Population of the Atacama Desert: Sparse, Coastal, and Mining-Centered

The Atacama Desert (1,052,000 km² / 406,000 sq mi) in northern Chile and southern Peru is the driest non-polar desert. Population is extremely low—only a few thousand in the hyper-arid core.

Most residents cluster in coastal or oasis settlements with water access:

• Calama (~150,000): Largest city; copper mining hub (Chuquicamata).
• Antofagasta (~360,000): Port and mining center on the coast.
• Iquique (~190,000): Coastal free-trade zone, history of nitrate mining.
• San Pedro de Atacama (~5,000): Tourism base for salt flats, geysers, stargazing.

Indigenous Atacameño (Lickanantay) communities maintain traditional agriculture in high-altitude oases using ancient irrigation.