Chile

Background:

A three-year-old Marxist government was overthrown in 1973 by a dictatorial military regime led by Augusto PINOCHET, who ruled until a freely elected president was installed in 1990. Sound economic policies, maintained consistently since the 1980s, have contributed to steady growth and have helped secure the country's commitment to democratic and representative government. Chile has increasingly assumed regional and international leadership roles befitting its status as a stable, democratic nation.

Geography

Location:	Southern South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Argentina and Peru
Geographic coordinates:	30 00 S, 71 00 W
Area:	total: 756,950 sq km land: 748,800 sq km water: 8,150 sq km note: includes Easter Island (Isla de Pascua) and Isla Sala y Gomez
Area - comparative:	slightly smaller than twice the size of Montana
Land boundaries:	total: 6,171 km border countries: Argentina 5,150 km, Bolivia 861 km, Peru 160 km
Coastline:	6,435 km
Maritime claims:	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200/350 nm
Climate:	temperate; desert in north; Mediterranean in central region; cool and damp in south
Terrain:	low coastal mountains; fertile central valley; rugged Andes in east
Elevation extremes:	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Nevado Ojos del Salado 6,880 m
Natural resources:	copper, timber, iron ore, nitrates, precious metals, molybdenum, hydropower
Land use:	arable land: 2.65% permanent crops: 0.42% other: 96.93% (2001)
Irrigated land:	18,000 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:	severe earthquakes; active volcanism; tsunamis
Environment - current issues:	widespread deforestation and mining threaten natural resources; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage
Environment - international agreements:	party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:	strategic location relative to sea lanes between Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage); Atacama Desert is one of world's driest regions

People

Population:	15,980,912 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:	0-14 years: 25.2% (male 2,062,735/female 1,970,913) 15-64 years: 66.7% (male 5,320,870/female 5,342,771) 65 years and over: 8% (male 534,737/female 748,886) (2005 est.)
Median age:	total: 30.07 years male: 29.17 years female: 31.05 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate:	0.97% (2005 est.)
Birth rate:	15.44 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate:	5.76 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate:	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio:	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Infant mortality rate:	total: 8.8 deaths/1,000 live births male: 9.55 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:	total population: 76.58 years male: 73.3 years female: 80.03 years (2005 est.)
Total fertility rate:	2.02 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Nationality:	noun: Chilean(s) adjective: Chilean
Ethnic groups:	white and white-Amerindian 95%, Amerindian 3%, other 2%
Religions:	Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 11%, Jewish NEGL%
Languages:	Spanish
Literacy:	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 96.2% male: 96.4% female: 96.1% (2003 est.)

Government

Country name:	conventional long form: Republic of Chile conventional short form: Chile local long form: Republica de Chile local short form: Chile
Government type:	republic
Capital:	Santiago
Administrative divisions:	13 regions (regiones, singular - region); Aisen del General Carlos Ibanez del Campo, Antofagasta, Araucania, Atacama, Bio-Bio, Coquimbo, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, Los Lagos, Magallanes y de la Antartica Chilena, Maule, Region Metropolitana (Santiago), Tarapaca, Valparaiso note: the US does not recognize claims to Antarctica
Independence:	18 September 1810 (from Spain)
National holiday:	Independence Day, 18 September (1810)
Constitution:	11 September 1980; effective 11 March 1981; amended 30 July 1989, 1993, and 1997
Legal system:	based on Code of 1857 derived from Spanish law and subsequent codes influenced by French and Austrian law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction note: Chile is in the process of completely overhauling its criminal justice system; a new, US-style adversarial system is being gradually implemented throughout the country with the final stage of implementation in the Santiago metropolitan region expected in June 2005
Suffrage:	18 years of age; universal and compulsory Source: CIA World Factbook