A report from Pensar Lab, a laboratory of the Fundación Pensar foundation, revealed that in Argentina, 29 million people consider themselves middle class, while in reality, only 20 million fall into this category due to their income level.
The report reveals what is known as the "middle class syndrome," where more people perceive themselves as middle class than actually are.
The division in Argentina
To prepare the paper, Argentina's social structure was divided into three groups: upper class (incomes over 6.5 million pesos); middle class (upper: incomes between 3.5 million and 6.5 million pesos; lower: incomes between 2 million and 3.5 million pesos); and lower class (upper: incomes between 1.1 million and 2 million pesos; lower: incomes between 750,000 and 1.1 million pesos).
According to Noticias Argentinas, to be considered middle class, one needs an income equivalent to approximately 2 to 5 total basic food baskets (1,176,852 pesos in September, according to INDEC).
Based on this data, 7 million Argentine households are middle class, 8 million are lower class, and less than 1 million are upper class, according to the Pensar Lab report.
The "middle class syndrome"
Considering this data, the dilemma lies between self-perception and actual classification, where 35% of those belonging to the lower class consider themselves middle class, and 80% of those in the upper class also consider themselves middle class.
Self-perception versus social structure.
Photograph: Agencia Noticias Argentinas / Pensar Lab
"One of the reasons for this bias is that we find habits and consumptions that society considers to be middle class and that are not strictly related to the income received by the household," the document states.
The "middle class basket"
In turn, Pensar Lab, together with the consulting firm Casa Tres, developed a "middle class basket" to obtain an "alternative measure" of the total basic food basket (CBT) measured by INDEC, which includes the basic food basket (CBA), non-food goods and services, among others.
To assemble this basket, a group of Argentines was consulted on "what is most important to be considered middle class" and "how they would define it."
Among the first responses were "owning a home," "being able to save," and the word "work" as what defines the middle class in general.
The "middle class basket" from Pensar Lab and Casa Tres is based on a survey.
Photograph: Agencia Noticias Argentinas / Pensar Lab
"It is interesting to note that spontaneous responses related to consumption or saving habits, such as owning a home or being able to save, do not appear," the report describes, and adds that these two options "stand out when we include them in a list of what is most important for the middle class."
Based on the surveys, the "middle class basket" was defined, composed of households that have medical coverage, are homeowners, and send their children to private schools.
With this measurement by Pensar Lab and Casa Tres, it was determined that 40% of Argentine households belong to the middle class during the first quarter of 2025.
While the peak was reached in the third quarter of 2018, at 44%.
The "multimodal" middle class.
Photograph: Agencia Noticias Argentinas / Pensar Lab
The report states that the 6 percentage point (p.p.) difference between the low and high points of the calculation "does not seem like a large deviation, considering the inflationary context and stagnation in the economy and employment during the last decade."
"This shows a great capacity for resilience on the part of the Argentine middle class to stay afloat," the report concluded.
Pensar Lab is the ideas and analysis laboratory of the Fundación Pensar foundation. It positions itself as "a laboratory of serious and reliable information" where the "most relevant issues for Argentine society" are analyzed, with a "current and quality focus."
