Argentina is a nation in the southern region of South America, formally known as the Argentine Republic. Argentina is the second largest country in South America, after Brazil, the fourth largest in the Americas, and the eighth largest in the globe with a land area of 2,780,400 km2 (1,073,500 sq mi)[B]. Along with Chile to the west, it borders Bolivia and Paraguay to the north, Brazil to the northeast, Uruguay and the South Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Drake Passage to the south. It also shares the majority of the Southern Cone with Chile. Argentina is a federal state with twenty-three provinces and one autonomous city, Buenos Aires, which serves as both the country’s capital and largest metropolis.