Railways:
total: 6,782 km
broad gauge: 3,743 km 1.676-m gauge (1,653 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 116 km 1.067-m gauge; 2,923 km 1.000-m gauge (40 km
electrified) (1995)
Highways: total: 79,593 km paved: 10,984 km unpaved: 68,609 km (1991 est.)
Waterways: 725 km
Pipelines: crude oil 755 km; petroleum products 785 km; natural
gas 320 km
Ports: Antofagasta, Arica, Chanarol, Coquimbo, Iquique, Puerto
Montt, Punta Arenas, San Antonio, San Vicente, Talcahuano, Valparaiso
Merchant marine:
total: 37 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 529,512 GRT/925,364 DWT
ships by type: bulk 11, cargo 8, chemical tanker 4, combination
ore/oil 2, container 1, liquefied gas tanker 2, oil tanker 4,
roll-on/roll-off cargo 3, vehicle carrier 2 (1995 est.)
Airports:
total: 344
with paved runways over 3 047 m: 5
with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 5
with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 17
with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 16
with paved runways under 914 m: 220
with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3
with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 10
with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 68 (1995 est.)
Communications———————
Telephones: 1.5 million (1994 est.)
Telephone system: modern system based on extensive microwave radio
relay facilities
domestic: extensive microwave radio relay links; domestic satellite
system with 3 earth stations
international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 159, FM 0, shortwave 11
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 131
Televisions: 2.85 million (1992 est.)
Defense———
Branches: Army of the Nation, National Navy (includes Naval Air,
Coast Guard, and Marines), Air Force of the Nation, Carabineros of
Chile (National Police), Investigations Police
Manpower availability: males age 15–49: 3,808,655 males fit for military service: 2,832,198 males reach military age (19) annually: 123,443 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $970 million, 2.0% of GDP (1994 est.)
======================================================================
@China——
(also see separate Taiwan entry)
Map—
Location: 35 00 N, 105 00 E—Eastern Asia, bordering the East
China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North
Korea and Vietnam
Flag——
Description: red with a large yellow five-pointed star and four smaller yellow five-pointed stars (arranged in a vertical arc toward the middle of the flag) in the upper hoist-side corner
Geography————
Location: Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay,
Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam
Geographic coordinates: 35 00 N, 105 00 E
Map references: Asia
Area:
total area: 9,596,960 sq km
land area: 9,326,410 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than the US
Land boundaries:
total: 22,143.34 km
border countries: Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km, Burma 2,185 km,
Hong Kong 30 km, India 3,380 km, Kazakstan 1,533 km, North Korea
1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km, Laos 423 km, Macau 0.34 km, Mongolia
4,673 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km, Russia (northeast) 3,605
km, Russia (northwest) 40 km, Tajikistan 414 km, Vietnam 1,281 km
Coastline: 14,500 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: claim to shallow areas of East China Sea and
Yellow Sea
territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: boundary with India in dispute; disputed
sections of the boundary with Russia remain to be settled; boundary
with Tajikistan in dispute; short section of the boundary with North
Korea is indefinite; involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly
Islands with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly
Brunei; maritime boundary dispute with Vietnam in the Gulf of
Tonkin; Paracel Islands occupied by China, but claimed by Vietnam
and Taiwan; claims Japanese-administered Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku
Islands/Diaoyu Tai), as does Taiwan
Climate: extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
Terrain: mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east lowest point: Turpan Pendi −154 m highest point: Mount Everest 8,848 m
