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A third of Argentines living below the poverty line; in Greater Buenos Aires, 41.1%

Tuesday, March 26th 2019 - 09:00 UTC
Full article 7 comments
UCA's Social Debt Observatory latest report shows that 12.7 million in Argentina suffer from a lack of food, housing and access to healthcare and education UCA's Social Debt Observatory latest report shows that 12.7 million in Argentina suffer from a lack of food, housing and access to healthcare and education
INDEC is due to publish its data for the second half of 2018 on Thursday. The bureau's official data for the first half of the year estimated poverty was 27.3% INDEC is due to publish its data for the second half of 2018 on Thursday. The bureau's official data for the first half of the year estimated poverty was 27.3%
UCA's study defines as poor those who, in addition to lacking income, do not have access to at least one of what it views as basic socio-economic rights. UCA's study defines as poor those who, in addition to lacking income, do not have access to at least one of what it views as basic socio-economic rights.

Almost a third of Argentines were living below the poverty line at the end of 2018, according to a new report from the Catholic University of Argentina (UCA).

The latest report UCA's Social Debt Observatory, which uses a multi-dimensional system of indicators to measure poverty, shows that the rate rose by 4.7 percentage points from previous years' figure of 26.6%, with a total of 12.7 million in Argentina now suffering from a lack of food, housing and access to healthcare and education.

That's the highest figure UCA have reported since it began to measure poverty in urban areas not only by income – as the INDEC national state statistics bureau does – but through a series of other measurements including access to food, health, housing, education, employment and social security systems.

INDEC is due to publish its data for the second half of 2018 on Thursday. The bureau's official data for the first half of the year estimated poverty stood at 27.3% of the population.

UCA's study defines as poor those who, in addition to lacking income, do not have access to at least one of what it views as basic socio-economic rights.

In 2018, multidimensional poverty experienced a sharp increase “due to the growth of income poverty, lower wages, loss of employment and greater job insecurity, in the current inflationary and stagnation context,” said Agustín Salvia, the director of UCA's Social Debt Observatory who led the study.

In the last year “the most impoverished have been the working sectors and the lower-middle classes,” concludes the report.

“A large part of the growth of multidimensional poverty and structural poverty was mainly due to the increase in income poverty,” said Salvia, a reference to last year's economic crisis and currency turmoil, which saw the value of the peso halve against the dollar, the economy shrink by 2.6% and inflation soar to 47.6%.

According to the report, 30% of households are marginalized in terms of labor rights, with 28% of households having no link to the welfare system.

In Greater Buenos Aires, the most populated region of Argentina, the poverty rate rose to 41.1%, UCA found. In 2018 alone, 750,000 people in the region slipped into poverty.

Categories: Economy, Politics, Argentina.

Top Comments

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  • The Voice

    And Christina said that Argentinas poverty levels were better than Germanys! Reekie believed it. Has he ever seen a Villa?

    Mar 26th, 2019 - 04:17 pm 0
  • golfcronie

    Were all these villas built since Macri became President? No, didn't think so.The legacy of the Peron and Kirchner dynasies

    Mar 26th, 2019 - 09:22 pm 0
  • Enrique Massot

    So good to see back two of the staunchest supporters of increasingly embattled Macri government. Life would be boring without them!

    And so, as the Argentine economy continues to crumble and former Macri allies start to openly criticize a government that has only benefited a handful of friends and financial speculators, these two characters still come out to speak about a government that ceased to exist more than three years ago.

    Keep up the good work, fellas. It will be interesting to chat come October.

    Mar 27th, 2019 - 03:35 pm 0
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