Chile Facts

Chile is one of the two countries in Latin America that do not border Brazil. It occupies a long, narrow coastal strip between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes mountains. It shares borders with Peru in the north, Bolivia in the northeast, Argentina in the east, and the Drake Passage in the south. Chilean territory includes the islands of Juan Fernandez, Salas y Gomez, Desventuradas, and Easter Island. The total area of the country is 756,950 square miles, and it has an estimated population of 17,224,200.

Santiago de Chile is the capital of Chile. It is located in the country's central valley, Santiago Basin. The legislative bodies are situated in the coastal town of Valparaiso, one hour drive to the west of Santiago. Santiago is an Alpha Minus World city, and has modern infrastructure. Conquistador Pedro de Valdivia founded Santiago on February 12, 1541 and named it Santiago del Nuevo Extremo.

The Chilean peso is the currency of Chile. Its ISO 4217 code is CLP. It was reintroduced on 29 September,1975. CLP is further subdivided into 100 centavos until 1984.

Santiago is the largest city of Chile. It was founded by Conquistador Pedro de Valdivia on February 12, 1541. The total area of the metropolitan city is 5,947.2 square miles. It has an estimated population of 200,792, and lies in the Santiago Basin.

Spanish is the official language of Chile. Mapudungun, Quechua, Aymara, and Rapa Nui are the indigenous languages. English is mandatory for students in public schools.

Chile allows freedom of religion. Nearly 70% of the inhabitants are Roman Catholic and 15.1% are evangelical. 8% of the population comprise irreligious, atheists, and agnostics.

The literacy rate of Chile is 96.5%. Basic Education was established 1965. The government provides free and compulsory education to citizens up to the age of eighteen.

Chile is a presidential representative democratic republic. The president is both the head of state and head of government. Legislative powers are exercised by both the government and the two chambers of the National Congress. The current constitution was approved in September 1980. Miguel Juan Sebastian Pinera Echenique is the current president of Chile. He won the presidential election on January 17, 2010 and assumed office on March 11, 2010.

Chile's National Day or Fiestas Patrias extends over two days. September 18 commemorates the proclamation of the First Governing Body of 1880. September 19 is celebrated as the "Day of the Glories of the (Chilean) Army."

The coat of arms of Chile was designed by the English artist Charles Wood Taylor. It has a shield divided into two: the top part is blue while the bottom is red. A five-pointed white star is at the center of the shield. The shield is supported by Condor on one side and a rare mammal of Chilean territory. Both the animals have the navy's golden crown on their head. The coat of arms is crowned by a three-feathered crest and beneath it is the emblem with the motto "Por la Razon o la Fuerza" (by reason or by force).

Chile is Latin America's most prosperous and stable nation. It is the second largest producer of salmon in the world. The economy of the country is ranked as an upper-middle income economy by the World Bank. Chile was the first Latin American country to join OECD. The largest trade flows are with China, United States of America, Japan, Brazil and Mexico. It exports copper, fruit, fish products, paper and pulp, chemicals and wine. It imports petroleum and petroleum products, electrical and telecommunications equipment, vehicles and natural gas.