Great European immigration wave to Argentina

The Great European Immigration Wave to Argentina was the period of greatest immigration in Argentine history, which occurred approximately from the 1860s to the 1960s, when more than six million Europeans arrived in Argentina. The wave consisted largely of Italian and Spanish immigrants, with other major groups being French, ethnic Germans, Arabs, Basques, Poles, Ukrainians, Irish and Jews. To a lesser extent, other communities included Russians, Yugoslavians, Armenians, Welsh, Turks, Hungarians, English, Czechoslovakians, Swiss, Portuguese and various others.

By 1895, foreigners had outnumbered natives in the city of Buenos Aires, and in Santa Fe province, almost 42% of its population was foreign. This rapid influx of European migrants led to immense population growth in Argentina. This was reflected in the national censuses: in 1869 the population amounted to around one million seven hundred and forty thousand inhabitants; in 1895 it had more than doubled, with nearly four million, and in 1914 it doubled again, with almost eight million.

The migrants have been incredibly influential in the demographic makeup of Argentina. The ethnic structure of Argentina drastically changed, with genetic studies currently ranging the European contribution between 60% and 80%. The percentage of urban population almost doubled from 28% in 1869 to 57% in 1930. Also, Europeans introduced many concepts such as labor unions, socialism, radicalism and anarchism into the country's political zeitgeist.