Together with Santa Fe and Entre Ríos, the province is part of the economic and political association known as the Center Region.

Almost 41% of its inhabitants reside in the capital city, Córdoba, and its surroundings, making it the second most populous metro area in Argentina.

Before the Spanish conquista the region now called Córdoba Province was inhabited by indigenous groups, most notably the Comechingones and Sanavirones.

Once settled in Upper Peru, the Spaniards searched for a route to the Río de la Plata port in the Atlantic Ocean to transport the Peruvian gold and silver to Europe.

After the May Revolution in 1810, Governor Juan Gutiérrez de la Concha joined a meeting that decided to ignore the authority of the Buenos Aires Junta.

Led by Juan Bautista Bustos after 1820, Córdoba struggled for control of the nation with Buenos Aires; the United Provinces of South America had neither legislative nor executive branches at the time.

Córdoba sought a federal organization of the provinces while Rivadavia pushed for a centralised government in Buenos Aires.

For 15 years, the province was submerged in internal revolts that started to stabilize in 1868 under the provisional government of Félix de la Peña.

emerged, while former rest-point Fraile Muerto (Bell Ville), Ferreira (Villa María) and Los Luceros (Río Segundo), on the route to Buenos Aires, became agricultural, commercial and industrial centers, respectively.

Worker and student participation in politics grew due to the widespread discontent with the appointed governor's hard-line stance, culminating in the violent May, 1969, popular revolt known as the Cordobazo.

This revolt, mirrored by the Rosariazo and others in several parts of the country, undermined the power of dictator Juan Carlos Onganía and ultimately led to his ouster by more moderate military factions.

In the northeast corner of the province, a natural depression forms an extensive salt lake called Laguna Mar Chiquita.

Generally speaking, summers are hot and humid, falls are pleasant, winters are extremely dry with strong variations in temperature, and springs are windy and variable.

Nights are noticeably cooler in March, which is also the rainiest month, and April often brings very pleasant weather with highs around 23 °C (73 °F) and lows around 11 °C (52 °F).

Snowfall is very rare, almost unheard of in the northeast, but snowstorms can occur: in 2007, between 10 and 20 cm (4 and 8 in) covered a significant part of the region, and temperatures plummeted to -9 °C in most areas (16F).

Spring is very variable, alternating between very intense heat waves and cool weather periods with severe thunderstorms, hail and strong winds.

The weather in the Pampa de Achala is very variable because of the high altitude: generally speaking, the strong radiation provides pleasant summer afternoons, but temperatures at night can be very cold.

Within this sector, major players include Deloitte, Tarjeta Naranja and Bancor (financial services providers headquartered in the provincial capital), the city's various universities, a number of public and private clinics which attract patients both domestically and internationally (medical tourism), construction and engineering companies such as Roggio and Electroingenieria, media groups (La Voz del Interior is the largest Argentine newspaper outside Buenos Aires), retail firms (such as Grupo Dinosaurio) and a large number of small partnerships operating in accounting, law, architecture, etc.

The province is among the most visited in Argentina (mostly by domestic travelers) because of its hilly landscapes, pleasant weather, "fun" reputation, and cultural offerings.

Current players in that industry include Intel, Mercado Libre, Santex, Globant and a vast (and growing) number of small, specialized providers which have organized under the banner of the "Cordoba Technology Cluster".

The capital city has been named one of Latin America's major startup ecosystems, with several active angel investors, incubators and a well-educated talent pool supported by local universities.

Taravella International Airport, known as Pajas Blancas, handles international and domestic air traffic, with several daily flights to Buenos Aires and some daily flights to Santiago de Chile, Mendoza, Bariloche, Rosario, São Paulo, Panama City, Rio de Janeiro and Lima.

Córdoba has long been a bastion of the centrist Radical Civic Union, but in 1999 the Justicialist José Manuel de la Sota was elected governor, succeeded by fellow Peronist Juan Schiaretti in 2007.