The 2008 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency (ebook reader 8 inch .txt) 📕

Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:

strategic location relative to sea lanes between Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage); Atacama Desert is one of world's driest regions

People
Chile

Population:

16,454,143 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 23.6% (male 1,987,962/female 1,899,489) 15-64 years: 67.6% (male 5,556,867/female 5,563,666) 65 years and over: 8.8% (male 602,789/female 843,370) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 31.1 years male: 30.1 years female: 32.1 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

0.905% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

14.82 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

5.77 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

NA (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 7.9 deaths/1,000 live births male: 8.7 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 77.15 years male: 73.88 years female: 80.59 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate:

1.95 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

0.3% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

26,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

1,400 (2003 est.)

Nationality:

noun: Chilean(s) adjective: Chilean

Ethnic groups:

white and white-Amerindian 95.4%, Mapuche 4%, other indigenous groups 0.6% (2002 census)

Religions:

Roman Catholic 70%, Evangelical 15.1%, Jehovah's Witness 1.1%, other
Christian 1%, other 4.6%, none 8.3% (2002 census)

Languages:

Spanish (official), Mapudungun, German, English

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 95.7% male: 95.8% female: 95.6% (2002 census)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):

total: 14 years male: 14 years female: 14 years (2006)

Education expenditures:

3.2% of GDP (2006)

Government
Chile

Country name:

conventional long form: Republic of Chile
conventional short form: Chile
local long form: Republica de Chile
local short form: Chile

Government type:

republic

Capital:

name: Santiago geographic coordinates: 33 27 S, 70 40 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in October; ends second Sunday in March

Administrative divisions:

15 regions (regiones, singular - region); Aisen del General Carlos Ibanez del Campo, Antofagasta, Araucania, Arica y Parinacota, Atacama, Biobio, Coquimbo, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, Los Lagos, Los Rios, Magallanes y de la Antartica Chilena, Maule, Region Metropolitana (Santiago), Tarapaca, Valparaiso note: the US does not recognize claims to Antarctica

Independence:

18 September 1810 (from Spain)

National holiday:

Independence Day, 18 September (1810)

Constitution:

11 September 1980, effective 11 March 1981; amended 1989, 1991, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2003, and 2005

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; note - in June 2005, Chile completed overhaul of its criminal justice system to a new, US-style adversarial system

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:

chief of state: President Michelle BACHELET Jeria (since 11 March 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Michelle BACHELET Jeria (since 11 March 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a single four-year term; election last held 11 December 2005, with runoff election held 15 January 2006 (next to be held in December 2009) election results: Michelle BACHELET Jeria elected president; percent of vote - Michelle BACHELET Jeria 53.5%; Sebastian PINERA Echenique 46.5%

Legislative branch:

bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate or Senado (38 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve eight-year terms; one-half elected every four years) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (120 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 11 December 2005 (next to be held in December 2009); Chamber of Deputies - last held 11 December 2005 (next to be held in December 2009) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CPD 20 (PDC 6, PS 8, PPD 3, PRSD 3), APC 17 (UDI 9, RN 8), independent 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CPD 65 (PDC 21, PPD 22, PS 15, PRSD 7), APC 54 (UDI 34, RN 20), independent 1; note - as of 8 January 2008: Senate - seats by party - CPD 18, (PDC 5, PS 8, PPD 2, PRSD 3), APC 16 (UDI 9, RN 7), independent 4; Chamber of Deputies - seats by party - CPD 57 (PDC 16, PPD 19, PS 15, PRSD 7), APC 53 (UDI 33, RN 20), independent 10.

Judicial branch:

Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are appointed by the president and ratified by the Senate from lists of candidates provided by the court itself; the president of the Supreme Court is elected every three years by the 20-member court); Constitutional Tribunal

Political parties and leaders:

Alliance for Chile (Alianza) or APC (including National Renewal or
RN [Carlos LARRAIN Pena] and Independent Democratic Union or UDI
[Hernan LARRAIN Fernandez]); Coalition of Parties for Democracy
(Concertacion) or CPD (including Christian Democratic Party or PDC
[Soledad ALVEAR], Socialist Party or PS [Camilo ESCALONA Medina],
Party for Democracy or PPD [Sergio BITAR Chacra], Radical Social
Democratic Party or PRSD [Jose Antonio GOMEZ Urrutia]); Communist
Party or PC [Guillermo TEILLIER]; Humanist Party [Marilen CABRERA
Olmos]

Political pressure groups and leaders:

Roman Catholic Church; United Labor Central or CUT includes trade unionists from the country's five largest labor confederations other: revitalized university student federations at all major universities

International organization participation:

APEC, BIS, CAN (associate), FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF,
IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES,
LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW,
PCA, RG, UN, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina,
UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Mariano FERNANDEZ chancery: 1732 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 785-1746 FAX: [1] (202) 887-5579 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico)

