Country Foundations

Chile

Constitution in force since 1980, 25,821 words. Rights measured for 2023.

Declared
84%
mean across compared rights
Practiced
78%
mean across compared rights
Gap
−6%
delivers less than promised
Executive respects constitution
80%
V-Dem, measured directly

The rights ledger

Each row compares what the constitution declares against what is measured in practice. The two values are always shown together — a gap on its own is easy to misread.

Declared in the constitutionPracticed (measured)Falls short / exceeds
0255075100Right to life — declared 100%, practiced 83%, gap −17%Right to life100%83%−17%Freedom from torture — declared 100%, practiced 78%, gap −22%Freedom from torture100%78%−22%Freedom from slavery and forced labour — declared 100%, practiced 73%, gap −27%Freedom from slavery and forced labour100%73%−27%Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) — declared 100%, practiced 74%, gap −26%Freedom from arbitrary detention (ha…100%74%−26%Right to a fair and public trial — declared 0%, practiced 81%, gap +81%Right to a fair and public trial0%81%+81%Presumption of innocence — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Presumption of innocenceno practice measure0%——Right to legal counsel — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to legal counselno practice measure100%——Protection from self-incrimination — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from self-incriminationno practice measure100%——Protection from double jeopardy — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from double jeopardyno practice measure0%——Due process of law — declared 50%, practiced 76%, gap +26%Due process of law50%76%+26%Trial by jury or lay participation — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Trial by jury or lay participationno practice measure0%——Freedom of expression — declared 100%, practiced 83%, gap −17%Freedom of expression100%83%−17%Freedom of the press — declared 100%, practiced 71%, gap −29%Freedom of the press100%71%−29%Freedom of thought and conscience — declared 100%, practiced 89%, gap −11%Freedom of thought and conscience100%89%−11%Freedom of religion — declared 100%, practiced 88%, gap −12%Freedom of religion100%88%−12%Separation of religion and state — declared 50%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Separation of religion and stateno practice measure50%——Academic freedom — declared 100%, practiced 94%, gap −6%Academic freedom100%94%−6%Freedom of assembly — declared 100%, practiced 80%, gap −20%Freedom of assembly100%80%−20%Freedom of association — declared 100%, practiced 82%, gap −18%Freedom of association100%82%−18%Right to petition government — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to petition governmentno practice measure100%——Right to form and join trade unions — declared 88%, practiced 69%, gap −18%Right to form and join trade unions88%69%−18%Right to vote and universal suffrage — declared 25%, practiced 93%, gap +68%Right to vote and universal suffrage25%93%+68%Right to privacy — declared 100%, practiced 96%, gap −4%Right to privacy100%96%−4%Freedom of movement — declared 100%, practiced 94%, gap −6%Freedom of movement100%94%−6%Right to asylum — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to asylumno practice measure0%——Right to own property — declared 75%, practiced 92%, gap +17%Right to own property75%92%+17%Equality before the law — declared 100%, practiced 76%, gap −24%Equality before the law100%76%−24%Right to education — declared 100%, practiced 34%, gap −66%Right to education100%34%−66%Right to health care — declared 100%, practiced 59%, gap −41%Right to health care100%59%−41%Right to shelter or housing — declared 0%, practiced 50%, gap +50%Right to shelter or housing0%50%+50%Independent judiciary — declared 100%, practiced 85%, gap −15%Independent judiciary100%85%−15%Right to bear arms — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to bear armsno practice measure0%——decl.prac.gap

· marks a right with no provision in that country’s constitution. Scores run 0–100; practiced values are V-Dem indicators normalized across all country-years.

Promise and practice over time

The declared line steps when the constitution changes. The practiced line moves when behaviour does. The distance between those two moments is the part worth looking at.

Declared (the text)Practiced (measured)The text changed
0501001828: constitutional text changed (+21 pts declared)1833: constitutional text changed (−4 pts declared)1874: constitutional text changed (+11 pts declared)1900: constitutional text changed (−6 pts declared)1925: constitutional text changed (+13 pts declared)1971: constitutional text changed (+4 pts declared)1980: constitutional text changed (+7 pts declared)1850190019502000

Mean across the 23 rights measured on both sides, 1818–2023. Vertical marks show years when the constitutional text changed enough to move the declared score.

Promised, but not delivered

  • Freedom from torture −22%
  • Freedom from slavery and forced labour −27%
  • Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) −26%
  • Freedom of the press −29%

Delivered, though never promised

  • Right to a fair and public trial +81%
  • Right to vote and universal suffrage +68%
  • Right to shelter or housing +50%

Declared internationally

A constitution is only one place a country makes promises. These are the nine core UN human rights treaties.

Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR)ratified 1972
Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (ICESCR)ratified 1972
Racial Discrimination (ICERD)ratified 1971
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)ratified 1989
Convention against Torture (CAT)ratified 1988
Rights of the Child (CRC)ratified 1990
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)ratified 2008
Enforced Disappearance (CPED)ratified 2009
Migrant Workers (ICMW)ratified 2005

Compare with

AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBeninBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBulgariaBurkina FasoBurma/MyanmarBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCentral African RepublicChadChinaColombiaComorosCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusDemocratic Republic of the CongoDenmarkDjiboutiDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGeorgiaGhanaGreeceGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaiti

Data generated 2026-08-08.