AMERICA/ARGENTINA - Poverty decreasing in the country as a whole but not in the north home to respectively 51.2% and 21.3% of Argentina’s poor and destitute

Rome (Agenzia Fides) - Although on the whole the poverty rate in Argentina has progressively decreased from 57.5% registered in October 2002, to 31.4% registered in the first 6 months of 2006 some parts of the country are still seriously affected by it. For example the north of the country is home to respectively 51.2% and 21.3% of Argentina’s poor and destitute. The poverty rate reaches a peak of 55.6% in Resistencia, in Chaco province. Whereas the rate is 18.8% in the southern region of Patagonia; 27.5% in the central Pampas region and 12.6%.in and around the capital Buenos Aires
The national statistics office INDEC reported at the end of June this year that 7.39 million Argentineans were unable to satisfy basic needs for food, healthcare and education
In its six-monthly report INDEC took into consideration the country’s 28 most densely populated cities, in other words 70% (24.1 of 36 million) of Argentina’s population (AP) (23/9/2996 Agenzia Fides; Righe:17; Parole:201)