Chile

Chile: strong, sustained growth, 1980–2025

Market-oriented reforms begun under the Pinochet government in the late 1970s-80s and continued by later democratic governments made Chile one of Latin America's most stable, copper-export-driven economies. Between 1980 and 2025, Chile's GDP per capita grew from $2,571 to $17,995 (current US$), a compound annual growth rate of 4.4% — strong, sustained growth. Annual GDP growth averaged 4.1% with a year-to-year standard deviation of 4.2 points, reflecting considerable volatility and periodic crises. Structurally, agriculture's share of the economy moved from 7.1% to 3.5% of GDP (a classic decline as the economy industrialized/modernized), while services rose from 54.1% to 55.5% of GDP, underscoring a shift toward a services-driven economy. On human development, life expectancy rose from 69.5 to 81.4 years, while tertiary school enrollment moved from 35.4% to 110.2%, while the urban population share grew from 81.7% to 89.2%.

What this growth cost: Growth was not without cost: per-capita CO2 emissions rose from 2.51 to 3.94 tonnes CO2e per person; income inequality (Gini index) narrowed from 56.2 to 43.0; the poverty headcount ratio fell from 21.7% to 0.4%.