10 September 2026
Argentina's consumer price inflation slowed to 1.7 percent in August 2026, the lowest monthly level in 14 months, the INDEC national statistics bureau reported.
July's figure had been 2.1 percent.
Prices are 33.5 percent higher than a year earlier and 21.3 percent higher so far in 2026.
Core inflation was 1.8 percent, regulated prices rose 2.2 percent and seasonal prices fell 0.9 percent.
Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels rose most at 2.8 percent, followed by education at 2.5 percent; clothing and footwear fell 0.6 percent.
Monthly inflation, August 2026:
1.7%
Year-on-year:
33.5%
Cumulative in 2026:
21.3%
Core inflation:
1.8%
Why it matters for exams: Inflation figures, the statistics body that publishes them and the headline-versus-core distinction are standard economy questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
INDEC Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos — Argentina's national statistics and census institute.
Core inflation — Inflation that leaves out regulated and seasonal prices.
Background
Article 1 of the Constitution states that the Argentine Nation adopts the representative republican federal form for its government.
The federal government's own country page gives the capital as the Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, the official language as español and the monetary unit as the peso.
The country is divided into 24 jurisdictions: 23 provincias and one federal district, which is the Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires.
Article 129 gives the city of Buenos Aires an autonomous regime of government with its own powers of legislation and jurisdiction, and its head of government is elected directly by the people of the city.
Article 35 keeps three names official and interchangeable for the government and the territory of the provinces: Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata, República Argentina and Confederación Argentina. The same article requires the words 'Nación Argentina' in the formation and sanction of laws.
Article 3 places the federal authorities in the city declared Capital of the Republic by a special law of Congress, after the territory has been ceded by one or more provincial legislatures.
The same government page gives the area as 3.761.274 km² and the population as 46.234.830 at the 2022 national census of population, households and housing.
Capital:
Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires
Official language:
español
Monetary unit:
peso
Provinces:
23 provincias
Area:
3.761.274 km²
Population:
46.234.830
Why it matters for exams: Capital, official language, currency and the number of provinces are the first facts asked about any country, and Argentina's structure separates its 23 provinces from an autonomous capital city that is a federal district.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires Autonomous City of Buenos Aires — Argentina's capital, a federal district with its own powers of legislation and jurisdiction and a directly elected head of government.
Federal district Distrito federal — A capital territory held by the national government rather than forming part of any province.
Background
Article 90 of the Constitution gives the President and Vice-President a term of cuatro años and allows them to be re-elected or to succeed each other for only one consecutive period. Once they have done so, neither may be elected to either office again except after an interval of one period.
Article 94 has them elected directly by the People, en doble vuelta, and makes the whole national territory a single district for the purpose.
Article 95 requires the election to be held within the two months before the end of the sitting President's mandate.
Article 96 holds the second electoral round, where one is required, between the two most-voted tickets, within treinta días of the first.
Article 97 proclaims the leading first-round ticket elected if it has taken more than cuarenta y cinco por ciento of the valid affirmative votes cast.
Article 98 proclaims it elected on a lower bar as well: at least cuarenta por ciento of the valid affirmative votes, together with a lead of more than diez puntos porcentuales over the ticket next in votes.
Article 91 states that the President leaves power on the very day the four-year period expires, and that no interruption can be a reason to complete the term later.
Article 99 makes the President the supreme head of the Nation, head of the government and politically responsible for the general administration of the country.
Term of office:
cuatro años
Re-election limit:
un solo período consecutivo
First-round win threshold:
cuarenta y cinco por ciento
Lower threshold:
cuarenta por ciento
Lead required with the lower threshold:
diez puntos porcentuales
Second round held within:
treinta días
Why it matters for exams: Term length, the method of election and the re-election bar are the three things asked about any presidency, and Argentina's two numerical thresholds for avoiding a run-off are a favourite comparative question.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Segunda vuelta Second electoral round — The run-off between the two leading tickets, held when neither of the Constitution's first-round thresholds is met.
