In the early twentieth century, Chileans began immigrating to Australia with the 1901 census showing 90 Chilean nations in the country. Migration to Australia would increase in the 1970s after the 1973 Chilean coup d'état when several thousand Chileans left the country escaping political persecution. In December 1989, Chile returned to democracy. In 1993, President Patricio Aylwin became the first Chilean head of state to pay an official visit to Australia. In 2004, Prime Minister John Howard became the first Australian head of government to visit Chile and to attend the APEC Summit.