This article is adapted from AQ’s special report on trends to watch in Latin America in 2025
Chile
PRESIDENT
Gabriel Boric
IN OFFICE
2022-2026
In the final full year of his term, President Gabriel Boric faces an uphill battle to carry out his progressive agenda, with general elections scheduled for November 16. Top priorities include the pending pension reform and addressing mounting concerns over public safety. Boric had hoped to achieve reforms through a constitutional rewriting process, which concluded in 2023 after two failed attempts. His approval ratings have fluctuated in the 20s and 30s over the past year, as scandals have affected some members of his administration and Boric faces tensions with his coalition and the center-left. Boric aims to boost sustainable lithium production through a national strategy of using private-public partnerships, launched in April 2023. The IMF projects that strong mining and service exports, along with an expected recovery of domestic demand, will contribute to GDP growth rates of 2.3% in 2024 and 2% to 2.5% this year. Higher electricity rates (a cumulative 60% increase from June 2024 to February 2025) are expected to add to inflation, forecasted at 4.2% at the end of 2025. Polling indicates that former Providencia Mayor Evelyn Matthei, former President Michelle Bachelet, and 2021’s presidential runner-up José Antonio Kast lead voter preferences in November’s presidential race. Amid rising political polarization, crime and pensions are among the top issues on voters’ minds.
| Presidential approval rating | 28% |
| Population (millions) | 20.1 |
| Homicide rate (per 100,000 people) | 4.5 |
| % who say they would like to emigrate in next three years | 21% |
| Capacity to Combat Corruption Index ranking (out of 15 Latin American countries) | 3 |
TRENDS TO WATCH
- November presidential and legislative elections
- Pension reform
- Boric’s security policy
ECONOMIC INDICATORS (2025 PROJECTIONS)
| GDP (current USD, billions) | $362.2 |
| GDP (% change) | +2.4% |
| GDP per capita (current USD) | $17,926.5 |
| Inflation | 4.2% |
| Unemployment rate | 8% |
| Poverty rate (World Bank definition, see note below) | 4.8% |
| Fiscal balance (% of GDP) | -1.4% |
| FDI (2023, billions USD) | $21 |
| Remittances inflows (2023, billions USD) | $0.07 |
NOTE: Poverty rate is $6.85 in 2017 PPP. Pie chart indicates total value added of GDP by economic activity at current prices. Figures rounded to nearest decimal.
SOURCES: Presidential approval: Plaza Pública Cadem (January 2024); Population, GDP and growth, inflation, unemployment: IMF World Economic Outlook (October 2024); Homicide rate: InSight Crime (2024); Emigration polling: AmericasBarometer (2023); Corruption index: AS/COA and Control Risks (2023); Trading partners: World Integrated Trade Solution (2022); GDP by economic activity: ECLAC (2023); Poverty and fiscal balance: World Bank (October 2024); FDI: UNCTAD (June 2024); Remittances: World Bank (June 2024).
