Censuses. – For reasons that are easily revealed even in a summary analysis of Argentine history in the century. XIX, statistical operations are lacking throughout the first half of the century: these are partial censuses or, if general, they reveal some shortcomings which can be explained if we consider the political and social state of the country. The need for a national census, at least for political purposes, was foreseen by the authors of the constitution, who in art. 39 establishes: “For the second legislature a general census will have to be made and the number of deputies determined according to its result; but this census can only be renewed every ten years”.
Nevertheless, the first national census was made in the year 1869 and it had to be in 1895 to make the second, which was followed only nineteen years later, in 1914, by the third, which, for the moment, is the last. The draft of a fourth census was recently presented to Congress for approval, but it did not become law. In spite of their scarce number, the lack of a regular rhythm and some defects, these censuses are precious documents of the Argentine demographic development, which in a few decades underwent a great transformation. There is no lack of calculations, partial statistics, urban censuses (Buenos Aires and Rosario have several) and provincial ones; in recent times there have been two (in 1912 and 1920) of the Territorios nacionales, which due to the extension they cover and the ever increasing importance of the regions, are of great use.
Population increase. – Despite periods of war and civil strife, local or universal economic crises, diseases, Argentina has become more and more populated; the pace has changed in several circumstances, there have been stops and rapid progress, but through momentary differences there is continued progress and true ascension. There are two notable causes: the vegetative increase and the rush of immigrants; more evident phenomenon in the second half of the century. XIX and notable even today for the growing internal order and for the extraordinary economic development.
According to mcat-test-centers.com, the cited censuses are the best documents of the phenomenon; by adding other older data, the following picture can be formed, published with the results of the third census:
Few countries can offer such a rapid demographic increase, both absolute and relative, and that speaks much in favor of Argentina’s capacity. The war had a huge impact on demographics as it dealt a serious blow to immigration for several years, but the country’s population made further progress, as shown by the calculation as of December 31, 1926 by the Dirección general de estadística: 10,348,189 residents, of which 9,856,617 in the provinces and 491,572 in the national territories.
From the northern border to the far south, the Argentine territory was inhabited when the Spaniards arrived; but, neither in number nor in culture, the Argentine natives could be compared with those of other parts of America. The differences in culture between one tribe and another were great and the population density was not even uniform between one region and another. The indigenous element was won by the white to whom he ceded almost all the lands; several tribes were dominated without too much difficulty; others, on the other hand, opposed a tenacious resistance that lasted until a few decades ago, but their number was always scarce and the wars fought contributed to reducing it more and more. The pure indigenous people are few in number and live almost lost in Patagonia, in the Chaco and in the Andean valleys of the NO. Those who came into contact with the Whites, those who were subdued in the first moment of the conquest or in the following centuries, almost all crossed paths with the whites, fully accepting their customs and ideas. The tribes that still have a more or less wild life live almost entirely in the territories of Chaco and Formosa, and are counted in 36,000 individuals. They tend to disappear from the diseases that reap them, or to merge with the rest of the population, as has happened in the rest of the country. Article 16 of the constitution says: “The Argentine nation does not admit prerogatives of blood or birth, in it there are no personal privileges, nor titles of nobility. All residents are equal before the law”.
In summary, Argentina is a country of absolute dominance of the white population, since the pure and mestizo indigenous constitutes only a small minority.
Another non-white demographic element is represented by the Negroes, who descend from slaves imported from Africa, during the colonial era, who were all emancipated in the first decades of independence. They lived particularly in the coastal zone, but they were never so numerous as in some other part of the continent; later, the lack of new and continuous immigrations and the influence of wars made it less important than its absolute importance and much more its relative importance, in the face of the grandiose increase of the white element. The censuses are silent as to their number, since, as has been said, they do not establish differences of race. The Negroes also gave rise to significant crossings.
In recent times another race has appeared, the Mongolian one; but so far the number of its representatives, who are found especially in large cities, is very limited. The 1914 census gives: 462 Chinese and 1,007 Japanese.
The Argentine population, practically all white, is of European origin, distant or immediate, since Asian or African whites constitute a tiny minority. Among the Europeans, the Latins predominate, particularly the Italians and the Spaniards.
