Santa Fe is a province of Argentina, located in the north of the country. The capital is Santa Fe (population 369,000). Its more important cities are Rosario (population 908,000), Rafaela (83,000), Villa Gobernador Gálvez (74,000), Venado Tuerto (69,000), Reconquista (66,000) and Santo Tomé (58,000). The province has a population of 3,000,701 (2001), and covers an area of 133,007 km². Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco, Corrientes, Entre Ríos, Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Santiago del Estero.
Among the economical activities of the province, the most remarcable are agriculture (especially soy and wheat), and various industries, remarcably agricultural machinery, dairy products, vegetal oil refineries and biogenetical investigation.
The provincial government is divided in the usual three branches: the executive, headed by a Governor, popularly elected for non-reelection four-year terms, who appoint the cabinet; the legislative, formed by a bi-cameral legislature (a 50-member Chamber of Deputies and a 19-member Senate, all elected for four-year terms); and the judiciary, headed by the Supreme Court and completed by several inferior tribunals.
The province is divided in 19 departments (Spanish: departamentos)
Department (Capital) (population)
- Belgrano (Las Rosas) (41,352)
- Caseros (Casilda) (78,929)
- Castellanos (Rafaela) (161,989)
- Constitución (Villa Constitución) (81,389)
- Garay (Helvecia) (19,911)
- General López (Melincué) (182,553)
- General Obligado (Reconquista) (166,251)
- Iriondo (Cañada de Gómez) (65,267)
- La Capital (Santa Fé) (487,159)
- Las Colonias (Esperanza) (95,131)
- Nueve de Julio (Tostado) (28,260)
- Rosario (Rosario) (1,125,282)
- San Cristóbal (San Cristóbal) (40,873)
- San Javier (San Javier) (29,824)
- San Jerónimo (Coronda) (76,771)
- San Justo (San Justo) (40,873)
- San Lorenzo (San Lorenzo) (141,637)
- San Martín (Sastre) (60,682)
- Vera (Vera) (51,183)
