In recent decades, Chile has experienced significant economic growth and social progress. A large share of national income and exports is associated with the primary sector, especially minerals, but also agriculture, forestry and fisheries. Yet there has been little focus on providing a stronger milieu for these industries at the regional level. Chile’s peculiar geography concentrates economic activities and settlement patterns in a few geographic areas, contributing to very high levels of regional inequality. More than half of Chilean regions with high degrees of rurality record GDP per capita below 75% of the national average. To resolve this problem there is a need to shift the rural policy vision from the current approach, where lagging regions depend on social programmes and agricultural and other sectoral policies, to a more comprehensive and integrated rural development programme. Chile’s current official definition of rural areas is not suited to a modern rural economy, where recognising the significance of urban and rural interactions, differentiating among different types of rural areas, and finally recognising and defining multiple types of rural areas are important considerations.