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A woman shops at a supermarket in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, on the 8th (local time). / AFP, Yonhap

Official statistics released in Argentina show that the median income for the middle class has surpassed $3,600 (approximately 4.82 million won) per month, prompting analyses that entering the middle class is becoming increasingly difficult as the median threshold rises.

According to local media outlets, including TN, on the 8th (local time), the General Directorate of Statistics and Censuses of Buenos Aires released its August consumer price index alongside income benchmarks by socioeconomic bracket. The survey revealed that consumer prices in August rose 1.7 percent from the previous month, while the cost of living climbed 2.6 percent for the indigent population, 2.0 percent for the low-income tier, and 1.7 percent for the middle class.

Buenos Aires divides households into six socioeconomic tiers based on income levels: indigent, poor, non-poor vulnerable, fragile middle class, middle class, and high income.

Income brackets are categorized into three tiers assuming homeownership: the basic food basket covering food expenses necessary to meet essential nutritional requirements; the total basic basket adding essential living expenses such as clothing, transportation, telecommunications, education, and healthcare; and the total consumption basket including supplementary services, leisure activities, and private school tuition.

For a four-person household, those earning less than 903,930 pesos (around $597, or about 798,000 won) per month were classified as indigent, unable even to cover basic food expenses.

The monthly income for the poor—those able to cover basic food expenses but falling short of the total basic basket—was tallied at between 903,931 and 1,651,797 pesos (around $597 to $1,092, or about 800,000 to 1.46 million won).

The low-income tier, whose earnings exceed basic living expenses but fall below the total consumption basket and thus require forfeiting leisure activities, recorded monthly earnings between 1,651,798 and 2,082,844 pesos (around $1,092 to $1,376, or about 1.46 million to 1.84 million won).

The middle class, serving as the backbone of society, is split according to income levels into the fragile middle class and the conventional middle class.

A four-person household earning between 2,082,845 and 2,603,555 pesos (around $1,377 to $1,723, or about 1.84 million to 2.3 million won) was classified as fragile middle class. Although earning above the total consumption basket, they face the risk of slipping into the lower-income bracket as their income does not reach 1.25 times that threshold.

Those earning between 2,603,556 and 8,331,380 pesos (around $1,723 to $5,511, or about 2.3 million to 7.37 million won) per month were classified as middle class, pulling in between 1.25 times and 4 times the total consumption basket. Monthly income for the high-income tier stood at 8,331,381 pesos (around $5,511, or about 7.36 million won) or higher.

Looking solely at the consolidated middle-class bracket calculated by taking the median value of both the fragile and conventional middle classes, the median income reached 5,467,468 pesos (around $3,617), equivalent to approximately 4.83 million won. Given that Argentina's minimum wage for August was 376,600 pesos (around $250, or about 334,000 won), the middle-class median income is nearly 15 times the minimum wage.

Local media noted, "While Argentina once boasted the sturdiest social fabric in South America with a middle-class share of 60 to 65 percent in the 1960s, various current statistics show this has dropped to 44 to 45 percent," adding, "As the gap between middle-class income and the minimum wage continues to widen, joining the middle class is becoming increasingly difficult."

                                                                                                           Son Young-sik