Chile is the world's leading producer of copper and is considered a high-income, developing economy in South America. While many Latin American nations struggled with structural economic imbalances in the late 2010s, Chile managed to maintain relatively stable financial markets, bolstered by its robust fiscal rules and sovereign wealth funds.
Table 1 – A comparison of Chile and OECD average annual % real GDP growth rates
| Year | Chile (%) | OECD Average (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 4.0 | 2.4 |
| 2019 | 0.9 | 1.7 |
| 2020 | -6.1 | -4.3 |
| 2021 | 11.7 | 5.8 |
| 2022 | 2.4 | 2.9 |
| 2023 | -0.2 | 1.6 |
Despite high commodity prices, the Chilean economy faced significant post-pandemic volatility, but rebounded with record-breaking growth in 2021 before cooling down. This rapid recovery, however, began to fuel domestic price pressures.
Table 2 – Chile's Quarterly Consumer Price Index (CPI) – March 2022 to March 2023
| Base Year: 2018 = 100 | Mar-22 | Jun-22 | Sep-22 | Dec-22 | Mar-23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer Price Index (CPI) | 115.4 | 118.9 | 122.1 | 125.0 | 128.2 |
'Chile's central bank and government are highly committed to returning inflation to its target of 3.0%.'
State one other possible macroeconomic policy objective of the Chilean government.
