Argentina's poverty rate jumped from almost 42% to 53% during the first six months of Javier Milei' s presidency, the statistics agency reported Thursday, a steep rise reflecting the pain of the country's most intense austerity program in recent memory.

Argentina's poverty rate soared to almost 53% in the first half of the year, official data released on Thursday showed, the first hard evidence of the painful impact of libertarian President Javier Milei's tough austerity measures.

Poverty in Argentina rose to affect over 52 percent of the population in the first six months of self-declared "anarcho-capitalist" Javier Milei's presidency, according to official data released Thursday.