Chile: People & Society#
| Population | 17,650,114 (July 2016 est.) |
|---|---|
| Nationality | noun: Chilean(s) adjective: Chilean |
| 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% (2012 est.) |
| Languages | 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 (2012 est.) |
| Religions | Roman Catholic 66.7%, Evangelical or Protestant 16.4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1%, other 3.4%, none 11.5%, unspecified 1.1% (2012 est.) |
| 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. |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.27% (male 1,825,115/female 1,751,977) 15-24 years: 15.45% (male 1,391,522/female 1,335,933) 25-54 years: 43.17% (male 3,804,037/female 3,816,114) 55-64 years: 10.6% (male 880,014/female 990,969) 65 years and over: 10.51% (male 776,340/female 1,078,093) (2016 est.) |
| Dependency ratios | total dependency ratio: 45.2% youth dependency ratio: 29.3% elderly dependency ratio: 16% potential support ratio: 6.3% (2015 est.) |
| Median age | total: 34 years male: 32.9 years female: 35.2 years (2016 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.8% (2016 est.) |
| Birth rate | 13.7 births/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Death rate | 6.1 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Net migration rate | 0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| 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 |
| Urbanization | urban population: 89.5% of total population (2015) rate of urbanization: 1.09% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.) |
| Major urban areas - population | SANTIAGO (capital) 6.507 million; Valparaiso 907,000; Concepcion 816,000 (2015) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 25-54 years: 1 male(s)/female 55-64 years: 0.89 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2016 est.) |
| Maternal mortality rate | 22 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 6.7 deaths/1,000 live births male: 7.2 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.8 years male: 75.7 years female: 81.9 years (2016 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | 1.81 children born/woman (2016 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | 64.2% note: percent of women aged 15-44 (2006) |
| Health expenditures | 7.8% of GDP (2014) |
| Physicians density | 1.02 physicians/1,000 population (2009) |
| Hospital bed density | 2.1 beds/1,000 population (2011) |
| Drinking water source | improved: urban: 99.7% of population rural: 93.3% of population total: 99% of population unimproved: urban: 0.3% of population rural: 6.7% of population total: 1% of population (2015 est.) |
| Sanitation facility access | improved: urban: 100% of population rural: 90.9% of population total: 99.1% of population unimproved: urban: 0% of population rural: 9.1% of population total: 0.9% of population (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | 0.27% (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | 32,300 (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | 400 (2015 est.) |
| Obesity - adult prevalence rate | 28.5% (2014) |
| Children under the age of 5 years underweight | 0.5% (2014) |
| Education expenditures | 4.8% of GDP (2014) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.5% male: 97.6% female: 97.4% (2015 est.) |
| School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) | total: 16 years male: 16 years female: 17 years (2014) |
| Child labor - children ages 5-14 | total number: 82,882 percentage: 3% (2003 est.) |
| Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 | total: 16.1% male: 13.9% female: 19.2% (2013 est.) |