Chile's 2017 census reported a population of 17,574,003 people. Its rate of population growth has been decreasing since 1990, due to a declining birth rate. By 2050 the population is expected to reach approximately 20.2 million people, at which point it is projected to either stagnate or begin declining. About 85% of the country's population lives in urban areas, with 40% living in Greater Santiago alone. The largest agglomerations according to the 2002 census are Greater Santiago with 5.6 million people, Greater Concepción with 861,000 and Greater Valparaíso with 824,000.
According to the 2024 Census, the population of Chile was 18,480,432, meaning a growth of 5.2% since the 2017 Census, however, since the 2024 was a de jure census, growth between 2017 and 2024 can differ, according to the Chilean National Institute of Statistics, comparing both census by de jure results, the population growth between both censuses was 6.7%.
Population size and structure
According to the total population was in , compared to only 6,143,000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2015 was 20.1%, 69.0% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 10.9% was 65 years or older.
Year Total population(1000) Population percentage in age bracket 0–14 15–64 65+ 19506 143 19556 862 19607 696 19658 612 19709 562 197510 421 198011 234 198512 109 199013 141 199514 194 200015 170 200516 097 201017 015 201517 948 202019 116
Structure of the population
Age groupMaleFemaleTotal% Total 8 688 067 8 868 748 17 556 815 100 0–4 639 270 615 764 1 255 034 7.15 5–9 633 287 610 458 1 243 745 7.08 10–14 648 484 625 765 1 274 249 7.26 15–19 707 959 684 424 1 392 383 7.93 20–24 749 460 727,530 1 476 990 8.41 25–29 710 354 693 723 1 404 077 8.00 30–34 634 056 624 375 1 258 431 7.17 35–39 598 029 595 813 1 193 842 6.80 40–44 612 898 617 259 1 230 157 7.01 45–49 610 366 621 300 1 231 666 7.02 50–54 574 320 592 349 1 166 669 6.65 55–59 468 437 492 763 961 200 5.47 60–64 359 065 390 681 749 746 4.27 65–69 276 510 317 107 593 617 3.38 70–74 200 585 247 698 448 283 2.55 75–79 133 715 183 899 317 614 1.81 80+ 131 272 227 840 359 112 2.05Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent 0–14 1 921 041 1 851 987 3 773 028 21.49 15–64 6 024 944 6 040 217 12 065 161 68.72 65+ 742 082 976 544 1 718 626 9.79
Age groupMaleFemaleTotal% Total 9 708 512 9 969 851 19 678 363 100 0–4 600 632 578 263 1 178 895 5.99 5–9 651 336 627 814 1 279 150 6.50 10–14 655 232 632 388 1 287 620 6.54 15–19 631 851 610 954 1 242 805 6.32 20–24 719 079 697 050 1 416 129 7.20 25–29 827 115 802 756 1 629 871 8.28 30–34 842 111 817 367 1 659 478 8.43 35–39 738 934 722 171 1 461 105 7.42 40–44 683 807 678 365 1 362 172 6.92 45–49 644 339 651 942 1 296 281 6.59 50–54 602 079 622 931 1 225 010 6.23 55–59 566 471 601 133 1 167 604 5.93 60–64 483 184 530 360 1 013 544 5.15 65-69 393 552 450 783 844 335 4.29 70-74 278 885 336 455 615 340 3.13 75-79 184 713 246 241 430 954 2.19 80-84 113 029 174 032 287 061 1.46 85-89 59 048 109 156 168 204 0.85 90-94 26 017 57 951 83 968 0.43 95-99 6 154 17 742 23 896 0.12 100+ 944 3 997 4 941 0.03Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent 0–14 1 907 200 1 838 465 3 745 665 19.03 15–64 6 738 970 6 735 029 13 473 999 68.47 65+ 1 062 342 1 396 357 2 458 699 12.49
Vital statistics
Official statistics
