Argentina Poverty Rate Rose to 32.3% in First Half of 2026

Argentina’s poverty rate rose to 32.3% in the first half of 2026, up from 28.2% in the second half of 2025, according to figures released Thursday by the national statistics agency, INDEC. Extreme poverty also increased, reaching 7.5% from 6.3%, reversing a decline recorded through 2025. INDEC’s survey found about 9.7 million people living in poverty across 31 urban areas, and roughly 2.2 million in extreme poverty. The survey covered 30.1 million people, not the country’s full population. The figures therefore describe the surveyed urban population and should not be read as a direct count of all Argentines living in poverty. The rise followed a sharp drop in the measured poverty rate from 52.9% in the first half of 2024 to 28.2% in the second half of 2025. The latest results mark a setback for President Javier Milei, whose administration has cited falling poverty as evidence of progress under its economic program. INDEC reported that average per-capita household income increased 11.5% over the previous six months, while the basic basket used to determine the poverty threshold rose nearly 20%.