According to the 2002 census, Chile’s population is 15,116,435. Growing at roughly 1.3 percent per annum, it would take more than 53 years to double and thus the country is getting older: By 2009, the population under age 15 and over 65 will be about equal.
Birth rates are decreasing, infant mortality decreasing, and life expectancy increasing (the average is now 75 years, 72 for males and 78 for females). The Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE, National Statistics Institute) calculates that by 2020 more than 3 million of the predicted 18.7 million Chileans will be over 60 years old. This, of course, will require significant changes in health care.
According to INE, 857,781 Chileans live beyond its borders. Other countries with substantial Chilean populations include Argentina (429,700), the United States (113,394), Sweden (42,396), Canada (37,577), Australia (33,626), Brazil (28,371), Venezuela (27,106), Spain (23,911), France (15,782), and Germany (10,280). One official estimate says that more than 38,000 Peruvians live in Chile, but this figure may be an understatement.