51 Fun Facts About Argentina You Should Know

Olga Sukhorukova Olga Sukhorukova

Written by Olga Sukhorukova

Fun and Interesting facts about Argentina

Argentina is a beautiful yet distant country. Its popularity as a tourist destination continues to grow, but many people still have not experienced its beauty and hospitality.

However, many of Argentina’s secrets and mysteries remain unsolved thus far.

Let me bring this lovely land a little closer to you and discover 51 interesting and fun facts about Argentina!


What people say on Reddit

The word coger means having sexual intercourse in Argentina, whereas in Spain is simply used to say “take” or “grab”.

On the other hand, the verb correrse in Argentina is simply “to step aside”, and in Spain it means to have an orgasm.

Dialogs between Argentinians and Spaniards are fun.

leomonster

There was a boxer called Oscar “Ringo” Bonavena, who fighted Muhammad Ali in 1970, and it was the first victory of Ali on the MSG.

During the 80s and 90s, there was a LOT of interesting characters in Argentina. For example: El Malevo Ferreyra, El Gordo Valor, La Familia Puccio or El Ángel. I recommend you the YouTube channel “Damian Kuc”, it’s a guy who explains this characters, and other stories about our country.

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Argentina is the largest country to use a timezone that doesn’t touch its territory at all. The entire country uses GMT-3 by law, while the actual physical timezones are GMT-4 and GMT-5. This is the case because we used to switch to daytime saving time in summer (from GMT-4 to GMT-3), and at some point we decided not to do it any more, but instead of going back to the logical GMT-4 we got stuck on GMT-3.

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An ex president called Carlos Menem was caught speeding (like 200kmh) on a Ferrari 348 wich he was gifted, also played basketball on live TV, also announced space travel (Suck it Elon).All while being president, his life is wild.

Torino380W

1. The Argentine peso is represented in the same way as the US dollar here. Therefore, when you go to stores, you will see prices such as $200 for water, $500 for bread, and $2,000 for cheese.

2. Argentina has always been welcoming to immigrants. People from many countries have fled to Argentina due to terrible or dangerous conditions.

Jews from Germany sought refuge during the Nazi era, while Nazis also came after World War II. Both groups were accepted in Argentina and often lived side by side as neighbors.

3. The co-production between Argentina and the USA, “Argentina, 1985,” won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film in 2023.

Argentina 1985

This drama follows an adolescent girl who lives with her family in Buenos Aires during the last years of Argentina’s military dictatorship (1976-1983). She must come to terms with her own identity as she struggles against oppressive forces inside and outside her home.

4. The population of Argentina is 45 million people; 15 million live in the province of Buenos Aires, and another 3 million reside in the city of Buenos Aires.

5. Buenos Aires is a city beloved by dog owners.

Statistics show 87 percent of the capital’s residents have pets, primarily dogs. Numerous shops in the capital provide water bowls at their entrances for canine companions.

Additionally, you can bring your pet along when visiting cafes and restaurants.

6. Argentina has the world’s highest per capita meat consumption. Its national cuisine includes many dishes featuring meat, the most famous of which – asado – is beef cooked over an open flame.

Argentine Asado
Photo by Louis Hansel on Unsplash
Read also: 9 Best Authentic Argentine Foods

7. In Argentina, it is customary to treat pregnant women with great tenderness. Stores have special cash registers for expecting mothers, and in the subway, people will always offer them a seat.

On buses, if the driver notices that a pregnant woman is standing, he can ask over the speakerphone for passengers to take notice of her and give up their seats.

8. Though smaller than Brazil’s, the Argentine Carnival is also celebrated grandly. The main event takes place in February in Gualeguaychú, which during the celebration, transforms into one of the most beloved tourist destinations in that country.

9. The Falkland Islands, an archipelago off the southern coast of Argentina, have been a subject of a territorial dispute between Argentina and Great Britain.

Falkland Islands
Photo by Vijay Chander on Unsplash

In 1982 there was a war for these islands; however, Argentina lost but still does not relinquish its claims to this territory. Interestingly enough, a large oilfield is expected to be found near the islands.

10. Argentines often do not have dinner at home, typically starting it late – around 9 pm. Many restaurants take a break in service from 4 pm to 9 pm before reopening for dinner.

11. Football (Soccer) is Argentina’s most beloved sport. In Buenos Aires, several million people welcomed the Argentine national team after winning the World Cup in 2022. 

12. Argentinians are a very welcoming nation. They are open to meeting people and always willing to aid them.

The unique thing about Argentinians is that they may not be punctual, but they don’t expect others to adhere strictly to timelines either.

