In 2024, approximately 10.6 percent of the population was living below the national poverty line in the United States. This reflected a 0.5 percentage point decrease from the previous year. Most recently, poverty levels in the country peaked in 2010 at just over 15 percent. Poverty in the U.S. States The number of people living in poverty in the U.S. as well as poverty rates, vary greatly from state to state. With their large populations, California and Texas led that charts in terms of the size of their impoverished residents. On the other hand, Louisiana had the highest rates of poverty, standing at 20 percent in 2024. The state with the lowest poverty rate was New Hampshire at 5.9 percent. Vulnerable populations The poverty rate in the United States varies widely across different ethnic groups. American Indians and Alaska Natives are the ethnic group with the highest levels of poverty in 2024, with about 19 percent earning an income below the official threshold. In comparison, only about 7.5 percent of the White (non-Hispanic) and Asian populations were living below the poverty line. Children are one of the most poverty endangered population groups in the U.S. between 1990 and 2024. Child poverty peaked in 1993 with 22.7 percent of children living in poverty. Despite fluctuations, in 2024, poverty among minors reached its lowest level in decades, falling to 14.3 percent.

In the U.S., the share of the population living in poverty fluctuated significantly throughout the six decades between 1987 and 2023. In 2023, the poverty level across all races and ethnicities was 11.1 percent. Black Americans have been the ethnic group with the highest share of their population living in poverty almost every year since 1974. In 1979 alone, Black poverty was well over double the national average, and over four times the poverty rate in white communities; in 1982, almost 48 percent of the Black population lived in poverty. Although poverty rates have been trending downward across all ethnic groups, 17.8 percent of Black Americans and 18.9 percent of American Indian and Alaskan Natives still lived below the poverty line in 2022.

Much of Argentina's modern society and culture is rooted in the Spanish Empire's colonization of the region in the 16th century, along with the influx of European migration to the country around the turn of the twentieth century. There are records of human presence in the region dating back to the paleolithic period (3.3 million to 9,650 BCE) and the Incan Empire is known to have extended into the region before Columbus' arrival in the Americas in 1492; however most of this culture and civilization was wiped out by Europeans in the 1500s. During Spanish colonization, the majority of Argentina was a part of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata (which also included territories in modern-day Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay) and was still economically bound to the Spanish crown. With a population of just 0.5 million in 1800, a combination of mass migration (particularly from Southern Europe) and high birth rates have helped Argentina's population grow above 45 million over the past two centuries.

Independence, Immigration and the Gold rush The age of enlightenment and revolutions in Europe inspired a longing in the region for independence, and Napoleon's invasion of Spain in 1808 was the catalyst for the Spanish Empire's downfall in the Americas, with Argentinian independence declared in 1816. The Spanish military was then defeated in mid 1800s, but for the majority of the next century there was little political or economic stability in the region, with several small-scale civil wars between the different Argentinian states. Starting with the government of Julio Argentino Roca in 1880, ten consecutive federal governments actively pursued a liberal economic policy which led to a massive wave of state-promoted European immigration; so much so that the number of migrants received by Argentina in that period was second only to the United States worldwide. This immigration led to the rejuvenation and reinvention of Argentinian society and economy to such an extent, that by 1908 the country had the seventh largest economy in the world. This in turn led to further immigration and higher standards of living. It is also worth noting that the Tierra del Fuego gold rush that started around 1883 and lasted to around 1906 also contributed greatly to immigration. Unfortunately, Argentina was unable to retain it's acquired economic might; it failed to develop industrially at the same speed as the rest of the world, and the Great Depression of 1929 set in motion an economic decline that contributed to much civil and political unrest.

The impact of Perón, and modern Argentina
The election of Juan Perón in 1946 proved to be a defining point in Argentina's history; Perón was a demagogue who imprisoned (and reportedly tortured) his rivals and critics, and whose isolationist policies and radical spending contributed to severe inflation. With the death of Perón's extremely popular wife, Eva Duarte, in 1952, his popularity declined and he was eventually exiled following a coup in 1955. Despite this exile, Perón returned in 1973 and re-assumed the presidency, until his death in 1974, where he was the succeeded by his third wife. Peron's political philosophy, known as "Peronism", is a mixture of right wing nationalist and left wing populist theories; although Peronism has developed greatly over time, its core belief system is the foundation of Argentina's largest party, the Justicialist Party (although they have become increasingly left wing since the Kirchner administrations).

With the expulsion of Perón in 1955, Argentina's trend of military coups and failed governments continued, and the country faced further economic instability. Despite all of this, medical advancements and improvements to quality of life across the globe helped Argentina's mortality rate to decline, and the population grew at a faster rate than ever before. In April 1982, Argentine forces invaded the British territory of the Falkland Islands, leading to a ten week war between the nations, that ended with Argentina's surrender in June. The war had a relatively small death toll, but contributed to riots in Buenos Aires, which helped to topple the military dictatorship and established the current democratic system. Following a severe recession that began in 2001, President Néstor Kirchner assumed office in 2003, and his wife took over from 2007 to 2015; during the Kirchner administrations, more than eleven million people were lifted out of poverty, and Argentina's economy grew in stature to become one of the Group of Twenty.