In South America's southern hemisphere, Argentina is a nation. In addition to sharing a border with Chile to the west, it is also surrounded by Bolivia and Paraguay to the north, Brazil to the northeast, Uruguay and the South Ocean To the east, and the Drake Passage to the south. It is the largest country in the Southern Cone. In terms of land size, Argentina is the biggest Spanish-speaking country in the world, with 2,780,400 km2 (1,073,500 sq mi). It's the second-largest nation in South America, after Brazil, and the fourth-largest country in the Americas, as well as the eighth-largest country on the planet. A country with twenty-three provinces and one autonomous city, Buenos Aires, which serves as the federal capital and the country's biggest metropolis, Argentina is split into twenty-three provinces and one autonomous city. Despite the fact that each province and the capital have their own constitutions, the country is governed by a federal government. Part of Antarctica, as well as the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, are claimed by the country of Argentina.
Argentina rose to become the seventh-wealthiest country in the world by the early twentieth century, thanks to an almost unprecedented surge in affluence. Until at least 1920, Argentina's GDP per capita was higher than that of the United States, and it routinely ranked among the top 10 before then. In terms of global rankings, it is now placed 71st. Argentina, which had been among the fifteen wealthiest nations for many decades before to the Great Depression in the 1930s, fell victim to political instability and economic deterioration, which resulted in its relapse into underdevelopment. Isabel Martnez de Perón, the widow and vice president of President Juan Perón, was elevated to the presidency upon his death in 1974, but she was deposed by the military in 1976. The succeeding military junta imprisoned and killed hundreds of political dissidents, activists, and communists during the Dirty War, which was a period of state terrorism and civil unrest that lasted until the election of Ral Alfonsin as president in 1982.
Although Argentina is a developing nation, it rates quite high on the Human Development Index, ranking second only to Chile in Latin America in terms of overall human development. Despite its role as a regional power, it has retained its historical position as a medium state in international affairs. With the second biggest economy in South America, it is a member of the G-15 and G20 groups of nations. Argentina is also a founding member of the United Nations, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, the Mercosur, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, and the Organization of Ibero-American States, among other organisations.