13. Capybaras, the biggest and cutest rodents in South America, have inhabited almost its entire territory.

Capybaras
Photo by Jaime Dantas on Unsplash

During the coronavirus pandemic, while people were quarantined, capybaras took over several suburbs of Buenos Aires; they bit dogs, ruined lawns, and left behind a mountain of excrement.

14. In Argentina, as in other countries of Latin America, the fight against drug trafficking is one of the main areas of police work. In 2018, Argentine authorities found 400 kg of cocaine in a school attached to the Russian embassy.

15. At least 85% of the population in Buenos Aires has European roots. The city itself is quite reminiscent of other major European capitals.

Immigrants who came to build homes here wanted to replicate their homeland, Europe, as much as possible.

16. Ernesto Che Guevara studied at the University of Buenos Aires medical faculty before joining the revolutionary movement.

Ernesto Che Guevara

17. Argentina has the highest number of psychotherapists per capita, according to a 2012 study which found that there are 202 psychotherapists for every 100,000 people.

18. The Argentinian Lake Duck is famous for having the world’s longest penis relative to body length. The males reach a body length of 18 inches (46 cm), and their penises can be up to 16.7 inches (42.5 cm) in length.

19. Abortion is banned in Argentina despite numerous protests and an increasing number of illegal abortions.

20. Argentina shares borders with 5 countries: Chile, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The longest shared boundary is along the entire length of Argentina’s border with Chile.

21. In Argentina, people have a deep love for nature and take great care of it. There are approximately 30 national parks in the country.

Argentina National Parks
Photo by Juan Pablo Mascanfroni on Unsplash

22. Fans of the legendary Argentine football player Diego Maradona have founded a new religion in his honor – The Church of Maradona. It has around 150 thousand followers, and Lionel Messi is an honorary member. Most services for the church take place at Pizza Banana Pizzeria in Rosario.

23. Argentina takes 8th place in the world based on its area; it is large enough to contain Spain, Norway, Denmark, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Austria, and Hungary all at once.

24. Many Argentines love tattoos and piercings. Nearly every young man or woman has at least one tattoo.

25. Even though Argentina is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean for its entire length, Argentines rarely eat fish (they prefer meat much more). The majority of their fish gets exported.

What are Some Fun Facts about Argentina for Kids?

Mafalda in Buenos Aires
Mafalda in Buenos Aires / Photo by Gustavo Sánchez on Unsplash

26. In Argentina, when the national football team plays in important games, classes are canceled in schools and universities so that children and students don’t miss out on crucial matches.

27. If you were to begin digging a tunnel through the entire planet starting in Buenos Aires, the tunnel’s exit would emerge in Shanghai, China.

28. The world’s first full-length cartoon, El apóstol, was filmed in Argentina in 1917. Unfortunately, not a single copy has survived to the present day.

It is known that the cartoon’s main character was the President of Argentina, who went to heaven and sought to purify Buenos Aires of immorality.

29. In Argentina, schools and universities typically begin their new academic year in late February or early March.

30. The comic book about Mafalda, a girl who is very concerned about the fate of humanity, was invented in Argentina and was produced from 1964 to 1973. Mafalda was popular almost all over the world.

5 Important Facts about Argentina

31. There is no deportation law in Argentina, which some immigrants take advantage of by violating the visa regime; they know they cannot be expelled from the country. As a result, there are many illegal immigrants living in Argentina.

32. In 2010, Argentina became the first Latin American nation to legalize same-sex marriage. During that inaugural month of the law, over one hundred couples took advantage of this new right; most had been living together for at least ten years.

33. Argentina is a country facing a difficult economic situation. In 2022, the inflation rate reached its highest level since 1991 at 94.8%. In 2024, the economy is still struggling.

34. Public education in Argentina is free at all levels except for postgraduate studies. However, there are private schools and universities; they are also popular and can be pretty expensive.

35. Medical care in Argentina is free for everyone, including tourists and undocumented immigrants.

What is Argentina Known for?

36. Argentina is the birthplace of many talented people, including several Nobel Prize Laureates.

However, some of the most renowned Argentines in the world are revolutionary leader Che Guevara, football players Diego Maradona and Leo Messi, and Pope Francis.

37. Argentina is the 5th-largest wine producer in the world.

Argentine Vineyard
Salta, Argentina

The uniqueness of their local wines lies in the fact that some grape varieties, originally imported from Europe, now only exist within its territory; these same varieties were destroyed by harsh winters throughout Europe.

