The National Statistics Institute (INE) has published the fourth delivery of results of the 2024 Census of Population and Housing, the last scheduled delivery for the first half of 2025. On this occasion, INE presented the results on a wide range of characteristics of the enumerated population, including disability, indigenous identity, Afro-descent, religion or belief system, gender, and education.

Disability

The 2024 Census included a small set of questions that was produced and recommended by the Washington Group for the measurement of disability in censuses1. The results show that 11.1% of the population aged 5 or over (1,950,388 people) have a disability. This figure is 12.6% for women and 9.6% for men. By age bracket, the percentage of those with a disability is as follows: 5.8% for ages 5 to 14, 5.2% for ages 15 to 29, 4.9% for ages 30 to 44, 12.5% for ages 45 to 64, and 32.6% for ages 65 and over. The regions with the highest proportion of those with a disability are Ñuble (15.3%), La Araucanía (13.3%), and Maule (13.1%). 

Indigenous or native peoples

Another characteristic was the identification of the enumerated person with an indigenous or native people, a figure that stood at 11.5% (2,105,863) for all enumerated people, 11.4% for men (1,013,014), and 11.6% for women (1,092,849). In the 2017 Census, this proportion stood at 12.8% (2,185,792) of the enumerated population. By age bracket, the proportion of those who stated that they identified with an indigenous or native people was as follows: 20.3% for ages 0 to 14, 23.8% for ages 15 to 29, 21.9 % for ages 30 to 44, 23.1% for ages 45 to 64, and 10.9% for ages 65 and over. The regions with the highest proportion of those who stated that they belong to an indigenous or native people are Arica and Parinacota (36.2%), La Araucanía (34.5%), and Aysén (29.2%).

Afro-descendance

According to ancestors, traditions, and culture, the proportion of people who are or consider themselves Afro-descendants is 0.9% of the population (174,190 people). This figure stands at 1% for men and 0.9% for women. Of this group, 17.4% are between the ages 0 and 14 years, 21.3% between 15 and 29, 29.8% between 30 and 44, 22.7% between 45 and 64, and 8.8% are aged 65 years or over. The northern regions of the country have the highest proportion of people who are or consider themselves Afro-descendants, notably the regions of Arica and Parinacota (5.4%), Tarapacá (1.6%) and Antofagasta (1.6%).

Religion or belief

Of the total number of people aged 15 and over, 74.2% (11,214,961) have a religion or creed. Of these, 54.5% are women and 45.5% men, and their average age is 46.7 years, which is higher than the average age of those who do not profess a religion or creed (38.8 years). The regions with the highest percentage of people aged 15 years or over who profess a religion or creed are the regions of Maule (81.7%), Ñuble (80.1%), and O'Higgins (79.4%).

The Catholic religion remains the main religion or creed, although its proportion has decreased over the years, from 76.9% in 1992, to 70% in 2002, and 54% in 2024. The next highest proportion is evangelical or Protestant Christianity, which has been increasing, from 13.2% in 1992, to 15.1% in 2002, and 16.3% in 2024. In contrast, 25.8% of the population aged 15 years or older reported having no religion or creed, a figure that stood at 8.3% in 2002.

Gender

The 2024 Census incorporated a set of questions for the population aged 18 years or over referring to the identity or way of expressing oneself with respect to one's gender, which may or may not coincide with the sex at birth. Of those aged 18 years or over, 51.9% identify as female, 47.6% as male, 0.2% as transmasculine, 0.1% as transfeminine, 0.1% as non-binary, and 0.03% as another gender. Of those aged 18 years or older, 0.4% (50,642 people) identify as transgender².

Education

Finally, the average number of years of education of the population aged 18 and over increased from 8.7 years in 1992 to 12.1 years in 2024, the latter figure exceeding the 12 years of compulsory education. This indicator stood at 9.7 years in 2002 and 11.3 years in 2017.

Regarding the average number of years of education of different groups of the population aged 18 and over:

• No differences were observed between men and women. The average of both is 12.1 years of education.
• The average number of years of education of the population with disabilities is 8.9 years, which contrasts with the 12.6 years for the population without disabilities.
• Among the population that is or considers itself to belong to an indigenous or native people, the average number of years of education is 11.4 years, while those who do not consider themselves as such have an average of 12.2 years of education.
• The population that is or considers itself to be of African descent has an average of 11.9 years of education, while those who do not consider themselves as such have 12.1 years of education on average.
• The average number of years of education for the international immigrant population is 12.9 years, while the average for the Chilean-born population is 12 years.

The region with the highest average number of years of education is the Metropolitan Region (12.7 years). Following are the regions of Antofagasta (12.5 years) and Magallanes (12.4 years). The regions with the lowest average number of years of education are Ñuble (11 years) and Maule (11.1 years).

See:

Presentation (Spanish only)

Infographic (Spanish only)

Glossary (Spanish only)

(1) This part of the questionnaire consists of a set of six questions that inquire about the difficulty people experience in performing basic activities. As recommended by the Washington Group, a person is classified as having a disability if he or she reports having great difficulty or being unable to perform any of the six activities about which the census inquires.

(2) This indicator is constructed from the sum of people who answer “transmasculine” or “transfeminine” in question 49 of the census questionnaire, or who answer “yes” in question 50 (Do you identify as trans?).