Argentine peso

Argentine peso
$
The peso (established as the peso convertible) is the currency of Argentina, identified by the symbol $ preceding the amount in the same way as many countries using peso or dollar currencies. It is subdivided into 100 centavos. Its ISO 4217 code is ARS.

The Argentine currency has experienced severe inflation, with periods of hyperinflation, since the mid-20th century, with periodic change of the currency to a new version at a rate ranging from 100:1 to 10,000:1. The peso introduced in 1992 was worth 10,000,000,000,000 (ten trillion) of the pesos in use until 1970.

Since the early 21st century, the Argentine peso has experienced a substantial rate of devaluation, reaching over 51% year-on-year inflation rate in 2021. The official exchange rate for the United States dollar commenced at 1:1 at the peso's introduction in 1992; it then hovered around 3:1 from 2002 to 2008, before climbing from 6:1 to 10:1 between 2009 and 2015. In July 2022, the value exchange rate with the US dollar was at 131 ARS to US$1 as per the official government rate and 298:1 at the unregulated rate.

Amounts in earlier pesos were sometimes preceded by a "$" sign and sometimes, particularly in formal use, by symbols identifying that it was a specific currency, for example "$ m⁄n100" or "m$n100" for pesos moneda nacional. The peso introduced in 1992 is just called peso (until 2002, peso convertible), and is written preceded by a "$" sign only. Earlier pesos replaced currencies also called peso, and sometimes two varieties of peso coexisted, making it necessary to have a distinguishing term to use, at least in the transitional period; the 1992 peso replaced a currency with a different name, austral.

Country
  • Argentina
    Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic (República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of 2780400 km2, making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourth-largest country in the Americas, and the eighth-largest country in the world. It shares the bulk of the Southern Cone with Chile to the west, and is also bordered by Bolivia and Paraguay to the north, Brazil to the northeast, Uruguay and the South Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Drake Passage to the south. Argentina is a federal state subdivided into twenty-three provinces, and one autonomous city, which is the federal capital and largest city of the nation, Buenos Aires. The provinces and the capital have their own constitutions, but exist under a federal system. Argentina claims sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and a part of Antarctica.

    The earliest recorded human presence in modern-day Argentina dates back to the Paleolithic period. The Inca Empire expanded to the northwest of the country in Pre-Columbian times. The country has its roots in Spanish colonization of the region during the 16th century. Argentina rose as the successor state of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, a Spanish overseas viceroyalty founded in 1776. The declaration and fight for independence (1810–1818) was followed by an extended civil war that lasted until 1861, culminating in the country's reorganization as a federation. The country thereafter enjoyed relative peace and stability, with several waves of European immigration, mainly Italians and Spaniards, radically reshaping its cultural and demographic outlook; over 60% of the population has full or partial Italian ancestry, and Argentine culture has significant connections to Italian culture.