Argentina

Occupying the largest part of the Southern Cone of South America, and stretching from Northern deserts and tropical areas to sub-polar Tierra del Fuego, Argentina shares a good deal in common culturally and religiously with other Latin American societies, particularly when it comes to the prominence of Marian devotion. Still, the Southern cone countries — especially Uruguay and Chile, but also Argentina — differ from from most other Latin societies in terms of economic prosperity and lower levels of religious practice and commitment.

In a number of very public, visible ways, Argentina appears to be an especially devout country. Catholic images are prominent in public spaces — on esplanades, at public schools and universities, town offices, police stations, public parks, etc. Marian feasts regularly draw out large crowds, and supplant everything else in town, sometimes for days, as at the feast of the Señor y Virgen del Milagro. This presence in public space is largely taken for granted. But in Argentina, like its neighbor Chile, a good deal of survey data reveals lower levels of religious practice and commitment than one might expect. Read more...

    Religious Affiliation
    Chart source: Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project, 2010
    Total Population
    44,688,864 1
    Urban
    91.9% 1
    Rural
    8.1% 1
    Immigrants as % of Population
    5.0% 2
    Homicides
    4.62 per 100,000 people (global median: 5.8) 3
    Level of Public Corruption
    37 (100 is very clean, 0 is highly corrupt) 4
    Fertility Rate
    1.90 live births per woman 5
    Under-Five Mortality Rate
    7.00 deaths per 1,000 live births 5
    Life Expectancy at Birth
    75 years 5
    Adult Literacy Rate
    97.97% 6
    Male Youth Literacy Rate (15-24 years)
    99% 5
    Female Youth Literacy Rate (15-24 years)
    100% 5
    Internet Users
    88% 6
    GDP per Capita
    US$9,912 5
    Population Living Below US$2.15 per Day
    0.6% 7
    Gender Gap Ranking based on economy, health, education, and politics
    36 (146 is the lowest ranked country; 1 is the highest ranked country) 8
    Religious Freedom: Government Restrictions Index (GRI)
    2.7 - Moderate
    Religious Freedom: Social Hostilities Index (SHI)
    1.4 - Low

    These statistics are derived from the Vatican's official publication, Statistical Yearbook of the Church 2020 (Vatican City: Librera Editrice Vaticana, 2022). The numbers may differ from data reported by other sources on this site.

    Baptized Catholics
    41,800,000
    Baptized Catholics as % of Total Population
    92.12
    Baptisms per Year (Under age 7)
    409,751
    Baptisms per Year (Over age 7)
    32,659
    First Communions per Year
    267,354
    Confirmations per Year
    197,005
    Students Enrolled in Catholic Primary Schools
    626,648
    Students Enrolled in Catholic Secondary Schools
    493,952
    Students Enrolled in Catholic Higher Education
    156,963
    Church Marriages per Year
    28,247
    Church Marriages in Which Both Spouses are Catholics
    27,309
    Priests
    5,528
    Women Religious (Nuns & Sisters)
    6,695
    Catholics per Priest
    7,562
    Parishes
    2,877
    Mission Stations (no resident priests)
    477
    Catholic Hospitals
    44
    Homes for Aged, Handicapped, Invalids
    294