Poverty and living standards in Santa Cruz, Argentina: official figures
25.6% of people in the Río Gallegos urban area lived below the poverty line in the first half of 2026, about 35,000 people; 7th 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 Santa Cruz?
Poverty in the Río Gallegos area was up 2.0 percentage points on the second half of 2025 (23.6%) and down 6.7 percentage points on the first half of 2025 (32.3%). 19.3% of households were poor in the first half of 2026.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC) · saved copyHow many people in Santa Cruz cannot afford basic food?
2.6% of people in the Río Gallegos 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 49.8%); 4th 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 Santa Cruz have unmet basic needs?
26,782 people in Santa Cruz, 8.0% of those in private homes, lived in households with at least one unmet basic need (NBI) at the 2022 census, 6th lowest of the 23 provinces and Buenos Aires City (Argentina: 9.4%). In 2010 the share was 9.8%.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC) · saved copyHow many households in Santa Cruz live in poor housing?
6.0% of households in Santa Cruz had unmet basic needs in 2022 (7,123 of 119,262): 2.1% were critically overcrowded (more than three people per room), 0.3% had no toilet and 2.9% lived in precarious or unsuitable housing. In 1980 the household rate was 22.7%.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC) · saved copyMore figures
- When INDEC's current poverty series began in the second half of 2016, 13.4% of people in the Río Gallegos area were poor, against 25.6% in the first half of 2026. Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC) · saved copy
How Santa Cruz compares with other provinces
People below the poverty line in the province's largest EPH urban area (H1 2026)
Santa Cruz ranks 20 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 17 | Tucuman | 27.9% |
| 18 | Jujuy | 27.6% |
| 19 | Tierra del Fuego | 25.9% |
| 20 | Santa Cruz | 25.6% |
| 21 | La Pampa | 25.4% |
| 22 | Santa Fe | 23.1% |
| 23 | Neuquen | 19.6% |
People below the indigence line in the province's largest EPH urban area (H1 2026)
Santa Cruz ranks 21 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 18 | San Luis | 3.1% |
| 19 | Tierra del Fuego | 3.1% |
| 20 | Neuquen | 2.8% |
| 21 | Santa Cruz | 2.6% |
| 22 | San Juan | 1.6% |
| 23 | Buenos Aires City | 1.5% |
| 24 | Jujuy | 1.4% |
People in households with unmet basic needs (Census 2022) (2022)
Santa Cruz ranks 19 of 24, highest first.
| Rank | Region | People in households with unmet basic needs (Census 2022) |
|---|---|---|
| 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% |
| 22 | Cordoba | 6.6% |
More on Santa Cruz: 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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