38. Argentina is the birthplace of what is probably the largest dinosaur, Argentinosaurus, whose remains were discovered in 1987.

Its size has been estimated to have been between 98-115 feet (30-35 meters) long. Determining its exact size was difficult because only a few skeleton fragments were found.

39. One of the traditional drinks in Argentina, mate, is incredibly popular among the locals. Grocery stores often have large packages of it for brewing on display. Calabash and “bombillas” (special vessels and tubes for a mate) can be found around every corner.

Interestingly, this beverage cannot be ordered in restaurants or cafes – it is considered too personal a drink, so you can bring it to the restaurant and enjoy it there. Additionally, the vessel and tube are not disposable.

40. Taverns in the port of Buenos Aires are where tango was born. For a long time, the dance had been banned and thought improper, and only after it received approval from the church could it be performed openly.

41. In the northern region of Argentina, near its border with Brazil, lies one of the world’s Seven Wonders: The immense Iguazu Falls, comprised of 275 individual waterfalls.

Iguazu Falls 1
Photo by Jaime Dantas on Unsplash

When Eleanor Roosevelt visited it for herself, she exclaimed, “Poor Niagara Falls!”. Nowadays, this National Park is visited by approximately two million tourists annually.

42. The Japanese Garden in Buenos Aires is the most expansive of its kind outside Japan.

43. The Perito Moreno Glacier in Patagonia is the third-largest freshwater reserve after Antarctica and Greenland. 

This glacier constantly moves and loses about two meters of ice per day, collapsing into the water at its border. 

Despite this, it still counts as a non-melting glacier since new ice continually forms at its other end in the mountains.

44. The southernmost town on Earth is in Argentina: Ushuaia, the capital of the Argentine province Tierra del Fuego. 

It also houses the most southerly railway track – famously known as The Train to the End of the World.

45. The National University of Cordoba is the oldest in South America. It is over 400 years old and 28 years older than Harvard!

46. Tours to Antarctica begin in Argentina. Tourists travel to Ushuaia and embark on a steamship across the Drake Strait.

Antarctica
Photo by Cassie Matias on Unsplash

47. For the first time ever, fingerprinting was implemented in Buenos Aires. 

Juan Vucetich, the creator of the fingerprint identification system, used fingerprints to prove that a different person than who was under investigation – who turned out to be innocent – was guilty of killing two children.

48. Isabel Perón was the world’s first female president. She served as President of Argentina from 1974 to 1976, not through an election but due to her husband Juan Perón’s death; she succeeded him in office.

49. The world’s widest street is in Buenos Aires – Avenida 9 de Julio. It measures 0.086992 miles (140 meters) wide and has 14 car lanes. Crossing this wide street can take anywhere from 5 to 7 minutes due to multiple traffic lights that must be stopped along the way.

50. Aconcagua Mountain in the Andes mountain range of Argentina is the highest mountain in both the Southern Hemisphere and the Americas, measuring 22,837 feet (6,960.8 meters) tall.

Aconcagua Mountain
Photo by Nicolas Perez on Unsplash

51. The name of the country originates from the Latin word Argentum, signifying silver.

The Spanish conquistadors assumed they would discover plentiful stores of silver in Argentina; however, no silver was found, yet the name remained.

Read also: What Does Buenos Aires Mean?
What language do they speak in Argentina?

The official language of Argentina is Spanish, but many Argentinians also speak English and other regional languages including Quechua, Guarani and Aymara. There are also some differences between Spanish in Argentina and Spain – the accent and grammar.

What is the currency in Argentina?

The currency used in Argentina is the Argentine Peso (ARS). There is also a mysterious “double” exchange rate of the US dollar for peso. This exchange rate can be one thing at the bank and quite another on the streets – about twice as high.

What does “Argentina” mean?

Argentina is derived from the Latin word argentum, which means “silver.” This likely refers to the silver that was found in Argentina when it was first colonized by Spain in 1535. The country’s name may also be related to Argentoratum, a Celtic settlement located near modern Strasbourg, France during Roman times whose name meant “land of silver.”

How to call Argentina from the US?

To call Argentina from the United States, you will need to dial 011 + 54 + area code (without the 0) + phone number. For example, if you are trying to reach a landline in Buenos Aires with an area code of 11, then your international dialing sequence would be: 011-54-11-XXXX XXXX.

Conclusion

These are the facts about Argentina that it is famous for. Of course, such a magical and diverse country keeps many more amazing facts still waiting to be discovered!

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