Though 72 percent of its population is Catholic, Chile looks at many times to be quite secular, and at other times quite Catholic. Spontaneous shrines, often markers of a tragic death, dot the country’s roadsides with crosses and religious statues. Hundreds of thousands journey to Marian feasts held throughout the country. On issues like abortion and same-sex marriage, Chileans have recently reversed prior legal bans. In recent years, even since some of the articles here were published, revelations of clergy sexual abuse have radically undermined the Church's credibility there, and the church's influence on the ground is seriously diminished.
National Demographics
Religious Affiliation
Chart source: Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project, 2010
Total Population
18,197,209 1
Urban
87.6% 1
Rural
12.4% 1
Immigrants as % of Population
8.6% 2
Homicides
4.65 per 100,000 people (global median: 5.8) 3
Level of Public Corruption
66 (100 is very clean, 0 is highly corrupt) 4
Fertility Rate
1.50 live births per woman 5
Under-Five Mortality Rate
7.00 deaths per 1,000 live births 5
Life Expectancy at Birth
79 years 5
Adult Literacy Rate
96.70% 6
Internet Users
90% 6
GDP per Capita
US$14,896 5
Population Living Below US$2.15 per Day
0.4% 7
Gender Gap Ranking based on economy, health, education, and politics
27 (146 is the lowest ranked country; 1 is the highest ranked country) 8
Religious Freedom: Government Restrictions Index (GRI)
1.5 - Low
Religious Freedom: Social Hostilities Index (SHI)
1.8 - Moderate
- 1 United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision, Online Edition (New York: United Nations, 2018).
- 2 United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, International Migrant Stock 2020 (New York: United Nations, 2020).
- 3 Data as of 2021. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, "Intentional Homicide," United Nations, Accessed April 9, 2024; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Global Study on Homicide 2023 (Vienna: United Nations, 2023).
- 4 "2023 Corruption Perceptions Index," Transparency International, Accessed April 9, 2024.
- 5 United Nations Children's Fund, The State of the World's Children 2023 (Florence: UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight, 2023).
- 6 International Telecommunication Union, "Individuals using the Internet (% of population)," The World Bank, Accessed April 24, 2024.
- 7 Poverty and Inequality Platform, "Poverty headcount ratio at $2.15 a day (2017 PPP) (% of population)," The World Bank, Accessed April 24, 2024.
- 8 World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report 2023 (Geneva: World Economic Forum, 2023).
- 9 As Pew describes it, "Government restrictions on religion include laws, policies and actions that regulate and limit religious beliefs and practices. They also include policies that single out certain religious groups or ban certain practices; the granting of benefits to some religious groups but not others; and bureaucratic rules that require religious groups to register to receive benefits." As noted on pp. 45-47 of the report, the index summarizes data from 19 sources. The index does not differentiate whether the laws are directed toward Catholics. Pew Research Center, Globally, Government Restrictions on Religion Reached Peak Levels in 2021, While Social Hostilities Went Down (Pew Research Center, 2024).
- 10 As Pew describes it, "Social hostilities include actions by private individuals or groups that target religious groups; they also include actions by groups or individuals who use religion to restrict others. The SHI captures events such as religion-related harassment, mob violence, terrorism/militant activity, and hostilities over religious conversions or the wearing of religious symbols and clothing." As noted on pp. 45-47 of the report, the index summarizes data from 19 sources. The index does not differentiate whether the hostilities are directed toward Catholics. Pew Research Center, Globally, Government Restrictions on Religion Reached Peak Levels in 2021, While Social Hostilities Went Down (Pew Research Center, 2024).
Catholic Demographics
These statistics are derived from the Vatican's official publication, Statistical Yearbook of the Church 2020 (Vatican City: Librera Editrice Vaticana, 2022). The numbers may differ from data reported by other sources on this site.
Baptized Catholics
14,405,000
Baptized Catholics as % of Total Population
74.03
Baptisms per Year (Under age 7)
78,064
Baptisms per Year (Over age 7)
14,505
First Communions per Year
32,064
Confirmations per Year
29,435
Students Enrolled in Catholic Primary Schools
377,383
Students Enrolled in Catholic Secondary Schools
214,154
Students Enrolled in Catholic Higher Education
205,039
Church Marriages per Year
6,894
Church Marriages in Which Both Spouses are Catholics
6,449
Priests
1,982
Women Religious (Nuns & Sisters)
3,353
Catholics per Priest
7,268
Parishes
974
Mission Stations (no resident priests)
10
Catholic Hospitals
14
Homes for Aged, Handicapped, Invalids
76
