buegay.com.ar
http://www.mundogay.com
http://argentina.gay.com
http://www.sitiosargentina.com.ar
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ar.html