The National Institute of Statistics and Census (Indec, the “Argentine IBGE”) announced this Wednesday (27) that the poverty rate in Argentina rose to 40.1% in the first half of this year, compared to 39.2% in second half of 2022reports Estadao.
This percentage represents 11.8 million people living below the poverty line in the 31 urban areas included in the study.
In addition, Indec revealed that 9.3% of Argentina’s population lives in poverty, which amounts to about 2.7 million people. These figures show the impact of the economic crisis that has hit the South American country, exacerbated by the historic drought at the beginning of the year.
High inflation was also one of Argentina’s main concerns, with an annual rate of over 100%, forcing the government of the unpopular Alberto Fernández to pursue a shocking devaluation of the Argentine peso.
The economic data has sparked heated debate in the campaign for Argentina’s presidential election, scheduled for next month. Ultraliberal candidate Javier Milei surprised in the August primaries, leading the polls and threatening to topple Peronism, represented by current Economy Minister Sergio Massa, from power.