Valid affirmative votes Votos afirmativos válidamente emitidos — The votes counted towards the thresholds, which leaves out blank and spoilt ballots.
Background
The federal government's territory page gives the limits as the Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia and the República del Paraguay to the north; the República de Chile and the Océano Atlántico Sur to the south; the República Federativa del Brasil, the República Oriental del Uruguay and the Océano Atlántico Sur to the east; and the República de Chile to the west.
The land boundaries with those five countries run to 9.376 km in all: Chile: 5.308 km, Paraguay: 1.699 km, Brasil: 1.132 km, Uruguay: 887 km and Bolivia: 742 km.
The whole frontier perimeter on the American continental portion is about 15.000 km, of which 5.117 km is the river and sea frontage of the Río de la Plata and the Mar Argentino.
The coast of the Río de la Plata measures 392 km and the Atlantic coast 4.725 km.
The northernmost continental point is the confluence of the Grande de San Juan and Mojinete rivers in Jujuy province, and the southernmost is Cabo San Pío on the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego.
The distance between the northern and southern extreme points is 3.694 km and the maximum continental width is 1.408 km.
The government's own travel page states that Cerro Aconcagua is the highest peak of the American continent and that it lies 180 km from the city of Mendoza along national route 7.
In the Instituto Geográfico Nacional's table of maximum heights, Cerro Aconcagua in Mendoza is listed at 6961 m, ahead of the Complejo Volcánico Ojos del Salado at 6879 m and Monte Pissis at 6788 m.
Border with Chile:
5.308 km
Border with Paraguay:
1.699 km
Border with Brazil:
1.132 km
Border with Uruguay:
887 km
Border with Bolivia:
742 km
Height of Cerro Aconcagua:
6961
Why it matters for exams: Neighbouring countries and the highest peak are asked about every country, and Argentina's longest border being with Chile along the Andes links the political map to the relief map.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
IGN Instituto Geográfico Nacional — Argentina's national mapping agency, which fixes the country's official heights, limits and place names.
Mar Argentino Argentine Sea — The name Argentina gives to the part of the South Atlantic over its continental shelf.
Background
The World Heritage Centre's country page for Argentina records 12 properties inscribed on the World Heritage List, 7 of them cultural and 5 natural, with none in the mixed category.
Argentina accepted the World Heritage Convention on Wednesday, 23 August 1978.
Los Glaciares National Park, inscribed in 1981, is the oldest of the Argentine properties, and Iguazu National Park followed in 1984.
Cueva de las Manos, Río Pinturas and Península Valdés were both inscribed in 1999, Quebrada de Humahuaca in 2003, Qhapaq Ñan, Andean Road System in 2014 and Los Alerces National Park in 2017.
The Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis are inscribed together with the Ruins of Sao Miguel das Missoes in Brazil, and the page also lists 8 sites on Argentina's Tentative List.
Tango was inscribed in 2009 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and the inscription is held by Argentina and Uruguay together.
UNESCO describes it as the Argentinian and Uruguayan tradition of the Tango, developed by the urban lower classes in Buenos Aires and Montevideo in the Rio de la Plata basin.
The intangible heritage page for Argentina shows 4 elements inscribed in all, and records that Argentina ratified the intangible heritage convention on 8 August 2006.
World Heritage properties:
12
Cultural properties:
7
Natural properties:
5
World Heritage Convention accepted:
23 August 1978
Tango inscribed:
2009
Intangible heritage elements:
4
Why it matters for exams: World Heritage counts and the country that shares an inscription are standard one-mark questions, and tango is the most frequently asked intangible heritage element from South America.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Representative List Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity — The main UNESCO list of living traditions kept under the convention on intangible cultural heritage.
Tentative List Lista indicativa — A state party's own inventory of the properties it intends to consider for future nomination.
Background
The Dirección Nacional Electoral records that the Congreso de la Nación (Congress of the Nation) is a bicameral assembly made up of the Cámara de Diputados (Chamber of Deputies) with 257 representantes and the Cámara de Senadores (Senate) with 72 representantes.
