Santiago del Estero: population, poverty, jobs and provincial finances

Santiago del Estero is a province of Argentina, number 12 of 24 by population. The 2022 national census counted 1,060,906 people in Santiago del Estero, 2.3% of Argentina's 45,892,285; 12th largest of the 23 provinces and Buenos Aires City by population.

In depth

• Economy, jobs and prices in Santiago del Estero: The 2022 census found 36,519 unemployed people in Santiago del Estero out of 449,159 economically active residents aged 14 and over, an unemployment rate of 8.1%; 8th highest of the 23 provinces and Buenos Aires City (Argentina: 8.5%).
• Health in Santiago del Estero: The infant mortality rate in Santiago del Estero was 8.3 deaths before the first birthday per 1,000 live births in 2023, joint 10th lowest of Argentina's 24 jurisdictions (Argentina: 8.0); 98 babies under one died that year.
• Education in Santiago del Estero: 270,502 students were enrolled in mainstream education in Santiago del Estero in 2025: 39,244 in pre-school, 133,261 in primary, 79,003 in secondary and 18,994 in non-university higher education (2.4% of Argentina's 11.13 million).
• Poverty and living standards in Santiago del Estero: 38.5% of people in the Santiago del Estero - La Banda urban area lived below the poverty line in the first half of 2026, about 163,000 people (coefficient of variation 19.6%: INDEC advises treating it with caution); 6th 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.
• Government budget and revenue in Santiago del Estero: The provincial government of Santiago del Estero took in 3.62 trillion pesos and spent 2.84 trillion pesos in 2025 (provisional figures for the non-financial public administration; Santiago del Estero reports spending at the commitment stage). Revenue came to about 3,409,508 pesos per resident (2022 census population), 10th highest of the 23 jurisdictions with data.

How provinces are governed in Argentina

Provinces (23) + Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. Governor and provincial legislature directly elected; Buenos Aires City elects its own head of government (jefe de gobierno) and legislature. Write their own constitutions, run police, schools, hospitals, courts and set the rules for their municipalities.

Every tier of government in Argentina

Other provinces of Argentina

• Buenos Aires Province 17,523,996
• Cordoba 3,840,905
• Santa Fe 3,544,908
• Buenos Aires City 3,121,707
• Mendoza 2,043,540
• Tucuman 1,731,820
• Salta 1,441,351
• Entre Rios 1,425,578
• Misiones 1,278,873
• Corrientes 1,212,696
• Chaco 1,129,606
• San Juan 822,853
• Jujuy 811,611
• Rio Negro 750,768
• Neuquen 710,814
• Formosa 607,419
• Chubut 592,621
• San Luis 542,069
• Catamarca 429,562
• La Rioja 383,865
• La Pampa 361,859
• Santa Cruz 337,226
• Tierra del Fuego 185,732

Up a level: Argentina · government and power in Argentina · cities

Sources

• Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC): Censo 2022, resultados definitivos: Cuadro 7, percentage of the population aged 65 and over by jurisdiction, censuses 1970-2022, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 d4a9b4b4fe07…)
• Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC): Censo Nacional de Poblacion, Hogares y Viviendas 2022, resultados definitivos: Cuadro 2, total population and density by surface area and jurisdiction, 2010 and 2022, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 c7e707ff84a6…)
• Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC): Censo 2022, resultados definitivos: Cuadro 1, population aged 14 and over in private dwellings by economic activity status and jurisdiction, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fa4f85e28dc7…)
• Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC): Mercado de trabajo: tasas e indicadores socioeconomicos (EPH), segundo trimestre de 2026: Cuadros 1.2-1.4 and 1.8 (labour-market rates by urban area, reference population, unemployment coefficients of variation, unemployment series 2016-2026), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1e66ffc84c08…)
• Ministerio de Economia, Secretaria de Hacienda: Subsecretaria de Coordinacion Fiscal Provincial (Direccion Nacional de Asuntos Provinciales): Ejecucion presupuestaria provisoria, consolidado Administracion Publica No Financiera, IV trimestre 2025 (full year 2025, millions of pesos, by province), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 b75e07833b28…)
• Ministerio de Economia, Secretaria de Hacienda: Subsecretaria de Coordinacion Fiscal Provincial (Direccion Nacional de Asuntos Provinciales): Ejecucion presupuestaria provisoria, consolidado Administracion Publica No Financiera, II trimestre 2026 (January-June 2026, millions of pesos, by province), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 071e891773b5…)
• 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…)
• Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC): Censo 2022, resultados definitivos: Cuadro 1, population in private dwellings by health coverage and jurisdiction, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 d0925617e98e…)
• Secretaria de Educacion, Ministerio de Capital Humano: Anuario Estadistico Educativo 2025 (Relevamiento Anual 2025): tables 2.1.3, 2.3.3, 2.3.5, 2.3.8, 2.4.3, 2.4.5, 2.4.12, 2.4.20 and 5.1, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 ac96949a8c48…)
• Ministerio de Educacion de la Nacion: Anuario Estadistico Educativo 2019 (Relevamiento Anual 2019): tables 2.1.3, 2.3.3, 2.3.5, 2.4.3 and 2.4.5, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 9e3340462cf2…)
• Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC): Censo 2022, resultados definitivos: Cuadro 1, total population by jurisdiction, 2010 and 2022, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 b900f4bfd517…)
• Direccion de Estadisticas e Informacion en Salud (DEIS), Ministerio de Salud de la Nacion: Boletin No. 172: Defunciones de menores de cinco anos, indicadores seleccionados, Argentina 2023: Cuadros 1, 3 and 4.1 (infant and under-five mortality by province; infant mortality 2000-2023), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 12710e22f097…)
• Direccion de Estadisticas e Informacion en Salud (DEIS), Ministerio de Salud de la Nacion: Estadisticas vitales. Informacion basica, Argentina 2023 (Serie 5, No. 67): Cuadro 1 (births, deaths, infant, maternal and perinatal mortality by province) and Cuadro 20 (selected birth indicators), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 976438c611bd…)

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