Poverty and living standards in Santiago del Estero, Argentina: official figures
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.
Is poverty rising in Santiago del Estero?
Poverty in the Santiago del Estero - La Banda area was up 9.1 percentage points on the second half of 2025 (29.4%) and up 6.0 percentage points on the first half of 2025 (32.5%). 25.6% of households were poor in the first half of 2026.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC) · saved copyHow many people in Santiago del Estero cannot afford basic food?
3.9% of people in the Santiago del Estero - La Banda 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 31.1%); 10th 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 Santiago del Estero have unmet basic needs?
134,878 people in Santiago del Estero, 12.8% of those in private homes, lived in households with at least one unmet basic need (NBI) at the 2022 census, 7th highest of the 23 provinces and Buenos Aires City (Argentina: 9.4%). In 2010 the share was 22.8%.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC) · saved copyHow many households in Santiago del Estero live in poor housing?
9.5% of households in Santiago del Estero had unmet basic needs in 2022 (30,269 of 316,992): 4.0% were critically overcrowded (more than three people per room), 2.5% had no toilet and 1.6% lived in precarious or unsuitable housing. In 1980 the household rate was 45.8%.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC) · saved copyMore figures
- When INDEC's current poverty series began in the second half of 2016, 44.0% of people in the Santiago del Estero - La Banda area were poor, against 38.5% in the first half of 2026. Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos (INDEC) · saved copy
How Santiago del Estero compares with other provinces
People below the poverty line in the province's largest EPH urban area (H1 2026)
Santiago del Estero ranks 4 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)
Santiago del Estero ranks 16 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | La Rioja | 4.7% |
| 14 | Tucuman | 4.4% |
| 15 | Salta | 4.4% |
| 16 | Santiago del Estero | 3.9% |
| 17 | Chubut | 3.7% |
| 18 | San Luis | 3.1% |
| 19 | Tierra del Fuego | 3.1% |
People in households with unmet basic needs (Census 2022) (2022)
Santiago del Estero ranks 7 of 24, highest first.
| Rank | Region | People in households with unmet basic needs (Census 2022) |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Formosa | 15.1% |
| 5 | Chaco | 14.3% |
| 6 | Jujuy | 13.2% |
| 7 | Santiago del Estero | 12.8% |
| 8 | Tucuman | 12.0% |
| 9 | San Juan | 11.2% |
| 10 | Misiones | 11.1% |
More on Santiago del Estero: 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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