Freedom House's Argentina country report sets out the same composition in English: the National Congress consists of a lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, and an upper house, the Senate; the Chamber of Deputies has 257 members elected for four-year terms and the Senate has 72 members elected for six-year terms, and half of all deputies and a third of senators are up for election every two years.
Article 45 of the Constitution has deputies elected directly by the people of the provinces, of the city of Buenos Aires and of the Capital in case of transfer, which are treated for this purpose as electoral districts of a single State, by simple plurality of votes.
Article 50 gives deputies a term of four years and makes them re-eligible, but the chamber renews half of its seats every two years.
Article 54 composes the Senate of tres senadores por cada provincia and three for the city of Buenos Aires, elected directly and jointly, with two seats going to the party that wins the most votes and the remaining one to the party next in votes.
Article 56 gives senators a term of six years and allows indefinite re-election, while the Senate renews a third of its electoral districts every two years.
The Senate's own page states that the 1994 constitutional reform introduced the direct election of senators and a third senator for the minority in each district, and cut the senatorial term from nine years to six.
Article 57 makes the Vice-President of the Nation the president of the Senate, with no vote except to break a tie.
Article 52 reserves to the Chamber of Deputies alone the initiative on laws about contributions and the recruitment of troops.
Chamber of Deputies:
257 representantes
Senate:
72 representantes
Senators per district:
tres senadores por cada provincia
Deputies' renewal:
por mitad cada bienio
Senate renewal:
un tercio cada dos años
Why it matters for exams: The size, term and renewal cycle of each chamber is the standard comparative question on any bicameral legislature, and Argentina's Senate is unusual in guaranteeing one seat in each district to the runner-up party.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Bicameral Two-chamber legislature — A legislature with two separate houses, both of which must pass a bill before it becomes law.
Cámara de Diputados Chamber of Deputies — The lower house of Argentina's Congress, whose members represent the provinces and the capital city as electoral districts.
Background
The Embassy of India in Buenos Aires records in its bilateral relations brief that India opened a Trade Commission in Buenos Aires in 1943, which was later converted into one of the first embassies of India in South America, in 1949.
Argentina had established a Consulate in Kolkata in the 1920s, which was shifted to Delhi as an embassy in 1950, and it has had a Consulate General in Mumbai since April 2009.
India-Argentina diplomatic relations were elevated to the level of Strategic Partnership during the State Visit to India of the then President of Argentina, in February 2019.
Both countries completed 75 years of their diplomatic relationship on 3 February 2024, marked by a commemorative book titled 'India-Argentina: 75 Años de Relaciones Diplomáticas'.
Indo-Argentine trade saw a further resurgence in 2025: from January to November it registered a growth of 36.77%, with total trade valued at USD 6.34 billion, and India is ranked as Argentina's fifth-largest trading partner and export destination.
India's main exports to Argentina are petroleum oils, agro chemicals, yarn-fabric-madeups, organic chemicals, bulk drugs and two-wheelers; its main imports from Argentina are vegetable oils, led by soybean and sunflower oil, with finished leather, cereals and pulses.
Space cooperation runs under the Agreement on Cooperation on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space signed in 2009, whose ISRO-CONAE Joint Committee held its third meeting in October 2024; nuclear cooperation runs under the bilateral Agreement for Cooperation in Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy.
In the first ever acquisition of lithium resources abroad, the state-owned KABIL signed an agreement with CAMYEN, a public sector undertaking of the Province of Catamarca, to lease five lithium blocks for exploration and eventual exploitation.
Level of relations:
Strategic Partnership
Indian embassy opened:
1949
Bilateral trade:
USD 6.34 billion
Growth in trade:
36.77%
India's rank for Argentina:
fifth-largest trading partner
Lithium blocks leased:
five lithium blocks
Why it matters for exams: The name of a bilateral partnership, the year relations began and the shape of the trade are the three things asked about any India-country pair, and Argentina adds the lithium and space tracks.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSCBank
In plain words
CONAE Argentine Space Agency — Argentina's national space agency, the counterpart to ISRO in the two countries' joint space committee.
