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Dec. 26, 2006 One phenomenon that has always puzzled me is the fact that Argentina is so sparsely populated, at least compared with the US and the countries of Europe, to say nothing of India and the Orient. Only Russia, Central Asia and Australia might be compared. Just let me compare some figures for Germany and Argentina . Germany’s area is only 134,835 square miles, slightly less than the state of Montana. Argentina’s area is 1,056,642 square miles, greater than that of California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma combined, and 7.8 times as great as Germany’s. But Argentina’s current population is about 39,922,000, whereas Germany’s is about 82,422,299. This gives Germany a population density of 611.3 persons per square mile and Argentina one of 37.8. So Germany is 16.2 times as crowded as Argentina. The CIA World Factbook states that 33.13% of Germany’s land is arable, while only 10.03% of Argentina’s is. But there is a problem with the word ‘arable’. At first glance, one would suppose that ‘arable’ means ‘cultivable’, and that a country’s arable land comprises all the land that CAN BE farmed. But, in practice, ‘arable’ means ‘cultivated’, so that a country’s arable land comprises all the land that ACTUALLY IS farmed. So the two percentages give us little insight into how much land could be farmed with a more intensive agriculture. I feel confident that Germans are farming all that they can, but I don’t know about Argentines. My guess is that the figure of 10.03% could be elevated with the expansion of the rural economy. I passed through miles of uncultivated pampa that looked as if they’d be perfectly farmable, if irrigated. Even as it is though, Argentina has more than double Germany’s arable land, with less than half the population. Argentina has 105,981 square miles and Germany 44,671. This means that 377 Argentines are fed off each square mile of land, whereas 1,845 Germans eat off a square mile, not counting export-import activities. If Argentina could triple its arable land, the ratio would become even more lopsided. Argentina lies between 26º and 55º south of the Equator and Germany between 47ª and 55ª. A quick averaging tells us that Argentina as a whole is about 10º closer to the Equator, which of course makes it warmer. Average summer and winter highs and lows in Buenos Aires are 86º & 63º and 59º & 41º. The corresponding temperatures for Berlin are 73º & 55ª and 35º & 27º. So Buenos Aires is 10º warmer in the summer than Berlin and 14º in the winter. All the geographical data seem to suggest that Argentina should be more populous and prosperous than Germany, but the CIA gives Germany’s GDP per capita as $30,100 annually and Argentina’s as $13,700, so the geographical indicators are deceptive. These GDP’s are adjusted for PPP (purchasing power parity), of which I am very leery, but not so leery as to think that the figures could be changed materially in this case. The historical aspect doesn’t seem to enter the picture. Argentina with 500 years of European settlement can no longer lay a claim to national youth, especially in view of the ravages of wars that afflicted Germany. ------------ About the author Thomas Keyes: I have written two books: A SOJOURN IN ASIA (non-fiction) and A TALE OF UNG (fiction), neither published so far. I have studied languages for years and traveled extensively on five continents. Email: udikeyes@yahoo.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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