International Desk: The poverty rate in Argentina has increased again. In the first six months of 2026 under President Javier Milei's tenure, 32.3 percent of the country's population has fallen below the poverty line. In the second half of last year, this rate was 28.2 percent. Report by Al Jazeera.
According to data released by the country's national statistics agency INDEC on Thursday, the poverty rate increased by 4.1 percentage points from January to June. During the same period, the extreme poverty rate also rose from 6.3 percent to 7.5 percent.
The employment situation has also worsened. The unemployment rate rose to 7.9 percent in the second quarter of this year, the highest in the country since 2021. The incomes of many who are employed are also failing to keep pace with the rising costs of essential goods and services.
INDEC's data indicates that per capita household income increased by 11.5 percent in the first six months of the year. However, the cost of essential goods and services used to determine the poverty line increased by nearly 20 percent. As a result, despite an increase in income, pressure has been created on people's real purchasing power.
After Milei was elected president in 2023, he repeatedly highlighted the reduction in poverty as a success of his market-oriented economic reforms. Following his government's peso devaluation and extensive spending cuts, the poverty rate rose to nearly 53 percent in the first half of 2024. Later, as inflation decreased, it rapidly declined to 28.2 percent in the second half of 2025, which was the lowest since early 2018.
However, this year's increase has erased some of the previous gains. Although the poverty rate in the first half of 2026 is still much lower than the rate of over 50 percent in the first half of 2024.
Forecasts suggest that the situation could become more difficult in the coming months. According to calculations by the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina (UCA), the country's poverty rate could reach 35 percent by the end of the year. This calculation by the university is seen as an early indicator of the country's official poverty trends.
The social progress achieved due to decreasing inflation now indicates a loss of momentum. To reduce poverty in the future, there will be a greater reliance on creating new jobs and increasing real wages. Average salaries are still below their real value compared to when Milei took office in December 2023.
Source: Al Jazeera
—Ja.Economy/JRT
