Argentina's Economy
Argentina and the IMF
How Argentina became the IMF's largest borrower, including the record 57-billion-dollar programme of 2018 and a new 20-billion-dollar deal in 2025.
Argentina has had a long, troubled relationship with the IMF.
History
Argentina has had around 20 IMF programmes since joining in 1956.
2001
Critics blamed IMF-backed austerity for deepening the 2001 crisis; supporters said Argentina’s policies were the root problem.
Paying off
In 2006, President Néstor Kirchner repaid Argentina’s IMF debt early to gain policy independence.
2018 programme
- Under President Mauricio Macri, Argentina received a 57-billion-dollar standby arrangement, the largest in IMF history.
- Argentina drew about 44 billion dollars.
- The programme failed to stop the crisis, and Macri lost the 2019 election.
2022 refinancing
Argentina signed a new deal in 2022 to refinance the 2018 loan.
2025 deal
In April 2025, the IMF approved a new 20-billion-dollar programme supporting Milei’s reforms and the lifting of currency controls.
Largest borrower
Argentina is the IMF’s largest debtor, making its fate important for the IMF itself.
In 2018, the IMF lent Argentina more than it had ever lent any country, yet the peso kept falling and inflation rose.
Argentina's 2018 programme failed to stabilise the economy.
- Argentina has had around 20 IMF programmes.
- The 2018 programme of 57 billion dollars was the IMF's largest.
- A new 20-billion-dollar deal came in 2025.
- Argentina is the IMF's largest debtor.
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