Diplomatic representation from the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Paul E. SIMONS embassy: Avenida Andres Bello 2800, Las Condes, Santiago mailing address: APO AA 34033 telephone: [56] (2) 330-3000 FAX: [56] (2) 330-3710, 330-3160

Flag description:

two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; a blue square the same height as the white band at the hoist-side end of the white band; the square bears a white five-pointed star in the center representing a guide to progress and honor; blue symbolizes the sky, white is for the snow-covered Andes, and red represents the blood spilled to achieve independence note: design was influenced by the US flag

Economy
Chile

Economy - overview:

Chile has a market-oriented economy characterized by a high level of foreign trade. During the early 1990s, Chile's reputation as a role model for economic reform was strengthened when the democratic government of Patricio AYLWIN - which took over from the military in 1990 - deepened the economic reform initiated by the military government. Growth in real GDP averaged 8% during 1991-97, but fell to half that level in 1998 because of tight monetary policies implemented to keep the current account deficit in check and because of lower export earnings - the latter a product of the global financial crisis. A severe drought exacerbated the recession in 1999, reducing crop yields and causing hydroelectric shortfalls and electricity rationing, and Chile experienced negative economic growth for the first time in more than 15 years. Despite the effects of the recession, Chile maintained its reputation for strong financial institutions and sound policy that have given it the strongest sovereign bond rating in South America. Between 2000 and 2007 growth ranged between 2%-6%. Throughout these years Chile maintained a low rate of inflation with GDP growth coming from high copper prices, solid export earnings (particularly forestry, fishing, and mining), and growing domestic consumption. President BACHELET in 2006 established an Economic and Social Stabilization Fund to hold excess copper revenues so that social spending can be maintained during periods of copper shortfalls. This fund probably surpassed $20 billion at the end of 2007. Chile continues to attract foreign direct investment, but most foreign investment goes into gas, water, electricity and mining. Unemployment has exhibited a downward trend over the past two years, dropping to 7.8% and 7.0% at the end of 2006 and 2007, respectively. Chile deepened its longstanding commitment to trade liberalization with the signing of a free trade agreement with the US, which took effect on 1 January 2004. Chile claims to have more bilateral or regional trade agreements than any other country. It has 57 such agreements (not all of them full free trade agreements), including with the European Union, Mercosur, China, India, South Korea, and Mexico.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$232.8 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

$163.8 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

5.1% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$14,300 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 4.8% industry: 51.2% services: 44% (2007 est.)

Labor force:

7.167 million (2007 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture: 13.6% industry: 23.4% services: 63% (2003)

Unemployment rate:

7% (2007 est.)

Population below poverty line:

18.2% (2005)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: 1.4% highest 10%: 45% (2003)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:

54.9 (2003)

Investment (gross fixed):

20.6% of GDP (2007 est.)

Budget:

revenues: $44.96 billion expenditures: $30.51 billion (2007 est.)

Fiscal year:

calendar year

Public debt:

4.1% of GDP (2007 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

4.4% (2007 est.)

Central bank discount rate:

6% (31 December 2007)

Commercial bank prime lending rate:

8.67% (31 December 2007)

Stock of money:

$16.6 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of quasi money:

$80.42 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit:

$127.1 billion (31 December 2007)

Agriculture - products:

grapes, apples, pears, onions, wheat, corn, oats, peaches, garlic, asparagus, beans; beef, poultry, wool; fish; timber

Industries:

copper, other minerals, foodstuffs, fish processing, iron and steel, wood and wood products, transport equipment, cement, textiles

Industrial production growth rate:

11.1% (2007 est.)

Electricity - production:

50.37 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - consumption:

45.52 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - exports:

0 kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports:

1.628 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 47% hydro: 51.5% nuclear: 0% other: 1.4% (2001)

Oil - production:

11,610 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - consumption:

253,000 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - exports:

32,500 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - imports:

222,900 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - proved reserves:

150 million bbl (1 January 2008 est.)

Natural gas - production:

1.8 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

4.2 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - exports:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports:

2.4 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:

97.97 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)

Current account balance:

$7.2 billion (2007 est.)

Exports:

$67.64 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities:

copper, fruit, fish products, paper and pulp, chemicals, wine

Exports - partners:

China 14.8%, US 12.5%, Japan 10.5%, Netherlands 5.8%, South Korea 5.7%, Italy 5.1%, Brazil 5% (2007)

Imports:

$43.99 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities:

petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, electrical and telecommunications equipment, industrial machinery, vehicles, natural gas

Imports - partners:

US 16.7%, China 11.2%, Brazil 10.3%, Argentina 9.9% (2007)

Economic aid - recipient:

$0