Campamento (Chile)

Campamento ("camp", or "tent city") and población callampa ("mushroom town") are terms given in Chile to shanty towns. The term "mushroom town" refers to the speed in which these informal settlements sprung up between the 1960s and the 1980s, literally overnight. Nowadays, the term "campamento" has replaced "mushroom town".
Definition.
According to the NGO Un Techo para Chile ("A roof for Chile"), a "campamento" is defined as a group of crude dwellings of more than eight families, lacking at least one of the following basic services: drinking water, electricity and wastewater treatment, and which are illegally residing on the land.
Population.
As of 2004, there were 531 "campamentos" in Chile. A total of 27,785 houses were home to 32,371 families in these shanty towns. It was estimated that 75% of that population was living below the national poverty line and 41% living under extreme poverty. According to figures released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (MINVU), in 2011, there were 657 campamentos, in which 27,378 families lived and in 2018, there were 822 campamentos, where 46,423 families live.
Between 2010 and 2020, the total number of campamentos grew by 22%. The highest increases were seen in the cities of Antofagasta, Calama, Copiapó, Iquique-Alto Hospicio, La Serena, Valparaíso and Viña del Mar.