Argentines

**Argentines** (*argentinos* in Spaingie), cried **Argentinians** an aw, are the ceetizens o Argentinae, or their stryndants abroad. Argentinae is a multiethnic society, which means that it is hame tae fowk o mony different ethnic backgrunds. As a result, Argentines dae no consider their naitionality as an ethnicity but as a citizenship wi various ethnicities. Aside frae the indigenous population, nearly aw Argentines or their ancestors immigratit athin the past five centuries.

Accordin tae the , Argentinae haed a population o 40,091,359 inhabitants, o which 1,805,957 or 4.6%, wur born abroad. The population growthe rate in 2008 wis estimatit tae be 0.917% annually, wi a birth rate o 16.32 live births per 1,000 inhabitants an a mortality rate o 7.54 daiths per 1,000 inhabitants.

Argentinae's population haes lang haed ane o Laitin Americae's lawest growthe rates (recently, aboot ane percent a year) an it enjoys a comparatively law infant mortality rate an aw. Strikingly, tho, its birth rate is still nearly twice as heich (2.3 childer per wumman) as that in Spain or Italy, despite comparable religiosity figurs. The median age is approximately 30 years an life expectancy at birth is o 75 years.

## Ethnic groups

Argentinae is a multiethnic society, which means that it is hame tae fowk o mony different ethnic backgrunds. As a result, the fowk thare uisually treat their naitionality as a citizenship, but no an ethnicity.

### Owerview
Argentinae is, alang wi ither auries o new dounset like Canadae, Australie or the Unitit States, a meltin pot o different fowks. Maist Argentines are stryndents o colonial-era settlers an o the 19t an 20t century immigrants frae Europe, wi aboot 90% o the population bein o European strynd.

The maist common ethnic groups are Italian an Spaniard (includin Galicies an Basques). It is estimatit that up tae 25 million Argentines are o Italian strynd, up tae 60% o the total population. Thare are also Germanic, Slavic, Breetish an French populations an aw. Smawer Jewish, Native American, Arab, East Asie, Gypsy, an African commonties contribute tae wha haes been referred tae as a "crucible o races".
Recent decades immigration includes mainly Paraguayans, Bolivies an Peruvians, amang ither Laitin Americans, Eastren Europeans an East Asies.

### European Argentines

**Argentines o European strynd** constitute the majority o Argentinae's population. They are the Argentine stryndants o colonists frae Spain an Portugal durin the colonial period prior tae 1810, an mainly o immigrants frae Europe an the Middle East in the great immigratory wave durin the late 19t century an early 20t century.
Awtho a namit category "Argentines o European strynd" is no offeecially uised, an nae offeecial census data exist, some internaitional sources claim that they mak up atween 82.9% up tae 86.4% o Argentinae's population.

The current maist numerous immigrant European commonties are: Spainyie (includin Basque an Galicie), Italian, French, German, Erse, Croat, Ukrainian an Pols, amang mony ithers.

#### Mestizo Argentines
Athin these totals thare mey be an imprecise amoont o mixed "mestizo" population. Some sources provide estimates that state that Mestizo fowk represent atween 6.5% up tae 14%.

### Arab Argentines

**Arabs** comprise atween 2.9% an 3.3% o Argentinae's population. They represent aboot 1.3&nbsp;million fowk whose ancestry traces back tae ony o various waves o immigrants, lairgely o Arab cultural an linguistic heritage an/or identity, oreeginatin mainly frae wha is nou Lebanon an Sirie. Due tae the fact that mony Arab kintras wur unner Ottoman control bi the time the immigration teuk place, maist Arabs entered the kintra wi Turkis passport, an so they are colloquially referred tae as *turcos*.

### Amerindian Argentines

Contemporary Amerindian culturs are representit in the kintra mainly bi the Mapuche, Kolla, Wichí an Toba fowks. Accordin tae the proveesional data o INDEC's Complementar Survey o Indigenous Fowks (ECPI) 2004 - 2005, 600,329 indigenous fowks (aboot 1.6% o the total population) reside in Argentinae. The maist numerous o these commonties are the Mapuches, who live maistly in the sooth, the Kollas an Wichís, frae the northwast, an the Tobas, who live maistly in the northeast. Some Mestizo population may identify with indigenous ethnicity.