Strategic Partnership Asociación Estratégica — The level to which the two governments raised their relations, bringing political, economic, defence and scientific cooperation under one framework.
Background
India opened a Trade Commission in Buenos Aires in 1943, later converted into one of the first embassies of India in South America, in 1949.
Argentina had set up a Consulate in Kolkata in the 1920s, which was shifted to Delhi as an embassy in 1950.
Argentina has had a Consulate General in Mumbai since April 2009.
The two countries completed 75 years of diplomatic relations on 3 February 2024.
India's Trade Commission opened:
1943
Became an embassy:
1949
Argentine embassy in Delhi:
1950
Diplomatic ties completed 75 years:
3 February 2024
Why it matters for exams: The origins of India's diplomatic ties with a country, and the cities where missions sit, are asked in international relations papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
Background
On 9 July 1816 representatives of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata met in the Congress of Tucumán and signed the Act of Independence.
The declaration formally broke the ties of dependence with the Spanish monarchy.
Ten days later the same Congress renounced all other foreign domination.
The act concluded the process that began with the May Week (Semana de Mayo) of 1810. 9 July is Argentina's Independence Day.
Independence declared:
9 July 1816
Body that declared it:
Congress of Tucumán
Earlier milestone:
Semana de Mayo, 1810
Why it matters for exams: Independence dates and the founding events of a nation are standard history and general-knowledge questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Semana de Mayo May Week — The May 1810 events that began Argentina's emancipation process.
Background
César Milstein was born on 8 October 1927 in Bahia Blanca, Argentina.
He shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1984 with Niels K. Jerne and Georges J.F. Köhler, receiving one third of the prize.
The citation was for theories concerning the specificity in development and control of the immune system and the discovery of the principle for production of monoclonal antibodies.
He worked at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, United Kingdom, and died there in 2002.
With Köhler he developed a method for fusing tumour cells with antigen-immune cells to produce antibodies of a single type.
Born:
8 October 1927, Bahia Blanca, Argentina
Prize:
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1984
Prize share:
1/3
Co-laureates:
Niels K. Jerne, Georges J.F. Köhler
Why it matters for exams: Nobel laureates by country and the discoveries behind each prize are regular questions in awards and science sections.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Monoclonal antibodies — Identical antibodies, all of one type, made by a single line of cells.
Background
The Antarctic Treaty was signed in Washington on 1 December 1959, and Argentina ratified it by Law No. 15.802.
Argentina has been a Consultative Party to the Treaty since it entered into force in 1961.
Since the Treaty, all areas south of the 60th parallel south, up to the Pole at 90 degrees, are reserved for scientific and technical activities.
Article IV of the Treaty safeguards claims of sovereignty over Antarctica and their foundations.
In the Argentine Antarctic Sector the country administers 13 bases or stations: 6 are permanent, operating all year, and the rest are temporary, operating only in summer.
Treaty limit:
South of 60° S
Argentine bases:
13
Permanent bases:
6
Ratifying law:
Law No. 15.802
Why it matters for exams: The Antarctic Treaty, its 60 degrees south limit and Article IV on sovereignty claims are regular geography and international-relations questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Consultative Party — A party to the Antarctic Treaty entitled to take part in its decision-making meetings.
Article IV — The Treaty article that safeguards sovereignty claims over Antarctica and their foundations.
Background
The World Trade Organization records Argentina as a WTO member since 1 January 1995.
The same WTO page records Argentina as a member of GATT since 11 October 1967.
GATT, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, was the earlier framework for trade in goods; Argentina therefore belonged to it for decades before the WTO began work.
The WTO member page for Argentina carries trade statistics, tariff data, goods schedules and services schedules.
WTO member since:
1 January 1995
GATT member since:
11 October 1967
Why it matters for exams: Membership of GATT and the WTO and what GATT stands for are standard international-economy questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade — The earlier multilateral framework for trade in goods that preceded the WTO.