Chile, migration 1885 to present

During recent years Chile has begun to be recognized as a country of emerging migratory attraction in the Latin American region, in that there are still more Chileans living abroad than there are foreigners living within their national territory. The percentage of foreign population residing in Chile has historically remained below 5 percent, and, in the last three decades, has not exceeded 2 percent. The period spanning 1885-1940 represents the largest foreign population stock in the country (in 1907 it reached 4.1%), although, during the second half of the 20th century, it fell below 1 percent. This figure began to increase recently (following the resurgence of democracy in 1990), rising to 1.3 percent of the national population in 2002 (Martínez 2003; Doña & Levinson 2004) and 1.9 percent in 2010 according to INE (Instituto Nacional de Estadística) estimates. Estimates of the number of Chileans residing abroad vary from 3.5 percent and 5 percent in relation to the national population (Martínez 2003: 17; Solimano & Tokman 2008: 190).