SANTIAGO, Chile, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Chile's labor force could shrink by about 3% if a majority of Venezuelan migrants decide to return home after the capture of former President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. military forces, according to a new academic study.
The potential return of Venezuelan migrants would have a direct impact on Chile's labor market, the Observatory of the Economic Context at Diego Portales University said.
As of the September to November 2025 quarter, an estimated 510,740 Venezuelans were living in Chile, accounting for about 5% of the country's total labor force. More than 84.5% of them were employed, a sharp increase from 2017, when Venezuelans represented just 0.4% of the labor force.
After Maduro's capture became known, about 58.5% of Venezuelans surveyed by the Citizen Panel at Chile's University of Development said they could return to their country in the short term if conditions in Venezuela show significant improvement, which could reduce labor force participation by 3%.
"A reduction in the Venezuelan population over the medium term implies a lower level of [gross domestic product]," Juan Bravo, director of the observatory at Diego Portales University, told UPI. "However, how strongly that impact is felt depends crucially on how gradual the emigration process is."
