 Although it is estimated that 150,000 to 200,000 Chileans have some German ancestry, the number who speak German has been in decline since the end of World War II.In the 1980s it was estimated that some 35,000 German Chileans spoke German, but today it is spoken only by some 20,000, most of them living in Los Ríos and Los Lagos Region.Large numbers of Chileans, especially those from higher levels of socio-economic classes speak or understand English to some degree.