Economy of Chile

Economy of Chile
	The Santiago neighborhood nicknamed "Sanhattan"
Currency	Chilean peso (CLP)
Fiscal year	calendar year
Trade organizations	WTO, CPTPP, APEC, OECD, Mercosur (associate), CAN (associate)
Country group	Developing/Emerging; High-income economy; High-income industrial economy
Statistics
Population	19,690,323 (2025)
GDP	$363.3 billion (nominal; 2026); $740.4 billion (PPP; 2026);
GDP rank	46th (nominal; 2025); 43rd (PPP; 2025);
GDP growth	2.5% (2025); 2.0% (2026); 2.3% (2027); 2.3% (2028);
GDP per capita	$17,880 (nominal; 2026); $36,430 (PPP; 2026);
GDP per capita rank	62nd (nominal; 2025); 60th (PPP; 2025);
GDP by sector	agriculture: 3.9%; industry: 30.1%; services: 56.1%; (2024 est.);
Inflation (CPI)	3.045% (2020)
Population below poverty line	6.2% (2022)
Gini coefficient	43 medium (2022, World Bank)
Human Development Index	0.878 very high (2023) (45th); 0.723 high IHDI (56th) (2023);
Labor force	9,847,754 (2023); 56.4% employment rate (2024);
Labor force by occupation	agriculture: 9.2%; industry: 23.7%; services: 67.1%; (2013);
Unemployment	7.2% (2022); 6.9% (September 2019); 18.9% youth unemployment rate (August 2019);
Average gross salary	CLP 1,172,860 / $1,238 monthly (2024)
Average net salary	CLP 1,088,264 / $1,149 monthly (2024)
Main industries	copper, lithium, other minerals, foodstuffs, fish processing, iron and steel, wood and wood products, transport equipment, cement, textiles
External
Exports	$104.5 billion (2023)
Export goods	copper, molybdenum, lithium, gold, fertilizers, salmon, wine, fish and seafood, grapes, nuts, apples, kiwi, cherry, almond, plum, paper and pulp, lumber
Main export partners	China(+) 39.0%; United States(+) 14.5%; Japan(+) 8.0%; South Korea(+) 6.2%; Brazil(+) 5.0%; (2022);
Imports	$100 billion (2023)
Import goods	machinery: 21.9%; petroleum: 17.5%; transport equipment and parts: 16.3%; chemicals: 7.7%; steel and other metals: 5.2%; plastic and rubber: 5.1%; textiles: 5.0%; foodstuffs: 3.1%; natural gas: 2.7%; (2014);
Main import partners	China(+) 26.0%; United States(+) 22.0%; Brazil(+) 10.0%; Argentina(+) 5.0%; Germany(+) 4.2%; (2022);
FDI stock	$206.2 billion (31 December 2017 est.); Abroad: $95.37 billion (31 December 2017 est.);
Current account	1.33% (of GDP) (2020)
Gross external debt	$183.4 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
Public finances
Government debt	42.7% of GDP (2025)
Foreign reserves	$39.166 billion (2020)
Budget balance	−2.8% (of GDP) (2020)
Revenues	57.75 billion (2017 est.)
Expenses	65.38 billion (2017 est.)
Credit rating	AA- (Standard & Poor's); Aa3 (Moody's); A+ (Fitch Ratings);
	All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The economy of Chile is a developing market economy. It is classified as a high-income economy by the World Bank, and is recognized as one of the most prosperous countries in South America. Chile leads the region in areas such as competitiveness, income per capita, globalization, economic freedom, and low levels of perceived corruption. Despite its prosperity, Chile experiences significant economic inequality, as reflected by its Gini index, though this is close to the regional average. Among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, Chile has a robust social security system, with social welfare expenditures amounting to approximately 19.6% of GDP.

In 2006, Chile achieved the highest nominal GDP per capita in Latin America. In May 2010, it became the first South American nation to join the OECD. However, tax revenues, which were 20.2% of GDP in 2013, remained the second lowest among the 34 OECD countries, having been the lowest in 2010. Chile's inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (HDI) was 0.704, compared to 0.747 for Argentina, 0.720 for Uruguay, and 0.577 for Brazil. As of 2017, only 0.7% of Chile's population lived on less than $1.90 per day. According to statistics of the Chilean government, 20.9% of the population continues to be affected by multidimensional poverty.

The Global Competitiveness Report for 2009–2010 ranked Chile as the 30th most competitive country in the world and the highest-ranked in Latin America, significantly outperforming Brazil (56th), Mexico (60th), and Argentina (85th); however, Chile has since fallen out of the top 30. According to the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index, Chile was ranked 34th globally in 2014, 41st in 2015, and 48th in 2016. Chile's privatized national pension system, known as the Administradoras de Fondos de Pensiones (AFP), contributed to a domestic savings rate of about 21% of GDP. In 2023, in response to an economic slowdown, Chile introduced a temporary basic income program aimed at supporting families through transfer payments as part of an expansionary fiscal policy. In recent years, more stable macroeconomic conditions have replaced Chile's post-pandemic turmoil. A 2.4% real GDP growth in 2024 was attributed to rising household income and rebounding investment, according to the OECD (2025). Inflation dropped sharply from 12% in 2023 to 4.3% in 2024, approaching the Central Bank's target range.