European migration in the 19th century did not result in a remarkable change in the ethnic composition of Chile, except in the region of Magellan and the city of Concepcion in the BIO-BIO Region.
Spain and France was the largest source of European immigration to Chile during the 17th and 18th centuries, specially from the deep southern parts of Andalusia and Extremadura, which contributed to the Chilean ethnogenesis with thousands of peasants who migrated to the fertile lands of the Chilean Central Valley alongside the Basque merchants who started to arrive in the 18th century in great numbers.
The largest contingent of people to have arrived in post-independence Chile came from Spain and from the Basque country, a region divided between northern Spain and southern France. Estimates of the number of Chileans who have one or two surnames of Basque origin range from 10% (1,600,000) to as high as 20% (3,200,000). Note that this phenomenon occurs not only in Chile, but also in every Autonomous Community of Spain, as well as in other Latin American countries – one can see that a substantial portion of their populations have one or two surnames of Basque or Navarre origin, tending to be more common in the upper classes, and hence becoming more unusual in lower classes.
Chile's various waves of non-Spanish immigrants include Italians, Irish, French, Greeks, Germans, English, Scots, Croats, and Poles.
In 1848 an important and substantial German immigration took place, laying the foundation for the German-Chilean community. Sponsored by the Chilean government for the colonization of the southern region, the Germans (including German-speaking Swiss, Silesians, Alsatians and Austrians), strongly influenced the cultural and racial composition of the southern provinces of Chile. It is difficult to count the number of descendants of Germans in Chile, given the great amount of time since 1848. Because many areas of southern Chile were sparsely populated, the traces of German immigration there are quite noticeable. An independent estimate calculates that about 500,000 Chileans could descend from German immigrants.
Other historically significant immigrant groups included Croats, whose descendants today are estimated at 380,000 persons, or 2.4% of the Chilean population. Some authors claim that close to 4.6% of the Chilean population must have some Croatian ancestry. Over 700,000 Chileans (4.5% of the Chilean population) may have British (English, Scottish or Welsh) and Irish forebears. Chileans of Greek descent are estimated to number between 90,000 and 120,000; most live in or near either Santiago or Antofagasta, and Chile is one of the five countries in the world most populated with descendants of Greeks. The descendants of Swiss immigrants add 90,000, and estimates suggest that about 5% of the Chilean population has some French ancestry. 600,000 Chileans descend from Italian immigrants. Other groups of Europeans exist but are found in smaller numbers, such as the descendants of Austrians and Dutchmen (estimated at about 50,000).
alt=Population pyramid of Chilean-born people (darker color) and foreigners (lighter), 2024 census|left|thumb|Population pyramid of Chilean-born people (darker color) and foreigners (lighter) 2024
alt=Population pyramid of foreigners in Chile, 2024 census|thumb|245x245px|Population pyramid of foreigners in Chile, 2024.
alt=Population pyramid of Chilean-born people in Chile, 2024 census.|center|thumb|Population pyramid of Chilean-born people in Chile, 2024 census.
alt=Population pyramid of Chile by ethnicity/race, 2024 census.|left|thumb|Population pyramid of Chile by ethnicity/race, 2024.
alt=Afrodescendants' pyramid population of Chile, 2024|thumb|Afrodescendants' pyramid population of Chile, 2024
alt=Indigenous pyramid population of Chile, census 2024.|center|thumb|Indigenous pyramid population of Chile 2024.
Latin American immigrants
Since the reestablishment of democracy in Chile, the former tendency for emigrants from the country to outnumber immigrants to it has reversed. Chile now is one of the two countries in Latin America with a positive migration rate. Since 1990, with the opening of Chile to the world, through a free market system, and the consequent socioeconomic development of the country, has been noted the attraction of a significant number of immigrants from various Latin American countries, which represented in Census 2017, approximately 1,200,000 people, corresponding to 7% of the population residing in the Chilean territory, without counting their descendants born in Chile, due to the effects of the ius soli. Their main origins, corresponds to: 288,233 Venezuelans, 223,923 Peruvians, 179,338 Haitians, 146,582 Colombians, 107,346 Bolivians, 74,713 Argentines, 36,994 Ecuadorians, 18,185 Brazilians, 17,959 Dominicans, 15,837 Cubans and 8,975 Mexicans.
This has prompted a change in the physiognomy of certain communes in the country where its number is concentrated. In communes such as Santiago Centro and Independencia, 1/3 of residents is a Latin American immigrant (28% and 31% of the population of these communes, respectively). Other communes of Greater Santiago with high numbers of immigrants are Estación Central (17%) and Recoleta (16%). In the northern regions such as Antofagasta region, 17.3% of the population is a Latin American foreigner, with communes such as Ollagüe (31%), Mejillones (16%), Sierra Gorda (16%) and Antofagasta (11%), with high percentages of Latin American immigrants, mainly Bolivians, Colombians and Peruvians.
Other ethnic groups
It is estimated that about 5% of the population (800,000) is descendant of Asian immigrants, chiefly from the Middle East (i.e. Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese, see Arab Chileans). Most of these are Christians from the Levant, of whom roughly 500,000 are Palestinian descendants, mostly Christians, are believed to reside in Chile. Additionally, about 18,000–25,000 Jews reside in Chile.
In recent years, Chile has had a growing East Asian population, mainly from China (see Chinese Chilean), but also from Japan (see Japanese Chilean) and South Korea (see Koreans in Chile). The earliest wave of East Asian immigration took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, mainly Chinese and Japanese contract laborers.
There is a sizable population of Romani people in Chile. They are widely and easily recognized, and continue to hold on to their traditions and language, and many continue to live semi-nomadic lifestyles traveling from city to city and living in small tented communities.
Population genetics
Genetics studies fluctuate between 57,8% and 67.9% European; between 32.1% and 44.3% Amerindian; and 2.5%—6.3% African ancestry percentages. In a 2014 study of Chilean soldiers stationed in Arica, researchers found that the average self-identifying white person (37.9%) was genetically only 54% European.