low coastal mountains; fertile central valley; rugged Andes in east
Natural resources: copper, timber, iron ore, nitrates, precious metals, molybdenum
Land use: 7% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 16% meadows and pastures; 21% forest and woodland; 56% other; includes 2% irrigated
Environment: subject to severe earthquakes, active volcanism, tsunami;
Atacama Desert one of world's driest regions; desertification
Note: strategic location relative to sea lanes between
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage)
- People
Population: 13,082,842 (July 1990), growth rate 1.6% (1990)
Birth rate: 21 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 18 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 70 years male, 77 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 2.5 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—Chilean(s); adjective—Chilean
Ethnic divisions: 95% European and European-Indian, 3% Indian, 2% other
Religion: 89% Roman Catholic, 11% Protestant, and small Jewish population
Language: Spanish
Literacy: 94%
Labor force: 3,840,000; 38.6% services (including 12% government), 31.3% industry and commerce; 15.9% agriculture, forestry, and fishing; 8.7% mining; 4.4% construction (1985)
Organized labor: 10% of labor force (1989)
- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Chile
Type: republic
Capital: Santiago
Administrative divisions: 13 regions (regiones, singular—region);
Aisen del General Carlos Ibanez del Campo, Antofagasta, Araucania,
Atacama, Biobio, Coquimbo, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, Los Lagos,
Magallanes y Antartica Chilena, Maule, Region Metropolitana, Tarapaca,
Valparaiso
Independence: 18 September 1810 (from Spain)
Constitution: 11 September 1980, effective 11 March 1981; amended 30 July 1989
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
National holiday: Independence Day, 18 September (1810)
Executive branch: president, Cabinet
Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional) consisting of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or Chamber of Deputies
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government—President Patricio
AYLWIN (since 11 March 1990)
Political parties and leaders: National Renovation (RN), Sergio
Jarpa, president; Radical Party (PR), Enrique Silva Cimma;
Social Democratic Party (PSD), Eugenio Velasco; Christian Democratic
Party (PDC), Andres Zaldivar; Party for Democracy, Ricardo Lagos;
Socialist Party, Clodomiro Almeyda; other parties are
Movement of United Popular Action (MAPU), Victor Barrueto;
Christian Left (IC), Luis Maira; Communist Party of Chile (PCCh),
Volodia Teitelboim; Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR) is
splintered, no single leader; several leftist and far left parties
formed a new coalition in November 1988 with Luis Maira as president;
the 17-party Concertation of Parties for Democracy backed
Patricio Aylwin's presidential candidacy in December 1989
Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18
Elections: President—last held 14 December 1989 (next to be held December 1993 or January 1994); results—Patricio Aylwin 55.2%, Hernan Buchi 29.4%, other 15.4%;
Senate—last held 14 December 1989 (next to be held December 1993 or January 1994); seats—(47 total, 38 elected) 17-party Concertation of Parties for Democracy 22;
Chamber of Deputies—last held 14 December 1989 (next to be held
December 1993 or January 1994); seats—(120 total)
Concertation of Parties for Democracy 69
Communists: 120,000 when PCCh was legal in 1973; 50,000 (est.) active militants
Other political or pressure groups: revitalized university student federations at all major universities dominated by opposition political groups; labor—United Labor Central (CUT) includes trade unionists from the country's five-largest labor confederations; Roman Catholic Church
Member of: CCC, CIPEC, ECOSOC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, IDA, IDB—Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, LAIA, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WSG, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Octavio ERRAZURIZ; Chancery at 1732 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20036; telephone (202) 785–1746; there are Chilean Consulates General in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco; US—Ambassador Charles A. GILLESPIE, Jr.; Embassy at Codina Building, 1343 Agustinas, Santiago (mailing address is APO Miami 34033); telephone p56o (2) 710133 or 710190, 710326, 710375
Flag: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; there is a blue square the same height as the white band at the hoist-side end of the white band; the square bears a white five-pointed star in the center; design was based on the US flag
- Economy Overview: In 1989 the economy grew at the rate of 9.9%, reflecting substantial growth in industry, agriculture, and construction. Copper accounts for nearly 50% of export revenues;
