Atacama: population, the economy and jobs

Atacama is a region of Chile, number 12 of 15 by population. The 2024 census counted 299,180 usual residents in Atacama, 1.6% of Chile's 18,480,432; 4th smallest of Chile's 16 regions by population. That is 14,627 more than the 284,553 counted in 2017, a rise of 5.1% (Chile: 6.7%).

In depth

• Economy, jobs and prices in Atacama: The Central Bank of Chile puts the gross domestic product of Atacama at 10.3 trillion pesos at current prices in 2025, 3.4% of the 307.2 trillion pesos it allocates to regions; 8th smallest of Chile's 16 regions.
• Health in Atacama: 87.3% of people in Atacama were covered by FONASA, the public health insurance system, in 2024, according to the CASEN 2024 household survey (Chile: 82.6%); 6th lowest of 16 regions, up 11.0 percentage points on 2017.
• Education in Atacama: Adults aged 18 and over in Atacama had 11.8 years of schooling on average in the 2024 census (Chile: 12.1); joint 8th highest of Chile's 16 regions.
• Poverty and living standards in Atacama: 5.7% of occupied homes in Atacama were overcrowded in the 2024 census (5,717 homes), and 0.5% critically so (Chile: 5.7% and 0.6%); 5th highest of Chile's 16 regions.
• Government budget and revenue in Atacama: The 2027 budget bill sets the investment programme of the regional government of Atacama at 83,995 million pesos, down 6.5% on the 2026 comparison base of 89,818 million pesos. That is 8th smallest of 16 regions by the size of the regional government's investment programme.

More figures

• 10.3% of people aged 5 and over in Atacama reported a disability in the 2024 census, 29,182 people, and 31.3% of those aged 65 or over (Chile: 11.1% and 32.6%). Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadisticas (INE) · saved copy

How regions are governed in Chile

Regions (16). Regional governor and regional council (CORE) directly elected (first in 2021); regional presidential delegate appointed by the President. Governor and council run regional development and investment; the delegate handles public order, emergencies and co-ordination of central services.

Every tier of government in Chile

Other regions of Chile

• Santiago Metropolitan Region 7,400,741
• Valparaiso 1,896,053
• Biobio 1,613,059
• Maule 1,123,008
• Araucania 1,010,423
• Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins 987,228
• Los Lagos 890,284
• Coquimbo 832,864
• Antofagasta 635,416
• Los Rios 398,230
• Tarapaca 369,806
• Arica y Parinacota 244,569
• Magallanes 166,537
• Aysen 100,745

Up a level: Chile · government and power in Chile · cities

Sources

• Instituto Nacional de Estadisticas (INE): Censo de Poblacion y Vivienda 2024: Sintesis de resultados (Tables 1-4, 8, 13, 18, 21, 24-28, 30-31, 33-37 and 39 by region), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fdf5a5b0acc0…)
• Banco Central de Chile: Consumo de hogares e IPSFL por region, precios corrientes, referencia 2018 (dolares per capita), 2018-2024, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 69c349dcda69…)
• Instituto Nacional de Estadisticas (INE): Encuesta Nacional de Empleo, Nota Estadistica No. 53: principales indicadores con intervalo de confianza, trimestre junio-agosto 2026 (national and regional), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 5dcdb038cef4…)
• Banco Central de Chile: Exportacion de bienes y servicios por region, anual, precios corrientes, referencia 2018 (miles de millones de pesos), 2013-2025, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 892b2e560c5d…)
• Banco Central de Chile: Producto interno bruto por region, precios corrientes, series empalmadas, referencia 2018 (miles de millones de pesos), 2013-2025, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 ca0f44a99447…)
• Banco Central de Chile: Producto interno bruto por region, precios corrientes, referencia 2018 (dolares per capita), 2018-2024, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f7ec24e40663…)
• Banco Central de Chile: Producto interno bruto anual por region, volumen a precios del ano anterior encadenado, referencia 2018, 2013-2025, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 5fb5d18ca202…)
• Ministerio de Desarrollo Social y Familia (Observatorio Social): Encuesta Casen 2024: resultados en educacion, tables 9 (average years of schooling by region), 17 (highest level reached by region), 35, 46 and 68 (net attendance rates in pre-school, primary and secondary education by region), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1b92d1ee943f…)
• Ministerio de Desarrollo Social y Familia (Observatorio Social): Encuesta Casen 2024: tablas de resultados, situacion de ingresos de los hogares, tables 3 (average household income by type and region, 2006-2024), 9 (composition of monetary income by region) and 21 (people below 50% of the median per-person income by region), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 7e90810f6eb9…)
• Ministerio de Desarrollo Social y Familia (Observatorio Social): Encuesta Casen 2024: tablas de resultados, pobreza multidimensional (metodologia 2024), tables 25 (households deprived in each indicator by region) and 33 (incidence in the population by region, 2022 and 2024), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fdb44781fc4e…)
• Direccion de Presupuestos (DIPRES), Ministerio de Hacienda: Proyecto de Ley de Presupuestos 2026, Partida 31 Financiamiento Gobiernos Regionales: contenido del proyecto, Cuadros 1 and 2 (operating and investment programmes of each regional government, 2025 and 2026, millions of pesos), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 ac981e5e0516…)
• Direccion de Presupuestos (DIPRES), Ministerio de Hacienda: Proyecto de Ley de Presupuestos 2027, Partida 31 Financiamiento Gobiernos Regionales: contenido del proyecto, with tables of the operating and investment programmes of each regional government, 2026 and 2027 (millions of pesos), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 9c805d796ed4…)
• Ministerio de Desarrollo Social y Familia (Observatorio Social): Encuesta Casen 2024: tablas de resultados, pobreza por ingresos (metodologia 2024), tables 4 (national) and 6 (poverty and extreme poverty by region, 2009-2024), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 12202786414f…)
• Ministerio de Desarrollo Social y Familia (Observatorio Social): Encuesta Casen 2024: resultados en salud, tables 3 (health insurance system by region), 24 (medical care for a health problem in the last three months), 36 (problems obtaining care) and 94 (functional dependency) by region, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 bbb36105bb3c…)

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