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Chile's population, regions and labor market: the 2024 Census and INE employment data

Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Status: Changing

The 2024 Census counted 18,480,432 habitual residents, 40 percent of them in the Santiago Metropolitan Region, with an average age of 38.1 and 14 percent aged 65 or over; 1,608,650 people (8.8 percent) were born abroad, double the 2017 share. INE put unemployment at 9.6 percent for June to August 2026, up 1.0 point in a year, with 9,273,745 people employed and informal employment at 26.3 percent. Chile is a unitary State of 16 regions with elected regional governors, and employers with more than 25 workers must keep at least 85 percent Chilean staff.

Key facts

Population counted by the 2024 Census (habitual residents)	18480432 personsLey Nº 17.374; INE Censo 2024, as of 2025-12-05 · in force
Growth of habitual resident population, 2017 to 2024	6.7 %INE Censo 2024, as of 2025-12-05 · in force
Share of population in the Santiago Metropolitan Region	40 %INE Censo 2024, as of 2025-12-05 · in force
Average age	38.1 yearsINE Censo 2024, as of 2025-12-05 · in force
Population aged 65 or over	14 %INE Censo 2024, as of 2025-12-05 · in force
Population under 15	17.7 %INE Censo 2024, as of 2025-12-05 · in force
People aged 65 or over per 100 under 15	79 indexINE Censo 2024, as of 2025-12-05 · in force
People born abroad	1608650 personsINE Censo 2024, as of 2025-12-05 · in force
Share of population born abroad (4.4 percent in 2017)	8.8 %INE Censo 2024, as of 2025-12-05 · in force
Households counted	6596527 householdsINE Censo 2024, as of 2025-12-05 · in force
Dwellings counted	7642716 dwellingsINE Censo 2024, as of 2025-12-05 · in force
Number of regions	16 regionsLey Nº 21.033, as of 2017-09-05 · in force
National unemployment rate, June to August 2026 (9.4 percent seasonally adjusted)	9.6 %INE, Encuesta Nacional de Empleo, bulletin 335, as of 2026-08-31 · in force
Employed persons, June to August 2026 (down 0.9 percent in 12 months)	9273745 personsINE bulletin 335, as of 2026-08-31 · in force
Labor force, June to August 2026	10263145 personsINE bulletin 335, as of 2026-08-31 · in force
Labor force participation rate, June to August 2026	61.5 %INE bulletin 335, as of 2026-08-31 · in force
Informal employment rate, June to August 2026	26.3 %INE bulletin 335, as of 2026-08-31 · in force
Combined unemployment and potential labor force rate (SU3), June to August 2026	17.7 %INE bulletin 335, as of 2026-08-31 · in force
Minimum share of Chilean workers for employers with more than 25 workers	85 %Código del Trabajo art. 19, as of 2003-01-16 · in force
Formal dependent jobs at exporting companies, 2025 (13 percent of jobs)	1253124 jobsSUBREI Informe Comercial 2025, as of 2025-12-31 · in force

The rule

1. The National Statistics Institute (INE) is the technical, independent public body in charge of Chile's official statistics and censuses; it compiles and publishes official statistics, runs the census following international recommendations and conducts the surveys behind price indices.Ley Nº 17.374 (DO 10 December 1970), organic law of INE, Art. 1 and art. 2, 1970-12-10 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. All Chilean individuals and companies, and all residents and visitors, must provide the statistical data INE requests for official statistics. Refusing, or providing false or altered data, is punishable by a fine set by the INE Director, which can be imposed again and up to doubled if the refusal persists; paying the fine does not release the obligation. The original fine is expressed in an obsolete unit (sueldos vitales), so check the current conversion before relying on an amount.Ley Nº 17.374, Art. 20, art. 22 and art. 23, 1970-12-10 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. INE and other public bodies may not disclose facts about identified persons or entities that they learn in their statistical work (statistical secrecy), and breaching it is a crime under Código Penal art. 247; statistical data may not be published with express reference to the persons or entities concerned if they object.Ley Nº 17.374, Art. 29 and art. 30, 1970-12-10 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. Chile is a unitary State whose administration is functionally and territorially decentralized. The territory is divided into regions, regions into provinces and provinces into communes; creating or changing them requires a constitutional organic law. Each region is run by a regional government formed by a regional governor, elected by direct vote for four years with a 40 percent minimum to win in the first round and one consecutive reelection allowed, and a regional council.Constitución Política de la República (Decreto Nº 100 of 2005), Art. 3, art. 110 and art. 111, 2005-09-22 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. Ley Nº 21.033 created the sixteenth region, Ñuble, with Chillán as its capital and the provinces of Diguillín, Punilla and Itata, bringing the number of regions to 16.Ley Nº 21.033 (DO 5 September 2017), Art. 1 and art. 2, 2017-09-05 official text · verified 2026-10-26

