Verified growth in Protestantism in Chile: census 2024
Chile sees its religious dynamics change deeply: the last report of the National Institute of Statistics, published on June 30, 2025, reveals a constant growth of Protestantism and Evangelism. According to the national census, the proportion of Protestants/Evangelicals reached 16.3 % in 2024, against 15.1 % in 2002 and 13.2 % in 1992. This progression was accompanied by a strong mobilization of the communities, particularly in Santiago and in the South provinces, where musical, social and inter-eleglise life asserts itself as one of the engines of local religious dynamism.
Catholicism, despite 54 % of membership, continues its net decline and has lost 16 points since the last 2002 census, confirming a historical tilting within the Chilean Society. In parallel, the share of people declaring themselves without religion takes a major step, reaching 25.8 % of the population aged 15 and over, against 8.3 % in 2002. This double phenomenon – rise in evangelism and progression of “without religion” – modifies the traditional balance and shapes new spaces for religious engagement as well as the Chilean cultural ecosystem.
The official source, the National Institute of Statistics, attests to the stability and the veracity of these figures, relayed by local associations as mission 21 and by media specialized in religious news. The origin of this evolution dates back to the end of the 20th century, and continued with a marked intensification since the early 2000s. The cities of Santiago and Concepción illustrate this trend, with inter-equal gatherings and musical initiatives promoting evangelical faith.
The consolidated figures and the verified trends demonstrate a profound change in the Chilean spiritual landscape, offering solid benchmarks for the understanding of current community life. Only official and overlapping data make it possible to grasp the sociological and cultural scope of this phenomenon, a real subject of interest for actors and observers of the Latin American religious world.
