land area: 748,800 sq kmcomparative area: slightly smaller than twice the size of Montana
note: includes Isla de Pascua (Easter Island) and Isla Sala y Gomez
Land boundaries: total: 6,171 km border countries: Argentina 5,150 km, Bolivia 861 km, Peru 160 km
Coastline: 6,435 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: short section of the southern boundary with Argentina is indefinite; Bolivia has wanted a sovereign corridor to the South Pacific Ocean since the Atacama area was lost to Chile in 1884; dispute with Bolivia over Rio Lauca water rights; territorial claim in Antarctica (Chilean Antarctic Territory) partially overlaps Argentine and British claims
Climate: temperate; desert in north; cool and damp in south
Terrain: low coastal mountains; fertile central valley; rugged
Andes in east
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro Aconcagua 6,962 m
Natural resources: copper, timber, iron ore, nitrates, precious
metals, molybdenum
Land use:
arable land: 7%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 16%
forest and woodland: 21%
other: 56%
Irrigated land: 12,650 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions;
water pollution from raw sewage; deforestation contributing to loss
of biodiversity; soil erosion; desertification
natural hazards: severe earthquakes; active volcanism; tsunamis
international agreements: party to - Antarctic-Environmental
Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine
Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea
Geographic 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: 14,333,258 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0–14 years: 29% (male 2,071,816; female 2,041,417)
15–64 years: 65% (male 4,599,173; female 4,651,030)
65 years and over: 6% (male 403,019; female 566,803) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.24% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 18.09 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 5.68 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 13.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 74.49 years male: 71.26 years female: 77.72 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.23 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality: noun: Chilean(s) adjective: Chilean
Ethnic divisions: European and European-Indian 95%, Indian 3%, other 2%
Religions: Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 11%, Jewish
Languages: Spanish
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
total population: 95.2%
male: 95.4%
female: 95%
Government—————
Name of country: conventional long form: Republic of Chile conventional short form: Chile local long form: Republica de Chile local short form: Chile
Data code: CI
Type of government: 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, 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
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; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch:
chief of state and head of government: President Eduardo FREI
Ruiz-Tagle (since 11 March 1994) elected for a four-year term by
popular vote; election last held 11 December 1993 (next to be held
NA December 1997); results - Eduardo FREI Ruiz-Tagle (PDC) 58%,
Arturo ALESSANDRI 24.4%, other 17.6%
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
