Social Security in Chile

*Assistant Director, Bureau of Research and Statistics. Much of the basic material in this article was obtained by Mr. Cohen during a visit to Chile in July 1942; he was assisted in its preparation by Evelyn Boyer of the Division of Health and Disability Studies and Loucele Horowitz of the Division of Coordination Studies. T H E REPUBLIC OF CHILE stretches for more t h a n 2,600 miles along the southwestern coast of South America. The three regions into which the country is na tura l ly divided contain a wide variety of na tura l resources. Enormous extensions of desert and ba r r en mounta ins characterize the n o r t h e r n zone. Because of its mineral deposits this region, called the Atacama, is t he richest desert in the world. Chile is second to the United Sta tes in the production of copper, and before synthetic n i t ra te became commercially profitable this zone p ro duced about 95 percent of the world supply of n i t ra te . About 70 percent of t he world supply of iodine is a byproduct of the Chilean n i t ra te indust ry. The centra l zone marks Chile as primari ly an agricultural Nation. The fertile Central Valley contains grain fields, orchards , and pasture lands, which produce most of the country's food supply. I t is in this zone also t h a t the large cities are located, as well as t he Nation's manufactur ing industries. Extensive forests and mineral deposits, including large coal beds, a re found in the lower pa r t of this zone. The southern zone, extending to Cape Horn, is t he most scenic pa r t of Chile, characterized by lakes, snowcapped volcanoes, and, in the extreme south where t he country is only 10 miles wide a t i ts narrowest point, by canals and fjords. Forestry, catt le and sheep raising, and fishing furnish the ma in sources of occupation in this area . I t is here also t h a t oil deposits have recently been discovered. With in its 286,396 square miles, Chile has more t han 5 million persons who are predominant ly of European extract ion; less t h a n 1 percent are full-blooded Araucanian Indians. T h e average density of population is 17.5 persons per square mile, as compared with 44 for t he United States. Less t h a n 3 percent of t he population, however, live in 15 of the country's 25 Provinces, while 56 percent are concentrated in the centra l region, which has an average density of 79 persons per square mile. Sant iago Province alone accounts for one-four th of the total population and h a s an average density of about 193 persons per square mile. Not more t h a n 3 persons per square mile are found in the desert nor the rn region, and the southern Province of Magal lanes has less t h a n 1 person per square mile. According to t h e 1940 census, Chile then had a population of 5 million persons, of whom 1.7 million were in the labor force; 35 percent were in agriculture, forestry, and fishing, 17 percent in manufac tur ing , 12 percent in public services, 12 percent in domestic service, 9 percent in commerce, and 5 percent in mining. I t is in teresting to note tha t , though ni t ra te and copper mining a re t h e backbone of t he Chilean economy, the mining industry accounts for only a small proportion of the labor force. Wages and commodity prices vary considerably, but regardless of his geographic location or his occupation the average wage ea rner spends most of his income on food. In 1942 the Chilean Depar tmen t of Labor (Direcci6n General del Trabajo) conducted a consumer purchase study of 286 families throughout t h e country. The survey revealed t h a t 76 percent of the family income was spent on food, 10 percent on clothing, and about 7 percent on rent.1 Par t icular ly in recent years, Chile has been experiencing severe inflation, which in spite of increased wages has made the lot of the average wage earner a difficult one.2 National income in Chile in 1943 was 29,650 million pesos3 ($956 mil l ion), equivalent to 5,990 pesos ($193) per capita. The bir th ra te is high—33.3 bir ths per 1,000 population in 1945, as compared with 19.8 for the United States . However, the infant morta l i ty ra te is also high, accounting for oneth i rd of all dea ths in t h e country in 1945. I n t h a t year, the infant mortal i ty ra te was 184 per 1,000 live bir ths as compared with 38.1 for the United States.4 The percentage increase in population over the last 20 years was 34 for Chile and 27 for the United States. The present age distribution is very similar to the distribution t h a t char acterized the United States about 40 years ago. T h e proportion of t he population in the younger age groups is larger in Chile t h a n in t he United States a t the present t ime. According to the 1940 census, 37 percent of the Chilean population was under 14 years of age, 51 percent was between 15 and 49, and 11 percent, over 50. I n 1940, only 29 percent of t h e population in the United States was under 14, while 17 percent was over 50.