Poverty and living standards in Misiones, Argentina: official figures
42.2% of people in the Posadas urban area lived below the poverty line in the first half of 2026, about 168,000 people; 3rd highest of the 32 urban areas INDEC reports (all 31 areas: 32.3%). INDEC measures income poverty only in these urban areas, not across whole provinces.
Is poverty rising in Misiones?
Poverty in the Posadas area was up 14.9 percentage points on the second half of 2025 (27.3%) and up 4.1 percentage points on the first half of 2025 (38.1%). 30.2% of households were poor in the first half of 2026.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC) · saved copyHow many people in Misiones cannot afford basic food?
8.2% of people in the Posadas area were indigent in the first half of 2026, meaning household income did not cover the basic food basket (INDEC classes estimates with a coefficient of variation above 25% as unreliable; this one is 29.9%); 10th highest of the 32 urban areas INDEC reports (all 31 areas: 7.5%).
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC) · saved copyHow many people in Misiones have unmet basic needs?
140,998 people in Misiones, 11.1% of those in private homes, lived in households with at least one unmet basic need (NBI) at the 2022 census, 10th highest of the 23 provinces and Buenos Aires City (Argentina: 9.4%). In 2010 the share was 19.3%.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC) · saved copyHow many households in Misiones live in poor housing?
8.7% of households in Misiones had unmet basic needs in 2022 (37,163 of 425,667): 2.5% were critically overcrowded (more than three people per room), 1.3% had no toilet and 3.6% lived in precarious or unsuitable housing. In 1980 the household rate was 39.2%.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC) · saved copyMore figures
- When INDEC's current poverty series began in the second half of 2016, 28.0% of people in the Posadas area were poor, against 42.2% in the first half of 2026. Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC) · saved copy
How Misiones compares with other provinces
People below the poverty line in the province's largest EPH urban area (H1 2026)
Misiones ranks 2 of 24, highest first. INDEC measures income poverty in 31 urban areas, not whole provinces; each province is shown by its largest surveyed urban area.
| Rank | Region | People below the poverty line in the province's largest EPH urban area |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chaco | 48.6% |
| 2 | Misiones | 42.2% |
| 3 | Corrientes | 41.0% |
| 4 | Santiago del Estero | 38.5% |
| 5 | La Rioja | 38.4% |
| 6 | Catamarca | 37.3% |
| 7 | Chubut | 37.2% |
People below the indigence line in the province's largest EPH urban area (H1 2026)
Misiones ranks 5 of 24, highest first. Each province is shown by its largest surveyed urban area.
| Rank | Region | People below the indigence line in the province's largest EPH urban area |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Buenos Aires Province | 9.9% |
| 3 | Corrientes | 8.6% |
| 4 | Catamarca | 8.3% |
| 5 | Misiones | 8.2% |
| 6 | Mendoza | 7.3% |
| 7 | Cordoba | 7.0% |
| 8 | Santa Fe | 6.2% |
People in households with unmet basic needs (Census 2022) (2022)
Misiones ranks 10 of 24, highest first.
| Rank | Region | People in households with unmet basic needs (Census 2022) |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Santiago del Estero | 12.8% |
| 8 | Tucuman | 12.0% |
| 9 | San Juan | 11.2% |
| 10 | Misiones | 11.1% |
| 11 | La Rioja | 10.6% |
| 12 | Mendoza | 9.2% |
| 13 | San Luis | 9.1% |
More on Misiones: overview · economy and jobs · health · education and schools · government budget · Argentina
Sources
- Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC): Necesidades Basicas Insatisfechas (NBI): households and people with unmet basic needs by province, censuses 1980-2022 (Cuadros 1-5), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 7b03432b63f7…)
- Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC): Incidencia de la pobreza y la indigencia en 31 aglomerados urbanos, primer semestre de 2026: Cuadros 4.1-4.4 (poverty and indigence by urban area, with coefficients of variation, and the series from the second half of 2016), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 d6fe78610628…)
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