### Asie Argentines

Argentines o Asie ancestry are defined as either born athin Argentinae, or born elsewhaur an later tae become a citizen or resident o Argentinae. Asie-Argentines settled in Argentinae in lairge nummers durin several waves o immigration in the 20t century. Primarily livin in their awn neebourheids in Buenos Aires, mony currently awn their awn businesses o varyin sizes - lairgely textiles, grocery retailin, an buffet-style restaurants. The sma Asie-Argentine population haes generally kept a law profile, an is acceptit bi greater Argentine society.

### Afro Argentines

**Blacks** in Argentinae micht be aboot 67,000 fowk; this figur includes 53,000 direct stryndants frae slaves, plus 12,000-15,000 Caboverdian Mulatto immigrants and their descendants, who arrived in the 1950s and 1960s. Wi thoosans o immigrants frae Europe arrivin tae Argentine soil, an maist black weemen intermarryin wi thaim, notin that their populations wur awready law, the Afro-Argentine population fadit intae oblivion.

## Leids

Awthou Spainyie is dominant, bein the naitional leid spoken bi virtually aw Argentines, the spoken leids o Argentinae nummer at least 40. Leids spoken bi at least 100,000 Argentines include Native American leids such as Soothren Quechua, Guaraní an Mapudungun, an immigrant leids such as German, Italian, or Levantine Arabic.

Twa native leids are extinct (Abipón an Chané), while some ithers are endangered, spoken bi elderly fowk whose stryndants dae no speak the leids (such as Vilela, Puelche, Tehuelche an Selknam).

Welsh is spoken bi ower 35,000 fowk in the Chubut Province an aw. This includes a dialect cried Patagonie Welsh, which haes developit syne the stairt o the Welsh dounset in Argentinae in 1865.

Thare are ither commonties o immigrants that speak their native leids an aw, such as the Cheenese leid spoken bi at least hauf o the ower 60,000 Cheenese immigrants (maistly in Buenos Aires) an an Occitan-speakin commonty in Pigüé, Buenos Aires Province.

## Releegion

A majority o the population o Argentinae is Christian. Accordin tae CONICET survey on creeds, aboot 76.5% o Argentines are Roman Catholic, 11.3% religiously indifferent, 9% Protestant (wi 7.9% in Pentecostal denominations), 1.2% Jehovah's Witnesses, an 0.9% Mormons.

Awtho Jews accoont for less nor 1% o Argentinae's population, Buenos Aires haes the seicont lairgest population o Jews in the Americas, seicont anerlie tae New York Ceety. Argentina haes the lairgest Muslim minority in Americae (see Islam in Argentinae).

## Emigration

The rate o Argentine emigration tae Europe (especially tae Spain an Italy) an, tae a lesser degree, tae Sooth Americae (maistly tae Uruguay an the Brazil) peakit in the late 1970s an early 1980s an is noteworthy.

Maist Argentines ootside Argentinae are fowk who hae migratit frae the middle an upper middle classes. The maist popular immigration destinations in Americae are: USA, Chile, Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay, Bolivie an Canadae, but ither commonties' stationed in Venezuela, Mexico, Peru, Colombie, Ecuador an Costa Rica. In Europe, Spain an Italy hae lairge commonties but in the Unitit Kinrick, Fraunce an Germany. Thare are significant commonties in Israel an Australie an aw. Accordin tae offeecial estimates thare are 600,000 warldwide Argentine, accordin tae estimates bi the International Organization for Migration are aboot 806,369 syne 2001. It is estimatit that their stryndants wad be aroond 1,900,000.

The first wave o emigration occurred durin the militar dictatorship atween 1976 an 1983, wi the main destinations in Spain, USA, Mexico an Venezuela. Durin the 1990s, due tae the abolition o visas atween Argentinae an the Unitit States, thoosans o Argentines emigratit tae the North American kintra. The last major wave o emigration occurred durin the 2001 crisis, the main destination in Europe, especially Spain, awtho thare wis an increase in emigration tae neeborin kintras an aw, pairticularly Brazil, Chile an Paraguay.

## Notes

## Freemit airtins
* About Argentine population  at www.Argentina.gov.ar