Chile
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See regional map IV
Geography
Total area: 756,950 km²; land area:
748,800 km²; includes Isla de Pascua
(Easter Island) and Isla Sala y Gómez
Comparative area: slightly smaller than twice the size of Montana
Land boundaries: 6,171 km total; 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 fishing zone: 200 nm
- Territorial sea: 12 nm
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 Río Lauca water rights; territorial claim in Antarctica (Chilean Antarctic Territory) partially overlaps Argentine claim
Climate: temperate; desert in north; cool and damp in south
Terrain: 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: 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 region (regiones, singular—región); Aisén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo, Antofagasta, Araucania, Atacama, Bíobío, Coquimbo, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, Los Lagos, Magallanes y Antártica Chilena, Maule, Región Metropolitana, Tarapacá, 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), Andrés 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 Büchi 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 [56](2) 710133 or 710190, 710326, 710375