6. At least 85 percent of the workers of the same employer must be Chilean nationals, except for employers with no more than 25 workers. The count covers all workers in Chile, not branch by branch; specialist technical staff are excluded; foreigners with a Chilean spouse, civil partner or children, widows or widowers of a Chilean spouse, and foreigners resident for more than five years count as Chilean.
Example: An employer with 40 workers in Chile must have at least 34 Chilean workers (85 percent of 40), so at most 6 foreigners who are not excluded or treated as Chilean.Código del Trabajo (DFL Nº 1 of 2002), Art. 19 and art. 20, 2003-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-26

7. When the national quarterly unemployment rate measured by INE exceeds its average for the previous five years or reaches 10 percent, or when a region, province or commune reaches 10 percent, the Unemployment Contingency Program funded in each Budget Law can be activated to finance labor intensive programs and hiring subsidies.Ley Nº 20.128, Art. 3, 2006-09-30 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Region	Population 2024	Change 2017 to 2024	Born abroad 2024
Arica y Parinacota	244,569	9.8%	36,188
Tarapacá	369,806	14.8%	84,935
Antofagasta	635,416	9.9%	124,006
Atacama	299,180	5.1%	25,167
Coquimbo	832,864	11.2%	44,578
Valparaíso	1,896,053	6.3%	100,655
Metropolitana de Santiago	7,400,741	5.3%	964,835
O'Higgins	987,228	9.4%	49,272
Maule	1,123,008	8.8%	42,349
Ñuble	512,289	8.0%	10,934
Biobío	1,613,059	4.3%	46,933
La Araucanía	1,010,423	7.4%	21,077
Los Ríos	398,230	5.8%	7,508
Los Lagos	890,284	9.1%	35,285
Aysén	100,745	1.3%	3,931
Magallanes	166,537	3.3%	10,997
Total (includes undeclared region)	18,480,432	6.7%	1,608,650

Population by region, 2024 Census (habitual residents) and foreign born residents (INE, Síntesis de resultados Censo 2024).

Indicator	Value	12 month change
Unemployment rate	9.6%	up 1.0 point
Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate	9.4%	up 0.1 point on the previous moving quarter
Participation rate	61.5%
Employment rate	55.6%
Employed	9,273,745	down 0.9%
Unemployed	989,400	up 13.0%
Informal employment rate	26.3%	up 0.3 point
Combined unemployment and potential labor force (SU3)	17.7%

Labor market, moving quarter June to August 2026 (INE bulletin 335 of 30 September 2026).

Worked example

Regional hiring math. In Antofagasta, the mining region, 19.7 percent of residents were born abroad (124,006 of 635,416); a 200 person mine services contractor there must still keep at least 170 Chilean workers (85 percent), counting long term residents and those with Chilean family ties as Chilean (Código del Trabajo art. 19 and art. 20).
Labor slack. With 989,400 unemployed and a combined SU3 rate of 17.7 percent in June to August 2026, hiring for entry level roles is easier than the 9.6 percent headline suggests; skilled roles in IT and manufacturing are a different story, as employment in information and communications fell 16.8 percent in 12 months.

Step by step

1. Size your market with the 2024 Census regional tables and the INE dashboards, not with older projections; the Census was a de jure count of habitual residents.
2. Plan site location with regional data: Santiago holds 40 percent of the population, while the northern mining regions grew fastest (Tarapacá 14.8 percent, Coquimbo 11.2 percent from 2017 to 2024).
3. Track INE's monthly employment bulletin (moving quarters, released at month end) on your /calendar/ for wage and hiring decisions; see labor/minimum-wage and labor/employment-contracts for the legal side.
4. If INE selects your company for a business survey, answer it: the duty to supply statistical data is legal (Ley Nº 17.374 art. 20) and the data are protected by statistical secrecy (art. 29).
5. Before staffing with expatriates, run the 85 percent test across all your Chilean workforce (Código del Trabajo art. 19) and check immigration/visas-and-residence.

Common traps

Comparing the 2024 and 2017 Census counts directly. The 2024 Census counted habitual residents (de jure) while earlier censuses counted people present (de facto); INE's like for like growth is 6.7 percent, not the 5.2 percent raw difference.
Reading the headline unemployment rate as the full picture. Informal employment was 26.3 percent and the SU3 slack measure 17.7 percent in June to August 2026.
Applying the 85 percent rule branch by branch. It is computed on all workers the employer has in Chile (Código del Trabajo art. 20 Nº 1).
Assuming a federal system. Chile is unitary (Constitution art. 3); regional governors run regional governments but tax, labor and most business law is national.

Sources

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