{ "Introduction": { "Background": { "text": "Indigenous groups inhabited central and southern Chile for several thousands of years, living in mixed pastoralist and settled communities, ending with the Inca ruling the north of the country for nearly a century prior to the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century. The Captaincy General of Chile was founded by the Spanish in 1541, lasting until Chile declared its independence in 1810. The subsequent struggle became tied to other South American independence conflicts, with a decisive victory over the Spanish not being achieved until 1818. In the War of the Pacific (1879-83), Chile defeated Peru and Bolivia to win its current northernmost regions. By the 1880s, the Chilean central government cemented its control over the central and southern regions inhabited by Mapuche Indigenous peoples. Between 1891 and 1973, a series of elected governments succeeded each other until the three-year-old Marxist government of Salvador ALLENDE was overthrown in 1973 by a military coup led by General Augusto PINOCHET, who ruled until a democratically elected president was inaugurated in 1990. Economic reforms, maintained consistently since the 1980s, contributed to steady growth, reduced poverty rates by over half, and 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": { "text": "Southern South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Argentina and Peru" }, "Geographic coordinates": { "text": "30 00 S, 71 00 W" }, "Map references": { "text": "South America" }, "Area": { "total": { "text": "756,102 sq km" }, "land": { "text": "743,812 sq km" }, "water": { "text": "12,290 sq km" }, "note": "note: includes Easter Island (Isla de Pascua) and Isla Sala y Gomez" }, "Area - comparative": { "text": "slightly smaller than twice the size of Montana" }, "Land boundaries": { "total": { "text": "7,801 km" }, "border countries": { "text": "Argentina 6,691 km; Bolivia 942 km; Peru 168 km" } }, "Coastline": { "text": "6,435 km" }, "Maritime claims": { "territorial sea": { "text": "12 nm" }, "contiguous zone": { "text": "24 nm" }, "exclusive economic zone": { "text": "200 nm" }, "continental shelf": { "text": "200/350 nm" } }, "Climate": { "text": "temperate; desert in north; Mediterranean in central region; cool and damp in south" }, "Terrain": { "text": "low coastal mountains, fertile central valley, rugged Andes in east" }, "Elevation": { "highest point": { "text": "Nevado Ojos del Salado 6,893 m (highest volcano in the world)" }, "lowest point": { "text": "Pacific Ocean 0 m" }, "mean elevation": { "text": "1,871 m" } }, "Natural resources": { "text": "copper, timber, iron ore, nitrates, precious metals, molybdenum, hydropower" }, "Land use": { "agricultural land": { "text": "21.1% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: arable land": { "text": "arable land: 1.7% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent crops": { "text": "permanent crops: 0.6% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent pasture": { "text": "permanent pasture: 18.8% (2018 est.)" }, "forest": { "text": "21.9% (2018 est.)" }, "other": { "text": "57% (2018 est.)" } }, "Irrigated land": { "text": "11,100 sq km (2012)" }, "Major lakes (area sq km)": { "fresh water lake(s)": { "text": "Lago General Carrera (shared with Argentina) - 2,240 sq km; Lago O'Higgins (shared with Argentina) - 1,010 sq km; Lago Llanquihue - 800 sq km; Lago Fagnano (shared with Argentina) - 590 sq km" } }, "Population distribution": { "text": "90% of the population is located in the middle third of the country around the capital of Santiago; the far north (anchored by the Atacama Desert) and the extreme south are relatively underpopulated" }, "Natural hazards": { "text": "
severe earthquakes; active volcanism; tsunamis
volcanism: significant volcanic activity due to more than three-dozen active volcanoes along the Andes Mountains; Lascar (5,592 m), which last erupted in 2007, is the most active volcano in the northern Chilean Andes; Llaima (3,125 m) in central Chile, which last erupted in 2009, is another of the country's most active; Chaiten's 2008 eruption forced major evacuations; other notable historically active volcanoes include Cerro Hudson, Calbuco, Copahue, Guallatiri, Llullaillaco, Nevados de Chillan, Puyehue, San Pedro, and Villarrica; see note 2 under \"Geography - note\"
" }, "Geography - note": { "text": "note 1: the longest north-south trending country in the world, extending across 39 degrees of latitude; strategic location relative to sea lanes between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage)
note 2: Chile is one of the countries along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; up to 90% of the world's earthquakes and some 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire
note 3: the Atacama Desert - the driest desert in the world - spreads across the northern part of the country; Ojos del Salado (6,893 m) in the Atacama Desert is the highest active volcano in the world, Chile's tallest mountain, and the second highest in the Western Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere - its small crater lake (at 6,390 m) is the world's highest lake
" } }, "People and Society": { "Population": { "text": "18,549,457 (2023 est.)" }, "Nationality": { "noun": { "text": "Chilean(s)" }, "adjective": { "text": "Chilean" } }, "Ethnic groups": { "text": "White and non-Indigenous 88.9%, Mapuche 9.1%, Aymara 0.7%, other Indigenous groups 1% (includes Rapa Nui, Likan Antai, Quechua, Colla, Diaguita, Kawesqar, Yagan or Yamana), unspecified 0.3% (2012 est.)" }, "Languages": { "Languages": { "text": "Spanish 99.5% (official), English 10.2%, Indigenous 1% (includes Mapudungun, Aymara, Quechua, Rapa Nui), other 2.3%, unspecified 0.2%; note - shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census (2012 est.)" }, "major-language sample(s)": { "text": "Chile is in the advanced stages of demographic transition and is becoming an aging society - with fertility below replacement level, low mortality rates, and life expectancy on par with developed countries. Nevertheless, with its dependency ratio nearing its low point, Chile could benefit from its favorable age structure. It will need to keep its large working-age population productively employed, while preparing to provide for the needs of its growing proportion of elderly people, especially as women - the traditional caregivers - increasingly enter the workforce. Over the last two decades, Chile has made great strides in reducing its poverty rate, which is now lower than most Latin American countries. However, its severe income inequality ranks as the worst among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Unequal access to quality education perpetuates this uneven income distribution.
