According to the National Institute of Censuses and Statistics (INDEC), in October the Total Basic Basket (CBT) increased by 2.3%, which meant that a typical family needed an income of more than 986,586 pesos to not be considered poor. The Basic Food Basket (CBA) recorded an increase of 1.4% during the same month. So far this year, the CBA has accumulated an increase of 80.6%, while the CBT has risen by 99.0%. In year-on-year terms, the variations were 170.6% and 185.7%, respectively.
The CBT encompasses both basic food and other non-food goods and services necessary to exceed the poverty line, and its increase of 2.3% in October meant that an adult required more than $319,284 to not be considered poor. On the other hand, the CBA, which represents the minimum amount of food needed to survive and defines the indigence line, rose by 1.4% in the same month. This meant that an adult needed more than $140,654 and a typical family more than $434,620 to not fall below the indigence line.
The difference in the increases between the two baskets is due to the inclusion of prices for items such as clothing, transportation, education, and health in the CBT. In October, clothing and footwear increased by 4.4%; health by 3.6%; education by 3.5%; and transportation by 1.2%.
In the first half of 2024, the poverty rate in Argentina stood at 42.5% of households, which represented an increase of 12.8 percentage points compared to the same period of the previous year when the figure was 40.1%. As for indigence, it nearly doubled in a year, rising from 9.3% in the first half of 2023 to 18.1% in the same period of 2024.
