Chile faces record low fertility as government launches Plan Chile Renace

In 2025 Chile recorded just 146,446 live births, a 46.9% decline from 1993, and for the first time the total fertility rate fell below one child per woman (0.99). Demographers warn that the falling birth rate will accelerate population ageing, strain pension and health systems, and shrink the future labour pool.

The government responded with the “Plan Chile Renace”, a policy package that seeks to remove economic and social obstacles to childbearing, such as precarious employment, high housing costs, household debt, and limited childcare support. Critics note a contradiction between the plan’s ambitious family incentives and the administration’s broader fiscal stance of tax cuts, budget reductions and a need for additional borrowing, raising questions about how the measures will be funded.

The debate also reflects deeper cultural shifts: greater female labour participation, higher education levels, and more diverse family forms that reduce the appeal of traditional nuclear families. Policymakers argue that without addressing these structural changes, simple financial incentives will be insufficient to reverse the demographic trend.