Argentina`s national poverty rate rebounded to 32.3 percent across the first six months of 2026, partially reversing social gains achieved over the previous year, official statistics published on Thursday revealed. The figures from government statistical agency INDEC register a 4.1 percentage point increase compared to the final half of 2025, when the rate had fallen to 28.2 percent.
Destitution levels expanded concurrently.
Extreme poverty, encompassing families unable to meet basic caloric intake requirements, rose from 6.3 percent to 7.5 percent. The economic downturn coincided with a second-quarter spike in unemployment to 7.9 percent, the highest reading recorded since 2021. Although average per-capita household incomes grew 11.5 percent during the six-month period, the price of the statutory essential goods basket surged by nearly 20 percent, eroding real household purchasing capacity.
Leading economic institutes caution that deeper hardship lies ahead.
Projections released by the Catholic University of Argentina indicate the metric could touch 35 percent before the close of the calendar year. The rebound poses a direct political challenge to President Javier Milei, who campaigned on aggressive fiscal austerity and free-market deregulation following his late 2023 inauguration. While initial currency devaluations drove poverty beyond 50 percent in early 2024, aggressive spending reductions subsequently curbed hyperinflation, temporarily pulling the measure down to multi-year lows late last year.
Market analysts note that real wages continue to stagnate below pre-inauguration baselines. Nicholas Watson, managing director for Latin America at advisory firm Teneo, observed that the shift indicates the initial tailwinds generated purely by decelerating inflation have exhausted their potential. Recent polling by AtlasIntel indicates public disapproval among lower-income demographics has climbed to roughly 70 percent, raising critical questions regarding Milei`s political coalition ahead of future electoral cycles.
