South America · updated 1h ago · 2 min read
Argentina Poverty Rises To 32.3% Under President Javier Milei, INDEC Reports
INDEC reports poverty 32.3% in H1 2026, up 4.1 percentage points from late 2025. Urban poverty reaches about 9.7 million people.
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Poverty Rebounds
Argentina’s poverty rate rose to 32.3 percent in the first half of 2026 under President Javier Milei, according to figures released by INDEC. INDEC said poverty climbed 4.1 percentage points between January and June compared with the last half of 2025, moving from 28.2 to 32.3 percent. Extreme poverty also rose, with INDEC reporting it increased from 6.3 to 7.5 percent.
The poverty rebound came as unemployment rose to 7.9 percent in the second quarter, the highest level since 2021, and as the cost of necessities used to calculate the poverty line rose nearly 20 percent, according to INDEC. The Catholic University of Argentina (UCA) estimated the poverty rate could rise to 35 percent by the end of the year, Reuters reported.
Strains and Polls
Reuters described overflowing soup kitchens, a resurgence of cash-free barter clubs, and families taking out short-term loans for groceries as social strains grew alongside the INDEC data. Agustín Salvia, director of the Argentine Social Debt Observatory at UCA, said, "Every quarter over the last four quarters, 400,000 to 450,000 people have fallen into poverty." Nicholas Watson, managing director for Latin America at consultancy Teneo, said, "A modest increase in poverty would not undo the large decline seen under Milei, but it would suggest that the easier part of the improvement has run its course."
Reuters reported that an AtlasIntel survey found disapproval among lower-income respondents, defined as those earning up to around $650 a month, climbed to nearly 70 percent, while approval fell below 30 percent. A government spokesperson told Reuters, "The president is not going to move one inch from his program."
What Comes Next
INDEC’s poverty measure covered 31 urban centers, and it classified 9.7 million people in those areas as living below the poverty line in the first half of 2026, according to the Buenos Aires Times. The Buenos Aires Times reported that extreme poverty rose 1.2 points to reach 7.5 percent of the population, equivalent to around 2.2 million people in urban areas, and it said INDEC set the extreme poverty tally at around US$150 per month. The AP reported that average per-capita household income rose 11.5 percent from the previous six months, while the basic basket of goods used to set the poverty line increased nearly 20 percent, according to INDEC.
The AP said unemployment rose to 7.9 percent in the second quarter and that average salaries remained below where they stood in real terms when Milei took office in December 2023. Reuters said the UCA estimate of a possible 35 percent poverty rate by year-end would reverse part of the sharp decline that brought the rate down to 28 percent in 2025, and it framed the rebound as a test for Milei ahead of the next presidential election.