Argentina's poverty rate drops by nearly 5 pct

BUENOS AIRES, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Poverty in Argentina has fallen by nearly 5 percent, according to official figures released on Wednesday.

Some 25.7 percent of the population lived below the poverty line by the end of 2017, 4.6 percent less than in 2016, when the rate was 30.3 percent, the National Statistics and Census Institute said.

"The indicators register a drop in poverty and indigence," the agency said.

The highest rate of poverty, 39.2 percent, was registered in Resistencia, capital of northern Chaco province, and its surroundings, while the lowest rate, 9 percent, was registered in the nation's capital Buenos Aires.

President Mauricio Macri, who took office in December 2015, has said he wants poverty reduction to be his administration's legacy when his four-year term ends in December 2019.

Poverty is the government's "main preoccupation and priority," he said after the study was released.

"Today, we have positive data, but we also know that there is much left to resolve," said Macri. Enditem