Average populationLive births DeathsNatural changeCrude birth rate (per 1000)Crude death rate (per 1000)Natural change (per 1000)Crude migration change (per 1000)Total fertility rate 1932 149,459 119,664 29,795 1933 147,733 118,432 29,301 1934 130,362 119,078 11,284 1935 153,151 112,364 40,787 1936 156,917 114,392 42,525 1937 153,354 109,795 43,559 1938 154,927 113,719 41,208 1939 163,589 114,141 49,448 1940 166,593 107,771 58,822 1941 165,004 100,091 64,913 1942 170,222 104,122 66,100 1943 172,095 103,235 68,860 1944 174,864 103,054 71,810 1945 178,292 107,064 71,228 1946 175,685 93,547 82,138 1947 186,784 92,481 94,303 1948 189,236 97,670 91,566 1949 189,719 103,384 86,335 1950 6,081,000 206,582 91,180 115,402 34.0 15.0 19.0 1951 6,218,000 209,794 92,728 117,066 33.7 14.9 18.8 3.2 1952 6,354,000 225,758 81,966 143,792 35.5 12.9 22.6 -1.2 1953 6,491,000 222,956 80,068 142,888 34.3 12.4 21.9 -0.8 1954 6,627,000 220,968 84,519 136,449 33.3 12.8 20.5 0 1955 6,764,000 237,213 87,843 149,370 35.1 13.0 22.1 -1.8 1956 6,940,000 249,756 84,199 165,557 36.0 12.1 23.9 1.5 1957 7,116,000 262,746 91,506 171,240 36.9 12.9 24.0 0.7 1958 7,291,000 263,418 88,930 174,488 36.1 12.2 23.9 0.1 1959 7,467,000 267,657 94,491 173,166 35.8 12.7 23.1 0.5 1960 7,643,000 282,681 95,486 187,195 37.0 12.5 24.5 -1.5 1961 7,843,000 290,412 91,348 199,064 37.0 11.6 25.4 0.1 1962 8,044,000 304,930 94,874 210,056 37.9 11.8 26.1 -1.1 1963 8,245,000309,908 98,293 211,615 37.6 11.9 25.7 -1.3 1964 8,445,000 306,050 94,058 211,992 36.2 11.1 25.1 -1.4 1965 8,646,000 308,014 91,648 216,366 35.6 10.6 25.0 -1.8 1966 8,831,000 295,761 95,450 200,311 33.5 10.8 22.7 -1.8 1967 9,015,000 277,009 86,840 190,169 30.7 9.6 21.1 -0.7 1968 9,200,000 273.296 84.433 188.863 29.7 9.2 20.5 -0.4 1969 9,385,000 268.807 84.336 184.471 28.6 9 19.6 0.1 1970 9,569,000 261,609 83,014 178,595 27.3 8.7 18.6 0.6 1971 9,738,000 273,518 83,456 190,062 28.1 8.6 19.5 -2.2 1972 9,907,000 277,891 87,429 190,462 28.0 8.8 19.2 -2.2 1973 10,076,000 276,650 80,994 195,656 27.5 8.0 19.5 -2.7 1974 10,244,000 267,977 78,493 189,484 26.2 7.7 18.5 -2.1 1975 10,413,000 256,543 74,481 182,062 24.6 7.2 17.4 -1.3 1976 10,565,000 247,722 80,537 167,185 23.4 7.6 15.8 -1.5 1977 10,717,000 240,463 73,446 167,017 22.4 6.8 15.6 -1.4 1978 10,869,000 236,780 72,436 164,344 21.8 6.7 15.1 -1.2 1979 11,021,000 241,077 74,528 166,549 21.9 6.8 15.1 -1.3 1980 11,174,000 247,013 74,109 172,904 22.1 6.6 15.5 -1.8 1981 11,359,000 264,809 69,971 194,838 23.3 6.2 17.1 -0.9 1982 11,545,000 270,003 69,887 200,116 23.4 6.1 17.3 -1.2 1983 11,731,000 256,539 74,296 182,243 21.9 6.3 15.6 0.3 1984 11,916,000 265,016 74,669 190,347 22.2 6.3 15.9 -0.5 1985 12,047,000 261,978 73,534 188,444 21.7 6.1 15.6 -4.8 1986 12,248,000 272,997 72,209 200,788 22.3 5.9 16.4 0 1987 12,454,000 279,762 70,559 209,203 22.5 5.7 16.8 -0.3 1988 12,667,000 296,581 74,435 222,146 23.4 5.9 17.5 -0.7 1989 12,883,000 303,798 75,453 228,345 23.6 5.9 17.7 -1.0 1990 13,179,000 307,522 78,434 229,118 23.3 6.0 17.3 5.2 1991 13,422,000 299,456 74,862 224,594 22.3 5.6 16.7 1.4 1992 13,665,000 293,787 74,090 219,697 21.5 5.4 16.1 1.7 2.54 1993 13,908,000 290,438 76,261 214,177 20.9 5.5 15.4 2,1 2.48 1994 14,152,000 288,175 75,445 212,730 20.4 5.3 15.1 2,2 2.36 1995 14,395,000 279,928 78,517 201,411 19.4 5.5 13.9 2.9 2.28 1996 14,596,000 278,729 79,123 199,606 19.1 5.4 13.7 0.1 2.26 1997 14,796,000 273,641 78,472 195,169 18.5 5.3 13.2 0.3 2.21 1998 14,997,000 270,637 80,257 190,380 18.0 5.4 12.6 0.7 2.17 1999 15,197,000 263,867 81,984 181,883 17.4 5.4 12.0 1.2 2.11 2000 15,398,000 261,993 78,814 183,179 17.0 5.1 11.9 1.2 2.09 2001 15,572,000 259,069 81,871 177,198 16.6 5.3 11.3 -0.2 2.05 2002 15,746,000 251,559 81,080 170,479 16.0 5.1 10.9 0.2 1.99 2003 15,919,000 246,827 83,672 163,155 15.5 5.3 10.2 0.6 1.94 2004 16,093,000 242,476 86,138 156,338 15.1 5.4 9.7 1.1 1.90 2005 16,267,000 242,980 86,102 156,878 14.9 5.3 9.6 1.1 1.89 2006 16,433,000 243,561 85,639 157,922 14.8 5.2 9.6 0.5 1.88 2007 16,598,000 242,054 93,000 149,054 14.6 5.6 9.0 1.0 1.94 2008 16,763,000 248,366 90,168 158,198 14.8 5.4 9.4 0.4 1.97 2009 16,929,000 253,584 91,965 161,619 15.0 5.4 9.6 0.3 