Chile

National name:
República de Chile

Government :
Republic.

Geography
Situated south of Peru and west of Bolivia and Argentina, Chile fills a narrow 4,506 km strip between the Andes and the Pacific. One-third of Chile is covered by the towering ranges of the Andes. In the north is the driest place on Earth, the Atacama Desert, and in the center is a 1127 Km long thickly populated valley with most of Chile’s arable land. At the southern tip of Chile’s mainland is Punta Arenas, the southernmost city in the world, and beyond that lies the Strait of Magellan and Tierra del Fuego, an island divided between Chile and Argentina. The southernmost point of South America is Cape Horn, a 424 m rock on Horn Island in the Wollaston group, which belongs to Chile. Chile also claims sovereignty over 1,250,000 sq km of Antarctic territory; the Juan Fernández Islands, about 644 km west of the mainland; and Easter Island, about 3,219 km west.

Historical Background
Prior to the coming of the Spanish in the 16th century, northern Chile was under Inca rule while Araucanian Indians inhabited central and southern Chile; the latter were not completely subjugated until the early 1880s. Although Chile declared its independence in 1810, decisive victory over the Spanish was not achieved until 1818. In the War of the Pacific (1879-84), Chile defeated Peru and Bolivia and won its present northern lands. Sound economic policies, maintained consistently since the 1980s, have contributed to steady growth and have 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.

Capital

Santiago de Chile

Government

Unitary presidential republic
 -  President Sebastián Piñera
 -  Minister of the Interior Rodrigo Hinzpeter

Language

Chilean

National Holiday

October 31, Reformation Day

Religion

Roman Catholic

Area

Total 756,950 km2 (38th)

292,183 sq mi Water (%) 1.07²

Population

30 June 2010 estimate 17,094,270 (60th)
2002 census 15,116,435    

Currency

Peso (CLP)

National Day

September 18 each year