Chile Roundup: Homicides, insecurity perception, wildfire prevention, unemployment

2023 ends with over 800 homicides in Chile

According to La Tercera, The Investigations Police (PDI), one of the two police bodies in Chile, has registered 804 homicides throughout the country in 2023. Of those, 497 occurred in Santiago‘s metro area. The PDI also found a rise in drug trafficking, use of firearms, extortion, people smuggling and kidnappings. According to prosecutors and government officials, the spike in those cases is due to increased activity of international criminal organizations operating in Chile, an emerging phenomenon that dominated the public agenda in 2023. 

Large majority of Chileans feel unsafe 

According to the National Statistics Institute (INE), many Chileans feel unsafe. The latest Urban Citizen Security poll, conducted by the INE, shows that 90.6% of people think insecurity and violence have increased in the last year. This represents a 4% increase compared to 2022 and the highest number in at least 10 years. Poll results also show that 21.8% said they had been a victim of a crime in the last year, the highest figure in three years. According to the INE, women tend to feel more unsafe than men.

Over 1.6 million immigrants live in Chile

According to Emol, the National Migration Service and the National Statistics Institute (INE) estimated that Chile is home to over 1.6 million immigrants. Almost a third of those (32.8%) come from Venezuela, the largest community of immigrants, followed by Peruvians (15.4%), Colombians (11.7%), Bolivians (11.7%), and Haitians (11.4%). Immigrants in Chile constitute roughly 8% of the country’s 20 million population. According to those government bodies, the figure was 25% smaller four years ago. 

Chile and Australia work together to mitigate the risks of wildfires

Constanza González, a researcher at Universidad del Desarrollo (UDD), spoke to CNN about the platform Wildfire X Exchange, which aims to connect key people who work on risk prevention to exchange their knowledge and experiences in real-time. Wildfire X Exchange is a joint venture with resources and ideas from both Chile and Australia, two countries severely hit by wildfires. González explained that the online platform can classify areas depending on their risk which can lead to a better use of resources and preparedness.

Unemployment soars to 8.7%

CNN reports that the unemployment rate in Chile rose to 8.7%, a 0.8% increase in the last year alone. According to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), Chile’s unemployment rate has risen steadily for the last thirteen years. The situation worsens in the country’s capital, Santiago, where the unemployment rate sits at 9.7%. In the last quarter of the year, however, there was timid growth in job creation, as the INE estimates that 2.4% of Chileans found a job.