Demographics & population — Chile
Population size, age structure, migration, ethnicity, language, education, and health indicators.
Profile updated 2026-06-02
⚡ Demographics & population at a glance
Population size, age structure, migration, ethnicity, language, education, and health indicators. Key figure for Chile: 18,664,652
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Population overview
- Population
18,664,652
- Population Growth Rate
0.61%
- Population Distribution
90% of the population is located in the middle third of the country around the capital of Santiago; the far north (anchored by the Atacama Desert) and the extreme south are relatively underpopulated
- Urban Population
- urban population: 88%
- of total population rate of urbanization: 0.78% annual rate of change
- Population in Major Urban Areas
6.903 million SANTIAGO (capital), 1.009 million Valparaiso, 912,000 Concepcion
- Population: Male/Female
- male: 9,169,736
- female: 9,494,916
Age & family
- Age Structure
- years: 19.2% (male 1,822,908/female 1,751,528) 15-64
- years: 67.3% (male 6,274,620/female 6,278,467) 65
- years and over: 13.6%
- Median Age
- total: 36.9
- years male: 35.8
- years female: 38.2 years
- Birth Rate - births/1,000 population
12
- Death Rate - deaths/1,000 population
6.6
- Total Fertility Rate - children born/woman
1.75
- Gross reproduction rate
1
- Contraceptive Prevalance Rate - female 12-49
76.3%
- Contraceptive Prevalence Rate - female 12-49
76.3%
- Currently married women (ages 15-49)
46.3%
- Sex Ratio at Birth - male/female
- at birth: 1.04
- male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.04
- male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1
- male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73
- male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female
Migration
- Net Migration Rate - migrant(s)/1,000 population
.3
- Demographic profile
Chile is in the advanced stages of demographic transition and is becoming an aging society - with fertility below replacement level, low mortality rates, and life expectancy on par with developed countries.
Nevertheless, with its dependency ratio nearing its low point, Chile could benefit from its favorable age structure.
It will need to keep its large working-age population productively employed, while preparing to provide for the needs of its growing proportion of elderly people, especially as women - the traditional caregivers - increasingly enter the workforce.
Over the last two decades, Chile has made great strides in reducing its poverty rate, which is now lower than most Latin American countries.
However, its severe income inequality ranks as the worst among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Unequal access to quality education perpetuates this uneven income distribution.
Chile has historically been a country of emigration but has slowly become more attractive to immigrants since transitioning to democracy in 1990 and improving its economic stability (other regional destinations have concurrently experienced deteriorating economic and political conditions).
Most of Chile's small but growing foreign-born population consists of transplants from other Latin American countries, especially Peru.
Ethnicity & language
- Ethnic Groups
White and non-Indigenous 88.9%, Mapuche 9.1%, Aymara 0.7%, other Indigenous groups 1% (includes Rapa Nui, Likan Antai, Quechua, Colla, Diaguita, Kawesqar, Yagan or Yamana), unspecified 0.3%
- Language Note
Spanish 99.5% (official), English 10.2%, Indigenous 1% (includes Mapudungun, Aymara, Quechua, Rapa Nui), other 2.3%, unspecified 0.2%; note - shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census
- Nationality Noun
- Chilean(s) adjective: Chilean
Education
- Literacy - total population
97%
- Literacy - male
97.1%
- Literacy - female
97%
- Literacy Definition
age 15 and over can read and write
- Education Expenditures - percent of GDP
5.6%
- Total School Life Expectancy - (primary to tertiary)
- total: 17
- years male: 16
- years female: 17 years
Health & living conditions
- Life Expectancy at Birth
- total population: 80.3
- years male: 77.3
- years female: 83.3 years
- Infant Mortality Rate
- total: 6.3 deaths/1,000
- live births male: 6.9 deaths/1,000
- live births female: 5.7 deaths/1,000 live births
- Infant Mortality Rate - total deaths/1,000 live births
- total: 6.3 deaths/1,000
- live births male: 6.9 deaths/1,000
- live births female: 5.7 deaths/1,000 live births
- Maternal Mortality Rate - deaths/100,000 live births
15
- Physicians Density - physicians/1,000 population
2.84
- Hospital Bed Density - beds/1,000 population
2.1
- Health Expenditures - percent of GDP
9.8%
- Obesity - adult prevalence rate
28%
- Tobacco Use
- total: 29.2%
- male: 31.6%
- female: 26.8%
- Alcohol consumption per capita
- total: 7.8
- liters of pure alcohol beer: 2.76
- liters of pure alcohol wine: 2.61
- liters of pure alcohol spirits: 2.43
- liters of pure alcohol other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol
- Drinking Water Source - percent of urban population improved
- urban: 100%
- of population rural: 100%
- of population total: 100%
- urban: 0%
- of population rural: 0%
- of population total: 0% of population
- Sanitation Facility Access - percent of urban population improved
- urban: 100%
- of population rural: 100%
- of population total: 100%
- urban: 0%
- of population rural: 0%
- of population total: 0% of population
- Underweight - percent of children under five years
0.5%