Country name: conventional long form: Argentine Republic
conventional short form: Argentina
local long form: Republica Argentina
local short form: Argentina

Government type:
republic

Capital:
name: Buenos Aires
geographic coordinates: 34 35 S, 58 40 W
time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: none scheduled for 2013

Administrative divisions:
23 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 autonomous city*; Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Chaco, Chubut, Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires*, Cordoba, Corrientes, Entre Rios, Formosa, Jujuy, La Pampa, La Rioja, Mendoza, Misiones, Neuquen, Rio Negro, Salta, San Juan, San Luis, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Santiago del Estero, Tierra del Fuego - Antartida e Islas del Atlantico Sur (Tierra del Fuego), Tucuman
note: the US does not recognize any claims to Antarctica

Independence:
9 July 1816 (from Spain)

National holiday:
Revolution Day, 25 May (1810)

Constitution:
several previous; latest effective 11 May 1853; amended many times, last in 1994 (2013)

Legal system:
civil law system based on West European legal systems; note - efforts at civil code reform begun in the mid-1980s has stagnated

International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Suffrage:
18-70 years of age; universal and compulsory; 16-17 years of age - optional
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Cristina FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER (since 10 December 2007); Vice President Amado BOUDOU (since 10 December 2011); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Cristina FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER (since 10 December 2007); Vice President Amado BOUDOU (since 10 December 2011)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held on 23 October 2011 (next election to be held in October 2015)
election results: Cristina FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER reelected president; percent of vote - Cristina FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER 54%, Hermes BINNER 16.9%, Ricardo ALFONSIN 11.1%, Alberto Rodriguez SAA 8%, Eduardo DUHALDE 5.9%, other 4.1%

Legislative branch:
bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate (72 seats; members are elected by direct vote; presently one-third of the members elected every two years to serve six-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies (257 seats; members are elected by direct vote; one-half of the members elected every two years to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held on 23 October 2011 (next to be held on 27 October 2013); Chamber of Deputies - last held on 23 October 2011 (next to be held on 27 October 2013)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA; seats by bloc or party - FpV 38, UCR 17, PJ Disidente 10, FAP 4, other 3; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA; seats by bloc or party - FpV 134, UCR 41, PJ Disidente 28, FAP 22, PRO 11, CC 7, other 14; note - as of 1 January 2013, the composition of the entire legislature is as follows: Senate - seats by bloc or party - FpV 32, UCR 14, PJ Disidente 9, minor parties allied with the FpV 6, FAP 4, other 7; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA; seats by bloc or party - FpV 116, UCR 40, PJ Disidente 22, FAP 22, minor parties allied with the FpV 20, PRO 11, CC 6, other 20

Judicial branch:
highest court(s): Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (consists of the court president, vice-president, and 5 judges)