Government and power in Chile

Who leads Chile, how the World Bank's governance indicators score it, how many women sit in parliament and government, what the state spends and taxes, and the official bodies that hold power to account. System of government: Unitary republic.

Who leads Chile?

• Head of state: José Antonio Kast (Presidente de la República de Chile)
• Head of government: No Prime Minister
• Foreign minister: Francisco Pérez Mackenna (Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores de la República de Chile)

Source: Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs: Public List (United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service), list dated 15 October 2026. All world leaders.

Governance scores

The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators combine surveys of households and firms with assessments by public, private and non-governmental bodies. Each score runs from 0 to 100; higher means the sources rate governance better. They measure perceptions, and each has a margin of error.

Voice and accountability

Measures how far citizens can choose their government, and freedom of expression, association and the media.

Political stability and absence of violence

Measures the likelihood of political instability or politically motivated violence, including terrorism.

Government effectiveness

Measures the quality of public services and the civil service, and how independent they are from political pressure.

Regulatory quality

Measures the government's ability to make and carry out policies that let the private sector develop.

Rule of law

Measures confidence in and respect for the rules of society, including contract enforcement, property rights, the police and the courts.

Control of corruption

Measures how far public power is used for private gain, including petty and grand corruption and "capture" of the state by elites.

Official bodies that hold power in Chile

Government

• Government of Chile
  Official government news, policy announcements and ministry information.

Parliament

• Chamber of Deputies
  Bills, votes, session records and deputy information for the lower house.
• Senate
  Bills, session records, votes and senator information for the upper house.

Elections

• Electoral Service
  Electoral register, official election results and campaign finance data.

Courts

• Judiciary of Chile (Supreme Court)
  Supreme Court and appeal court rulings, case search and judiciary statistics.
• Constitutional Court
  Constitutional review judgments, case files and statistics.

Public audit

• Comptroller General of the Republic
  Audit reports, legal opinions (dictámenes) and public-sector control reports.

Access to information

• Council for Transparency
  Enforces the access-to-information law, decides appeals (amparos) against refusals and publishes its rulings and compliance audits.

Lobbying register

• Lobby Law Platform
  Public register of lobbying meetings, travel and gifts of officials covered by the Lobby Law.

Asset declarations

• InfoProbidad
  Publishes the asset and interest declarations of public officials.

Public contracts

• Mercado Público (ChileCompra)
  Public procurement platform listing tenders, purchase orders and contract awards of state bodies.

Laws and the official gazette

• Ley Chile (National Congress Library)
  Consolidated texts of Chilean laws, decrees and regulations with version history.
• Official Gazette
  Daily official publication of laws, decrees and legal notices.

Government below the national level

• Regions (16): Regional governor and regional council (CORE) directly elected (first in 2021); regional presidential delegate appointed by the President
• Provinces (56): Provincial presidential delegate appointed by the President (in 40 provinces)
• Municipalities (345, covering 346 communes): Mayor (alcalde) and municipal council (concejo) directly elected for four years

How local power works in Chile

Places in Chile

• All 15 regions
• The 63 largest cities
• Official statistics for Chile

Sources

• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Voice and accountability (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 70f2804fd1e2…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Political stability and absence of violence (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1317de0c85e1…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Government effectiveness (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a775e808dc65…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Regulatory quality (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 83b57e36ff8c…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Rule of law (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0bccc3c054e8…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Control of corruption (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3b15a5340cdd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Seats held by women in national parliament (SG.GEN.PARL.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1ae1dc13981a…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Women in ministerial positions (SG.GEN.MNST.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a4e448a5b8bd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Central government spending (GC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 808094019f50…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Tax revenue (GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08c94b750f31…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Military spending (MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a7f6913a783b…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Armed forces personnel (MS.MIL.TOTL.P1), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fa4663c743ba…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Statistical Performance Indicator (overall score) (IQ.SPI.OVRL), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08ac7cde9129…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: People using the internet (IT.NET.USER.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0d78dc658329…)

Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.