Amid the series of bad weather fronts that have affected the country, a new study analyzes the perception of infrastructure and connectivity in Chile and 28 other nations, with several data points that directly relate to what has happened due to the rains.
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This is the Global Infrastructure Index 2026 that the multinational company Ipsos, dedicated to market research and public opinion consulting, will present this week.
According to the study, four out of ten countries (38%) are satisfied with their national infrastructure, in line with figures from recent years. Three out of ten (30%) are dissatisfied. There have been drops in satisfaction between 2024 and 2026 in the United Kingdom and Germany (both 11 percentage points) and in the U.S. (8 points). This year, Singapore tops the list of most satisfied citizens (74%), compared to only 16% in Hungary and 22% in Spain. In the case of Chile, 49% are satisfied and only 16% dissatisfied.
Globally, 73% of respondents are convinced that it is as important to maintain and repair existing infrastructure in their country as it is to build new infrastructure. Only 5% disagree with that statement. In Chile, 73% agree with that balance, while 3% reject it.
Likewise, 59% globally believe that investing in infrastructure in their country will be an important contribution to combating climate change, an option with which only 9% disagree. In the case of Chile, those figures are 58% and 6%, respectively.
However, 61% globally do not believe that their country’s infrastructure has adapted enough to face future climate changes. Only 13% differ from that analysis. For Chile, those figures are 61% and 9%, respectively.
In the context of public sector funding shortages, 70% globally say they feel comfortable with private investment if it produces the necessary improvements. The majority believe that private sector funding, alone or in combination with public funding, will likely improve infrastructure in several ways. Only 6% disagree. Those figures in Chile reach 73% and 4%, respectively. However, globally, only 39% agree with financing additional spending through increased taxes or costs for consumers to improve infrastructure. In the case of our country, that figure falls to 33%.
The study shows that in Chile, the private sector is preferred by more people than the public sector, except when asked “to work to meet the needs of all citizens.” In that scenario, the public sector prevails with 26%, compared to 18% for the private sector. Meanwhile, 40% lean towards a combination of both. In fact, Ipsos highlights that the largest proportion in each of the queries prefers to combine both.
Regarding public works, flood defenses are a lower priority in 2026 (perhaps reflecting fewer extreme flood events), while railways have increased as a priority. But there are considerable variations: water supply and sewage are chosen by 72% in South Africa and only 19% in South Korea.
In this regard, the Ipsos study shows that water supply and sewage (42%), new housing supply (37%), and railway infrastructure (36%) appear among the main investment priorities globally, far from electric vehicle charging infrastructure (21%) and airports (14%).
In Chile, one in two people (50%) selects new housing supply as the main investment priority, followed by pavements, sidewalks, and pedestrian zones (47%) and water supply and sewage (42%). In contrast, airports (13%) and nuclear infrastructure for energy generation (12%) appear as the least prioritized. It is noteworthy that the preference for flood defenses (a priority today for 37% of respondents in Chile) dropped 15 percentage points in two years, Ipsos highlights.
For Rodrigo Pereira, account director of Public Studies at Ipsos Chile, our country stands out as one of the markets with the highest levels of satisfaction with its infrastructure globally, ranking seventh among 29 countries, even above developed economies such as Japan, South Korea, France, and Australia. “However, the 49% satisfaction shows that the perception is still more of a half-full glass than a completed task,” he tells La Tercera.
“The main signal for decision-makers is in new housing. 50% of Chileans identify it as the top infrastructure investment priority, well above the global average (37%), reflecting that citizens evaluate infrastructure not only by its performance but by its ability to solve concrete needs and improve quality of life,” he points out.
Pereira emphasizes that the Global Infrastructure Index 2026 “also confirms that priorities are dynamic.” “While investment in flood defenses loses relevance in the country (37% / -15 points vs 2024), railway infrastructure (39% / +5 points vs 2024) and solar energy (41% / +3 points vs 2024) gain ground. Certainly, this does not imply a decrease in climate risks but responds to the context in which the measurement was taken, prior to the recent bad weather fronts,” he notes.
“Finally, there is clear citizen validation of public-private collaboration models. Chileans consider that the combination of both sectors can generate better results in critical areas such as fighting climate change (45%), infrastructure maintenance (42%), and timely construction of new infrastructure (39%). More than a discussion about financing, the results reflect a demand for greater execution capacity to close the gaps that remain priorities for the country,” he concludes.
