Argentina is a federal state comprising 23 provinces with a total population of almost 40 million. The results of the Additional Survey on Indigenous Populations, published by the National Institute for Statistics and Census, gives a total of 600,329 people who recognise themselves as descending from or belonging to an indigenous people.1 The indigenous organisations do not believe this to be a credible number, however, for various reasons: because the methodology used in the survey was inadequate, because a large number of indigenous people live in urban areas where the survey could not be fully conducted and because there are still many people in the country who hide their indigenous identity for fear of discrimination. It should also be noted that, when the survey was designed in 2001, it was based on the existence of 18 different peoples in the country whereas now there are more than 31. This shows that there has been a notable increase in awareness amongst indigenous people in terms of their ethnic belonging. Legally, the indigenous peoples have specific constitutional rights at federal level and also in a number of provincial states. ILO Convention 169 and other universal human rights instruments such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights are also in force, with constitutional status.

International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs, The Indigenous World 2011