Argentina Was Richer Than Germany. What Happened?

In 1913 Argentina was one of the ten richest countries on Earth: richer per person than Germany or France, and about twice as rich as Spain. Six million Europeans moved there. A century later it had slid down the world rankings. Along the way it defaulted on its debts nine times, suffered six military coups and knocked thirteen zeros off its currency. This is the full story, from a smugglers’ port to the Pampas boom, Perón, the dictatorship, the Falklands, hyperinflation, the 2001 crash and Milei. It ends with the twist hidden in the numbers. 0:00 Intro 0:56 A port at the end of the world 5:09 The boom 10:00 Coups and Perón 12:51 The pendulum and the dark years 17:52 Hyperinflation, the peg and the crash 21:00 The pendulum keeps swinging 25:29 Where Argentina stands now 26:19 The twist Sources: rug.nl/ggdc/historicaldevelopment/maddison/releases/maddison-project-database-2020 github.com/owid/owid-datasets/tree/master/datasets/Maddison%20Project%20Database%202020 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Argentina en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossing_of_the_Andes en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_Argentina en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conquest_of_the_Desert en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Argentina lanacion.com.ar/economia/campo/el-historico-desvelo-de-un-ingeniero-frances-por-inventar-una-maquina-que-conservara-la-carne-fresca-nid22022025/ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_agriculture_in_Argentina bpb.de/203942 lavozdesanjusto.com.ar/censos-que-cambio-y-cuales-fueron-los-resultados-de-1869-a-2010-120877 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buenos_Aires_Underground bankunderground.co.uk/2016/02/10/rescuing-a-sifi-halting-a-panic-the-barings-crisis-of-1890/ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Per%C3%B3n es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elecciones_presidenciales_de_Argentina_de_1946 es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elecciones_presidenciales_de_Argentina_de_1951 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Plaza_de_Mayo es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodrigazo en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Reorganization_Process en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothers_of_the_Plaza_de_Mayo noticiasnqn.com.ar/noticias/2025/07/07/316541 chequeado.com/ultimas-noticias/dominguez-macri-endeudo-a-la-argentina-mas-que-la-dictadura-civico-militar-en-siete-anos/ tribunemag.co.uk/2022/12/argentinas-blood-stained-1978-world-cup en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falklands_War en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austral_plan digitalrepository.unm.edu/notisur/3869 lanacion.com.ar/economia/economia-cotidiana-hiperinflacion-que-es-y-que-episodios-hubo-en-el-mundo-y-en-la-argentina-nid2487879 hacecuentas.com/estadisticas-inflacion-argentina en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_peso perfil.com/noticias/economia/hace-25-anos-la-argentina-de-menem-era-el-unico-pais-del-mundo-con-cero-inflacion.phtml en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convertibility_plan en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_2001_riots_in_Argentina en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_debt_restructuring pagina12.com.ar/diario/elpais/1-8159-2002-07-26.html chequeado.com/hilando-fino/pobreza-y-desocupacion-incomparables/ c5n.com/economia/el-pago-al-fmi-el-dia-que-nestor-kirchner-aposto-la-soberania-economica-n112429 gulfnews.com/business/imf-censures-argentina-over-poor-economic-data-1.1140916 treasuryandrisk.com/2017/06/20/argentina-sells-100-year-bond en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Argentine_monetary_crisis bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-08-12/argentina-s-46-stock-rout-second-biggest-in-past-70-years forbesargentina.com/money/la-inflacion-2025-cerro-315-marco-nivel-mas-ocho-anos-n84710 europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_ATA(2023)754610 bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-12/argentina-s-milei-devalues-peso-by-54-in-first-batch-of-shock-measures investing.com/news/economic-indicators/argentina-logs-first-financial-surplus-in-14-years-in-2024-3819252 iprofesional.com/economia/446275 diariodecuyo.com.ar/noticias/la-inflacion-de-enero-fue-206-y-acumulo-2542-en-los-ultimos-doce-meses-1582033.html canal12misiones.com/noticias-de-misiones/economia/la-inflacion-de-abril-fue-del-88-segun-el-indec eleconomista.com.ar/economia/la-inflacion-julio-fue-4-mas-baja-enero-2022-n76558 cadena3.com/noticia/politica-y-economia/la-inflacion-en-mayo-fue-la-mas-baja-de-los-ultimos-cinco-anos-15_432211 ambito.com/economia/la-pobreza-y-perforo-el-40-el-segundo-semestre-2024-afecto-casi-18-millones-argentinos-n6129508/amp infobae.com/economia/2025/09/25/la-pobreza-fue-del-316-en-el-primer-semestre-de-2025-y-registro-una-significativa-baja/ imf.org/en/news/articles/2025/04/12/pr25101