2.00 2010 17,094,000 251,199 97,930 153,269 14.7 5.7 9.0 0.7 1.97 2011 17,248,0001 247,358 94,985 152,373 14.4 5.5 8.9 0.1 1.94 2012 17,445,000 243,635 98,711 144,924 14.0 5.7 8.3 3.0 1.90 2013 17,612,000 242,862 99,770 143,092 13.8 5.7 8.1 1.4 1.85 2014 17,787,000 252,194 101,960 150,234 14.2 5.7 8.5 1.4 1.91 2015 17,971,000 245,406 103,327 142,079 13.6 5.7 7.9 2.4 1.86 2016 18,167,000 232,616 104,026 128,590 12.8 5.7 7.1 3.8 1.75 2017 18,419,192 219,494 106,388 113,106 11.9 5.8 6.1 7.7 1.65 2018 18,751,405 221,724 106,786 114,938 11.8 5.7 6.1 11.8 1.62 2019 19,040,037 210,188 109,658 100,530 11.0 5.7 5.3 13.5 1.50 2020 19,235,540 194,978 126,169 68,809 10.0 6.5 3.5 14.8 1.30 2021 19,391,613 177,273 137,629 39,644 9.0 6.9 2.1 9.3 1.17 2022 19,581,575 189,310 136,958 52,352 9.6 6.8 2.8 5.0 1.32 2023 19,756,365 173,920 121,270 52,650 8.7 6.0 2.7 4.1 1.16 2024 19,904,328 154,441 126,883 27,558 7.7 6.3 1.4 1.03 2025 20,036,669 146,446 126,428 20,018 7.1 6.2 0.9 0.99 1This estimate and those of previous years were made before the 2012 census results were known.
(p) = preliminary figures.| 20201
Current vital statistics The Ine publishes monthly the vital statistics report. The final number of births and deaths tend to be revised up by the Chilean office of statistics.
+ Period Live births Deaths Natural increase January-June 2025 73,966 61,894 +12,072 January-June 2026 74,363 61,576 +12,787 Difference +397 (+0.5%) –318 (–0.5%) +715 Source:
Total fertility rate By region
+2025prRegionTFR Tarapacá1.32 Atacama1.19 O'Higgins1.19 Arica and Parinacota1.17 Araucanía1.13 Maule1.11 Ñuble1.10 Los Lagos1.09 Antofagasta1.06 Coquimbo1.02 Aysén1.02 Los Ríos1.01 Biobío1.000.99 Valparaíso0.98 Magallanes0.91 Metropolitan0.88
Before 1950 Years 1900190119021903190419051906190719081909Total Fertility Rate in Chile5.115.726.346.306.256.216.176.126.136.14 Years 1910191119121913191419151916191719181919Total Fertility Rate in Chile6.156.166.166.086.005.925.845.765.755.73 Years 1920192119221923192419251926192719281929Total Fertility Rate in Chile5.715.705.685.675.655.645.635.615.585.54 Years 1930193119321933193419351936193719381939Total Fertility Rate in Chile5.505.465.435.325.225.115.014.904.904.89 Years 1940194119421943194419451946194719481949Total Fertility Rate in Chile4.894.884.884.864.844.824.804.784.734.67
United Nations estimates
The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates.
PeriodLive birthsper yearDeathsper yearNatural changeper yearCBR*CDR*NC*TFR*IMR*Life expectancy total males females 1950–1955 244,000 94,000 150,00037.514.523.05.1512054.952.956.8 1955–1960 268,000 95,000 173,00036.813.123.75.1811856.253.858.7 1960–1965 285,000 95,000 190,00035.011.623.44.9610958.155.361.0 1965–1970 291,000 93,000 198,00032.110.221.94.468960.857.763.9 1970–1975 271,000 88,000 183,00027.18.818.33.576963.760.667.0 1975–1980 257,000 84,000 173,00023.87.816.02.934567.464.070.8 1980–1985 265,000 82,000 183,00022.77.115.62.662470.967.474.4 1985–1990 286,000 81,000 205,00022.76.416.32.601872.869.676.0 1990–1995 278,000 80,000 198,00020.45.914.52.381474.571.577.4 1995–2000 261,000 80,000 181,00017.85.512.32.161275.972.878.9 2000–2005 248,000 82,000 166,00015.95.210.72.00877.974.880.9 2005–2010 240,000 85,000 155,00014.55.19.41.88778.675.581.7 2010–2015 235,000 89,000 146,00013.55.18.41.78679.877.082.6 2015–2020 233,000 96,000 137,00013.35.27.51.73581.078.383.6 * CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)
Ethnic groups
Chile is a diverse society, home to individuals with varied ethnic backgrounds. Studies on the ethnic makeup of Chile differ significantly from one another.
According to censuses from the colonial period, the white population exceeded 70% of the population of Chile (approximately 79% in 1810). 102