Argentina's provinces have more than 2.1 million public employees.

According to the latest official data from the Provincial Public Employment Map corresponding to 2023, the 24 jurisdictions of the country account for a total of 2,185,880 public employees.

The figure is enormous and reflects the enormous weight that state employment has in Argentina's economic structure, requiring a level of funding that is difficult to sustain, generating a chronic deficit and a suffocating tax burden from provincial administrations.

Although the magnitude of public employment can be partially related to the population size of each province, the reality is that spending on state salaries has become a heavy burden that affects public accounts, especially in those jurisdictions that use public employment for political purposes.

According to official data, Buenos Aires province under the ultra-Kirchnerist Axel Kicillof leads the ranking with 609,498 public employees, followed by Buenos Aires City (197,473) and Santa Fe (138,903). Córdoba ranks fourth with 125,329 employees, while Tucumán completes the top five with 90,516.

At the other end, Tierra del Fuego records 19,632 employees, La Pampa 26,441, and Santa Cruz 34,548. However, if the ratio between public employees and population is analyzed, these provinces show a completely different picture. In Tierra del Fuego, nearly 20,000 workers represent 10.2% of its inhabitants, a proportion that is also repeated in provinces such as Catamarca, La Rioja, and Santa Cruz. In other words, in those districts, practically one out of every ten people is a state employee.

The most striking case is that of Axel Kicillof's administration in Buenos Aires Province, where the Kirchnerist administration exceeds 600,000 public employees. The volume is due to the multiplication of bureaucratic structures and political appointments that have increased the state apparatus in an unsustainable manner.

The figure is equivalent to almost three times the total workforce of Santa Fe and Córdoba combined, which highlights the disproportion of spending in the province.

Javier Milei's Government

Meanwhile, the contrast is offered by the national government under the presidency of Javier Milei, which since taking office has undertaken a major restructuring of the State. According to the latest report from the Ministry of Deregulation and State Transformation, headed by Federico Sturzenegger, between December 2023 and July 2025, there was a reduction of 53,345 jobs, which is equivalent to a 10.6% cut in staff in the central administration and various agencies.

This adjustment also meant an annual saving of 2.106 billion dollars for the national treasury and all Argentines, thanks to the elimination of "ñoquis" and unnecessary state agencies. The comparison shows that, while Milei's government is downsizing, provinces such as Buenos Aires continue to expand their structure, adding "ñoquis" and destroying their inhabitants' pockets with taxes.