Chile has historically been a country of emigration but has slowly become more attractive to immigrants since transitioning to democracy in 1990 and improving its economic stability (other regional destinations have concurrently experienced deteriorating economic and political conditions). Most of Chile's small but growing foreign-born population consists of transplants from other Latin American countries, especially Peru.
" }, "Age structure": { "0-14 years": { "text": "19.34% (male 1,829,801/female 1,758,137)" }, "15-64 years": { "text": "67.56% (male 6,259,566/female 6,273,074)" }, "65 years and over": { "text": "13.09% (2023 est.) (male 1,024,692/female 1,404,187)" } }, "Dependency ratios": { "total dependency ratio": { "text": "45.2" }, "youth dependency ratio": { "text": "26.8" }, "elderly dependency ratio": { "text": "18.4" }, "potential support ratio": { "text": "5.4 (2021 est.)" } }, "Median age": { "total": { "text": "35.5 years" }, "male": { "text": "34.3 years" }, "female": { "text": "36.7 years (2020 est.)" } }, "Population growth rate": { "text": "0.63% (2023 est.)" }, "Birth rate": { "text": "12.57 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)" }, "Death rate": { "text": "6.58 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)" }, "Net migration rate": { "text": "0.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)" }, "Population distribution": { "text": "90% of the population is located in the middle third of the country around the capital of Santiago; the far north (anchored by the Atacama Desert) and the extreme south are relatively underpopulated" }, "Urbanization": { "urban population": { "text": "88% of total population (2023)" }, "rate of urbanization": { "text": "0.78% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)" } }, "Major urban areas - population": { "text": "6.903 million SANTIAGO (capital), 1.009 million Valparaiso, 912,000 Concepcion (2023)" }, "Sex ratio": { "at birth": { "text": "1.04 male(s)/female" }, "0-14 years": { "text": "1.04 male(s)/female" }, "15-64 years": { "text": "1 male(s)/female" }, "65 years and over": { "text": "0.73 male(s)/female" }, "total population": { "text": "0.97 male(s)/female (2023 est.)" } }, "Maternal mortality ratio": { "text": "15 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)" }, "Infant mortality rate": { "total": { "text": "6.41 deaths/1,000 live births" }, "male": { "text": "6.98 deaths/1,000 live births" }, "female": { "text": "5.82 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)" } }, "Life expectancy at birth": { "total population": { "text": "80.02 years" }, "male": { "text": "77.04 years" }, "female": { "text": "83.13 years (2023 est.)" } }, "Total fertility rate": { "text": "1.75 children born/woman (2023 est.)" }, "Gross reproduction rate": { "text": "0.86 (2023 est.)" }, "Contraceptive prevalence rate": { "text": "76.3% (2015/16)" }, "Drinking water source": { "improved: urban": { "text": "urban: 100% of population" }, "improved: rural": { "text": "rural: 100% of population" }, "improved: total": { "text": "total: 100% of population" }, "unimproved: urban": { "text": "urban: 0% of population" }, "unimproved: rural": { "text": "rural: 0% of population" }, "unimproved: total": { "text": "total: 0% of population (2020 est.)" } }, "Current health expenditure": { "text": "9.8% of GDP (2020)" }, "Physicians density": { "text": "2.84 physicians/1,000 population (2020)" }, "Hospital bed density": { "text": "2.1 beds/1,000 population (2018)" }, "Sanitation facility access": { "improved: urban": { "text": "urban: 100% of population" }, "improved: rural": { "text": "rural: 100% of population" }, "improved: total": { "text": "total: 100% of population" }, "unimproved: urban": { "text": "urban: 0% of population" }, "unimproved: rural": { "text": "rural: 0% of population" }, "unimproved: total": { "text": "total: 0% of population (2020 est.)" } }, "Obesity - adult prevalence rate": { "text": "28% (2016)" }, "Alcohol consumption per capita": { "total": { "text": "7.8 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "beer": { "text": "2.76 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "wine": { "text": "2.61 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "spirits": { "text": "2.43 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "other alcohols": { "text": "0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" } }, "Tobacco use": { "total": { "text": "29.2% (2020 est.)" }, "male": { "text": "31.6% (2020 est.)" }, "female": { "text": "26.8% (2020 est.)" } }, "Children under the age of 5 years underweight": { "text": "0.5% (2014)" }, "Currently married women (ages 15-49)": { "text": "46.3% (2023 est.)" }, "Education expenditures": { "text": "5.6% of GDP (2019 est.)" }, "Literacy": { "definition": { "text": "age 15 and over can read and write" }, "total population": { "text": "97%" }, "male": { "text": "97.1%" }, "female": { "text": "97% (2021)" } }, "School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)": { "total": { "text": "17 years" }, "male": { "text": "16 years" }, "female": { "text": "17 years (2020)" } }, "Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)": { "total": { "text": "21.4%" }, "male": { "text": "20.4%" }, "female": { "text": "22.8% (2021 est.)" } } }, "Environment": { "Environment - current issues": { "text": "air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage; noise pollution; improper garbage disposal; soil degradation; widespread deforestation and mining threaten the environment; wildlife conservation" }, "Environment - international agreements": { "party to": { "text": "Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling" }, "signed, but not ratified": { "text": "none of the selected agreements" } }, "Climate": { "text": "temperate; desert in north; Mediterranean in central region; cool and damp in south" }, "Land use": { "agricultural land": { "text": "21.1% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: arable land": { "text": "arable land: 1.7% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent crops": { "text": "permanent crops: 0.6% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent pasture": { "text": "permanent pasture: 18.8% (2018 est.)" }, "forest": { "text": "21.9% (2018 est.)" }, "other": { "text": "57% (2018 est.)" } }, "Urbanization": { "urban population": { "text": "88% of total population (2023)" }, "rate of urbanization": { "text": "0.78% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)" } }, "Revenue from forest resources": { "text": "0.49% of GDP (2018 est.)" }, "Revenue from coal": { "text": "0.01% of GDP (2018 est.)" }, "Air pollutants": { "particulate matter emissions": { "text": "21.03 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)" }, "carbon dioxide emissions": { "text": "85.82 megatons (2016 est.)" }, "methane emissions": { "text": "15.97 megatons (2020 est.)" } }, "Waste and recycling": { "municipal solid waste generated annually": { "text": "6.517 million tons (2009 est.)" }, "municipal solid waste recycled annually": { "text": "24,113 tons (2009 est.)" }, "percent of municipal solid waste recycled": { "text": "0.4% (2009 est.)" } }, "Major lakes (area sq km)": { "fresh water lake(s)": { "text": "Lago General Carrera (shared with Argentina) - 2,240 sq km; Lago O'Higgins (shared with Argentina) - 1,010 sq km; Lago Llanquihue - 800 sq km; Lago Fagnano (shared with Argentina) - 590 sq km" } }, "Total water withdrawal": { "municipal": { "text": "1.29 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)" }, "industrial": { "text": "1.66 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)" }, "agricultural": { "text": "29.42 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)" } }, "Total renewable water resources": { "text": "923.1 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)" } }, "Government": { "Country name": { "conventional long form": { "text": "Republic of Chile" }, "conventional short form": { "text": "Chile" }, "local long form": { "text": "República de Chile" }, "local short form": { "text": "Chile" }, "etymology": { "text": "derivation of the name is unclear, but it may come from the Mapuche word \"chilli\" meaning \"limit of the earth\" or from the Quechua \"chiri\" meaning \"cold\"" } }, "Government type": { "text": "presidential republic" }, "Capital": { "name": { "text": "Santiago; note - Valparaiso is the seat of the national legislature" }, "geographic coordinates": { "text": "33 27 S, 70 40 W" }, "time difference": { "text": "UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)" }, "daylight saving time": { "text": "+1hr, begins second Sunday in August; ends second Sunday in May; note - Punta Arenas observes DST throughout the year" }, "time zone note": { "text": "Chile has three time zones: the continental portion at UTC-3; the southern Magallanes region, which does not use daylight savings time and remains at UTC-3 for the summer months; and Easter Island at UTC-5Chile and Peru rebuff Bolivia's reactivated claim to restore the Atacama corridor, ceded to Chile in 1884, but Chile has offered instead unrestricted but not sovereign maritime access through Chile to Bolivian natural gas; Chile rejects Peru's unilateral legislation to change its latitudinal maritime boundary with Chile to an equidistance line with a southwestern axis favoring Peru; in October 2007, Peru took its maritime complaint with Chile to the ICJ; territorial claim in Antarctica (Chilean Antarctic Territory) partially overlaps Argentine and British claims; the joint boundary commission, established by Chile and Argentina in 2001, has yet to map and demarcate the delimited boundary in the inhospitable Andean Southern Ice Field (Campo de Hielo Sur)
" }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { "text": "448,138 (Venezuela) (economic and political crisis; includes Venezuelans who have claimed asylum or have received alternative legal stay) (2020)" } }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "transshipment country for cocaine destined for Europe and the region; some money laundering activity, especially through the Iquique Free Trade Zone; imported precursors passed on to Bolivia; domestic cocaine consumption is rising, making Chile a significant consumer of cocaine" } } }