This article is about people originating from
India. For native ethnic groups of Chile, also sometimes called "Indians", see
Indigenous peoples in Chile.
Some migrants from
British India (including
Pakistan) arrived to work in mining, railroads and agriculture in the early 20th century, usually under
British-owned corporations. However most Indians in Chile are new arrivals in the 1980s and the 1990s for economic reasons.
The first immigrants from India (mostly of Sindhi descent) arrived to Magallanes (present-day
Punta Arenas) in 1904 and worked as traders. Their descendants moved to different parts of the country, though mostly to
Santiago. Descendants of Sindhi migrants to Chile also live on the northern coast (i.e.
Arica,
Iquique and
Antofagasta). A second large wave of Indian immigration occurred in the 1980s. These are the people who set up the Indian Association of Santiago.
As of 2012, there are about 1500 people of Indian origin living in the country, mostly in Iquique, Santiago and Punta Arenas.[1] About 40 per cent of them have obtained Chilean nationality.[1]
Business and employment
There are various commercial opportunities in Chile for Indian immigrants and multinational firms have begun to arrive and along with them Indian engineers.
