Poverty and living standards in Rio Negro, Argentina: official figures
33.2% of people in the Viedma - Carmen de Patagones urban area (it spans the Rio Negro-Buenos Aires border) lived below the poverty line in the first half of 2026, about 29,000 people; 15th lowest 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 Rio Negro?
Poverty in the Viedma - Carmen de Patagones area was up 6.7 percentage points on the second half of 2025 (26.5%) and up 6.5 percentage points on the first half of 2025 (26.7%). 23.6% of households were poor in the first half of 2026.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC) · saved copyHow many people in Rio Negro cannot afford basic food?
5.2% of people in the Viedma - Carmen de Patagones 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 35.6%); 16th lowest 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 Rio Negro have unmet basic needs?
61,075 people in Rio Negro, 8.2% of those in private homes, lived in households with at least one unmet basic need (NBI) at the 2022 census, 7th lowest of the 23 provinces and Buenos Aires City (Argentina: 9.4%). In 2010 the share was 11.8%.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC) · saved copyHow many households in Rio Negro live in poor housing?
5.9% of households in Rio Negro had unmet basic needs in 2022 (16,447 of 278,935): 2.6% were critically overcrowded (more than three people per room), 0.6% had no toilet and 2.4% lived in precarious or unsuitable housing. In 1980 the household rate was 32.8%.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC) · saved copyMore figures
- When INDEC's current poverty series began in the second half of 2016, 38.4% of people in the Viedma - Carmen de Patagones area were poor, against 33.2% in the first half of 2026. Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC) · saved copy
How Rio Negro compares with other provinces
People below the poverty line in the province's largest EPH urban area (H1 2026)
Rio Negro ranks 13 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | San Juan | 36.8% |
| 11 | San Luis | 35.7% |
| 12 | Entre Rios | 34.3% |
| 13 | Rio Negro | 33.2% |
| 14 | Cordoba | 31.1% |
| 15 | Formosa | 29.9% |
| 16 | Salta | 29.7% |
People below the indigence line in the province's largest EPH urban area (H1 2026)
Rio Negro ranks 11 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | Santa Fe | 6.2% |
| 9 | Entre Rios | 6.0% |
| 10 | Formosa | 5.9% |
| 11 | Rio Negro | 5.2% |
| 12 | La Pampa | 4.9% |
| 13 | La Rioja | 4.7% |
| 14 | Tucuman | 4.4% |
People in households with unmet basic needs (Census 2022) (2022)
Rio Negro ranks 18 of 24, highest first.
| Rank | Region | People in households with unmet basic needs (Census 2022) |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | Neuquen | 8.8% |
| 16 | Catamarca | 8.8% |
| 17 | Entre Rios | 8.5% |
| 18 | Rio Negro | 8.2% |
| 19 | Santa Cruz | 8.0% |
| 20 | Santa Fe | 7.4% |
| 21 | Chubut | 7.0% |
More on Rio Negro: 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…)
Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.