Chile Population

Chile has low fertility and is ageing in a manner closer to developed Europe than to most of Latin America, reflecting its relative wealth and development. In recent years it has become a significant destination for migrants from elsewhere in the region. Slow growth tipping toward decline is the medium-term outlook.

Chile is the world's 67th most populous country, home to about 19.9 million people in 2026. Set in South America, its demographic path this century turns on the balance of births, deaths and migration. It packs in roughly 26 people per square kilometre.

Growth continues for Chile until around 2041, the year its population is set to crest at about 20.5 million. From there a slow fall takes it to roughly 13.5 million by century's end.

Fertility is exceptionally low, near 1.14 births per woman, far beneath the roughly 2.1 needed to hold a population steady. Immigration is a meaningful contributor, bringing in more people than leave in a typical year.

The median age is set to climb from about 36 today to roughly 57 by 2100, even as life expectancy improves from about 81 years. A rising median age means fewer working-age people supporting each retiree over time.

Read these numbers as the midpoint of a range. Under the UN's high and low fertility paths Chile's 2100 population could land well above or below the figures here; the medium variant is simply the central case.