Argentina's poverty rate fell sharply in the second half of 2024, according to official data released this week, marking a major milestone for President Javier Milei's sweeping economic reforms.
According to the country's official statistics agency, the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INDEC), the poverty rate fell to 38.1 percent between July 2024 and December 2024—down nearly 15 percentage points from the first half of the year. Household poverty also declined by 13.9 percentage points, hitting 28.6 percent. And extreme poverty was cut by more than half, falling from 18.1 percent to 8.2 percent.
It's a major turnaround from the beginning of Milei's presidency. When he took office in December 2023, he inherited a poverty rate of 41.7 percent, which quickly surged to 53 percent as his administration launched a "shock therapy" program to end Argentina's economic misery.
