Tiago Bianchi
Research expert covering internet & gaming in Latin America and Spain
Internet usage in Chile - Statistics & Facts
With an affordable service and the highest internet penetration rate across the region’s largest markets, Chile stands out as one of the best-connected countries in Latin America in terms of internet accessibility. With a strong presence of fixed-line internet connections, the Andean country provides internet connectivity for almost all its households with equally good access to mobile connections, making its internet landscape unique and almost omnipresent in terms of quality and access. With such ease, it is no surprise that social media and e-commerce enjoy an extremely high penetration among the nearly 17 million Chilean internet users.
With a market slightly larger than Peru’s and comparable to some of its larger neighbors, combined with high connectivity and user engagement, the local e-commerce sector has generated over is another proof of Chile’s singular position in the Latin American internet landscape. Altogether, Chile’s online presence remains impressive despite amassing smaller audiences when compared to its larger neighbors. In many aspects, the country’s connectivity success is on par with Argentina and surpasses Colombia in profitability and online commerce, and the investments in online infrastructure show an immense positive return to other sectors.
Internet for all and everywhere
Chile's online landscape is heavily influenced by its landline telephone infrastructure. Despite most of the internet traffic in Chile coming from mobile devices, the country is a global leader in broadband internet speed due to its extensive optical fiber network. Both fixed-line and mobile internet have high standards and similar penetration rates, reflecting the population's demand for easy and broad access. Chileans spend most of their online time on mobile devices, with 70 percent of gamers in the country playing mobile games on smartphones. The young online audiences in Chile greatly benefit from easy access to search for information and consume audio and video content, listing those as some of the main reasons for accessing the web.Social media consumption in Chile
Internet usage is a crucial part of media consumption habits in Chile, especially with the widespread use of video and audio streaming services. Among the various online platforms used in Chile, social networks and messaging apps remain extremely popular, with an impressive penetration rate of almost 90 percent. Therefore, social platforms play a significant role in how Chileans access online information, particularly when they are researching brands and products. Facebook remains the most popular social network in Chile, amassing around 15 million users, while Instagram follows closely with over 10 million users, making it the favorite platform for more than 30 percent of Chileans. Despite its growing popularity in Latin America, TikTok has not yet managed to surpass the preference for Meta platforms in Chile.E-commerce as proof of Chile’s online success
With extensive internet access and around 9.44 million online shoppers, Chile's e-commerce sector is thriving. With about two-thirds of the country's population engaging in online shopping, the sector generates over 10 billion U.S. dollars of annual online shopping revenues. Furthermore, the preference for the national e-commerce platform Falabella over Mercado Libre, as well as the high demand for products like clothes and electronics, reflects the distinct and dynamic nature of Chile's internet market.With a market slightly larger than Peru’s and comparable to some of its larger neighbors, combined with high connectivity and user engagement, the local e-commerce sector has generated over is another proof of Chile’s singular position in the Latin American internet landscape. Altogether, Chile’s online presence remains impressive despite amassing smaller audiences when compared to its larger neighbors. In many aspects, the country’s connectivity success is on par with Argentina and surpasses Colombia in profitability and online commerce, and the investments in online infrastructure show an immense positive return to other sectors.
