Córdoba
Córdoba, heart of Argentina. Its hills open into valleys of crystal-clear rivers, from Punilla to Calamuchita, and beyond the mountains, Traslasierra and Champaquí. La Docta, the learned city, with the oldest university in the country and a Jesuit heritage that is a World Heritage Site. Land of a singsong accent and humor, of cuarteto that makes everyone dance and fernet to share, of the Cosquín folk festival and an industry that never stops. Córdoba is not visited: it is returned to. Córdoba is joy that spreads.
- Capital
- Córdoba
- Region
- Pampas
- Area
- 165,321 km²
- Population · 2022 Census
- 3,840,905 inhabitants · 23.2 hab/km²
- Women · Men
- 51.7 % · 48.3 %
- Median age
- 33 years
- By age
- 0 to 14 years: 21.0 % · 15 to 64 years: 66.4 % · 65 years and over: 12.6 %
- Climate
- Temperate; subhumid in the east, semi-arid in the northwest and highland in the Sierras.
- Demonym
- cordobés/esa
- Founding of the capital
- 6 July 1573
- World Heritage (UNESCO)
- Manzana y Estancias Jesuíticas de Córdoba (2000)
Sources: INDEC, 2022 National Census (final results) · INDEC / IGN (area). World Heritage: UNESCO, World Heritage List.
Natural wealth
The territory that defines it
Córdoba is hills and plains. To the west rise the Sierras Grandes and the Sierras Chicas, with the Pampa de Achala and the Quebrada del Condorito, kingdom of the Andean condor, and Champaquí as the roof of the province. Between them open the valleys of Punilla, Calamuchita and Traslasierra, of clear rivers, dams and mountain towns. To the northeast, the Mar de Ansenuza —the Mar Chiquita lagoon—, the largest salt lake in the country and a refuge for flamingos, protected as a National Park since 2022. To the east and south stretches the pampa plain, one of the most fertile in the world.
- Parque Nacional Quebrada del Condorito (1996)
- Parque Nacional Traslasierra (2018)
- Parque Nacional Ansenuza (2022)
Source: Argentine National Parks Administration (SIB-APN).
- Bañados del Río Dulce y Laguna de Mar Chiquita (2002) · 996,000 ha
Source: Argentine Undersecretariat of Environment, Ramsar Sites Network. Official year of designation and area.
Human wealth
The living figures
Córdoba is La Docta, the learned city: a university town since the 17th century, with a singsong accent and a sense of humor that set it apart throughout the country. It is the cradle of cuarteto, which fills dance halls every weekend, and home to great festivals: the Cosquín Folk Festival, the Jesús María Rodeo and Folk Festival and the National Beer Festival in Villa General Belgrano, a legacy of its Central European colonies. At the table, mountain kid goat, Colonia Caroya salami and alfajores, with fernet as a shared ritual.
- Before the conquest · the Comechingón and Sanavirón peoples inhabit the hills and plains; at Cerro Colorado they left thousands of rock paintings
- 1573 · Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera founds Córdoba de la Nueva Andalucía
- 1613 · the Jesuits create the Colegio Máximo, the origin of the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, the oldest in the country. Its Jesuit Block and Estancias have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000
- 1918 · the University Reform, born in Córdoba, drives university autonomy and shared governance throughout Latin America
Sources: Universidad Nacional de Córdoba · UNESCO · Agencia Córdoba Turismo.
- Mario Kempes · football · born in Bell Ville, top scorer and champion of the 1978 World Cup
- Paulo Dybala · football · born in Laguna Larga, champion of the 2022 World Cup
- Facundo Campazzo · basketball · born in Córdoba
- La Mona Jiménez · music · icon of Córdoba's cuarteto
- Rodrigo Bueno · music · cuarteto singer born in Córdoba (1973-2000)
Sources: careers published in national and provincial press.
69,218 people identify as Indigenous or as descendants of Indigenous or native peoples: 1.8 % of the province's population. They belong to 52 different peoples, and 7,356 (10.6 %) speak or understand the language of their people. The five largest peoples are:
- Comechingón · 16,982
- Diaguita · 3,251
- Guaraní · 2,991
- Mapuche · 2,751
- Quechua · 2,541
Source: INDEC, 2022 National Population, Household and Housing Census, final results. Population in private dwellings.
Productive wealth
What it produces and exports
Córdoba is the country's third exporting province and an agro-industrial engine: soybeans, corn, wheat and peanuts on the plains, a great dairy basin, cattle and the food industry. To that it adds an automotive and auto-parts hub, the Fábrica Argentina de Aviones and a growing software and knowledge-based services sector. China is today its main buyer.
USD 10,913 million, 6.7 % more than in 2024: 12.5 % of the national total and 17.5 % of the Pampas region.
- Primary products · USD 5,017 M
- Manufactures of agricultural origin · USD 4,280 M
- Manufactures of industrial origin · USD 1,594 M
- Fuels and energy · USD 22 M
Main destinations: China (USD 1,605 M, 14.7 %), Brazil (USD 1,486 M), European Union (USD 1,156 M) and Middle East (USD 914 M). Main products: cereals (USD 2,788 M), oilseeds and oleaginous fruits (USD 2,156 M), food industry residues and waste (USD 1,731 M) and fats and oils (USD 1,500 M).
Source: INDEC, Provincial origin of exports. Goods. Year 2025 (provisional data) and annex tables.
Public sector · Córdoba accounts for almost 73 % of national peanut production (SISA 2023/24). According to INDEC, Argentina is the world's leading exporter of shelled peanuts, with 23 % of global exports.
Private sector · the Córdoba Grain Exchange puts the provincial average at 77 % of national production, and the Argentine Peanut Chamber notes that 90 % of the crop's processing takes place in Córdoba.
Sources: Public sector, Simplified Agricultural Information System (SISA) · INDEC · Private sector, Bolsa de Cereales de Córdoba · Cámara Argentina del Maní.
4,343,706 head as of 31 December 2024: 8.4 % of the national cattle stock.
Source: SENASA, stock as of 31/12/2024, in Secretariat of Agriculture, Provincial cattle profile 2024.
With 41 CONICET research units, Córdoba is the country's third scientific hub, after the City of Buenos Aires and the province of Buenos Aires, together with the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, the oldest in Argentina.
Source: CONICET, 2025 Management Report.
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