Argentina reports 32.3% poverty rate in H1

Argentina's poverty rate reached 32.3% and extreme poverty hit 7.5% in the first half of 2026 as household incomes failed to cover the rising cost of basic goods.

The National Institute of Statistics and Census released on Thursday that poverty affected 9.7 million people across 2.5 million households between January and June.

Extreme poverty left 2.25 million people across 575,000 households unable to cover their basic food needs.

The national statistics bureau reported a 4.1 percentage point increase in the poverty rate among individuals compared to the second half of 2025.

The extreme poverty rate among individuals grew by 1.2 percentage points over the same period.

The data showed that 44.5% of children aged 14 and under lived in poverty, while 10.8% of them faced extreme poverty.

Average family per capita income rose by 11.5% during the first six months of the year.

The average regional basic food basket cost surged by 21.4%, and the total basic basket cost grew by 19.6%.

Poor households earned an average total family income of 922,755 pesos (some $600), while their average total basic basket cost reached 1.44 million pesos (around $950).

Indigent households recorded an average income of 442,443 pesos (some $290) against an average basic food basket cost of 669,098 pesos (around $440).