Officially Republic Of Chile, Spanish República
De Chile, country situated along the western seaboard
of South America, stretching northward from the continent's
southern tip in Patagonia for 2,700 miles (4,350 km).
The country averages only about 110 miles (177 km) from
east to west. Chile's western boundary is its 3,317-mile
(5,337-kilometre) Pacific coastline. It shares the rest
of its boundary with three countries: Peru on the north,
Bolivia on the northeast, and Argentina (including Tierra
del Fuego) on the east. The capital is Santiago. Area
292,135 square miles (756,626 square km). Pop. (1993
est.) 13,542,000.
Land
Chile has three major physiographic features from east to west:
the Andes Mountains (Cordillera de los Andes), the intermediate
depression (Pampa Central), and the coastal ranges (Cordillera
Costera). These parallel regions run almost perfectly north-south
for nearly the entire length of the country. From north to
south the Andes Mountains can be further divided into three
sections: one is a wide, arid plateau, stretching southward
from the Bolivian border to latitude 27º S; south of
this are the narrower central Andean highlands, which extend
southward to 42º S and often reach heights of 16,500
to 19,500 feet (5,000 to 6,000 m), with Ojos del Salado,
the country's highest peak, rising to 22,615 feet (6,893
m); and finally, the southern Andes, with their many lakes
and fjords, occupy the remainder of the country.
The southern Andes still experience volcanic activity,
and Chile has suffered several major earthquakes during
modern times; Santiago itself was destroyed in 1647,
and tens of thousands of people have been killed by quakes
in the 20th century. The intermediate depression, or
longitudinal valley, between the Andes and the coastal
ranges begins in the country's Atacama Desert (one of
the driest and most desolate in the world) in the northern
provinces, continues southward, often interrupted by
intrusions from the mountains, to include the densely
populated plains areas, such as Chile's Central Valley,
and submerges beneath the Corcovado Gulf near latitude
43º S. The coastal mountain chain, which is lower
than the great Andean system to the east, bounds the
central valleys on the west and, in the country's midsection,
makes access to the sea difficult. At 43º S, the
central depression slopes southward into the sea; there
too the coastal ranges submerge, becoming a complex of
islands off Chile's southwestern coast.
Because of Chile's elongated shape and the fact that
its rivers flow down to the west out of the Andes and
across both the intermediate depression and the coastal
ranges, the rivers are relatively short (100 to 300 miles
[160 to 480 km] in length). The Bío-Bío
River in south-central Chile is one of the country's
more important rivers, in part because it forms the only
major transverse valley through the coastal mountain
ranges.
The climate of most of northern and central Chile is
predominantly temperate, even Mediterranean in parts.
Although average temperatures drop about 7º F (4º
C) for every southward 10º change in latitude, average
precipitation is a better guide for climatic differentiation.
In the northern desert area (north of latitude 30º
S), there is little or no precipitation: from latitudes
30º to 40º S (central Chile), precipitation
averages from 12 to 14 inches (305 to 355 mm) per year,
most of it occurring during winter (May-August). Southern
Chile has high annual rates of precipitation, with Valdivia
(about 40º S) receiving more than 90 inches (2,300
mm) and the islands of western Patagonia getting more
than 160 inches (4,100 mm).
Less than one-tenth of Chile's land area is considered
arable, almost all of it located in central Chile (between
latitudes 30º and 42º S); about one-sixth is
in permanent pasture (supporting substantial herds of
cattle and sheep); and slightly more than one-tenth is
forested. (Valdivia provincia, straddling the 40th parallel,
has rich rain forests and provides most of the nation's
timber products.) Much of the remaining part of the country
is wasteland--desert and largely uninhabitable highlands.
Chile's wildlife includes the alpaca, vicuna, llama,
puma, Andean huemul (a type of deer), and the Andean
cat.
Chile has the world's largest reserves of copper (about
one-fifth of total supplies) and the second largest of
lithium (after Bolivia). Besides having significant reserves
of other minerals, including iron ore, gold, and silver,
Chile is estimated to have one-fifth of the world's molybdenum.
It also has moderate reserves of petroleum and natural
gas (much of it located in the extreme southern provincia
of Magallanes) and substantial reserves of coal.
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People
The indigenous peoples who lived in Chile before
the Spanish colonization included the Diaguita, Picunche,
Mapuche (or Araucanian), Huilliche, Pehunche, and Cunco
Indians. Spanish colonists arrived during the 16th and
17th centuries, followed by Basques in the 18th century.
A relatively homogenous, primarily mestizo population has
developed with a strong cultural unity. The only significant
minority consists of the Mapuche peoples of the area around
Temuco.
More than 90 percent of all Chileans live between Copiapo
on the north and Puerto Montt on the south, and within
the intermediate depression instead of in the less hospitable
mountain areas.
Chile's population is increasing at a moderate rate
for a developing country, though at one of the lowest
rates in Latin America. Since immigration is negligible,
this growth must be attributed to internal factors, such
as a relatively high birth rate and a low death rate.
The Chilean population is basically young, with almost
one-third of the people under 15 years of age. More than
four-fifths of the total population is urban. Santiago,
the national metropolis, overshadows all other Chilean
cities in size.
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Economy
Chile has a mixed private and state owned, partially
developed free market economy that is based mainly on services
and mining and manufacturing. Since the mid-1980s, the
gross national product (GNP) has been growing faster than
the population, and the GNP per capita is above average
for Latin America. The GNP originates principally from
finance, insurance, real estate, public administration,
defense, restaurants, hotels, and other services (about
one-third of the total); mining and manufacturing (more
than one-fourth); and wholesale and retail trade (one-sixth).
Agriculture in Chile is hindered by the small amount
of arable land and does not provide adequate food supplies
for the entire population. Irrigated lands are mostly
located in the semiarid Norte Chico region in the northern
part of the country. Cereals are the principal crops
grown; wheat is dominant, followed by corn (maize), rice,
and oats. Other important crops include sugar beets,
grapes (for the wine-making industry), potatoes, barley,
apples, tomatoes, and dry beans. The principal livestock
are sheep, cattle (of which one-fifth are dairy cattle),
and pigs. Forests produce roundwood, mostly for industrial
purposes. Chile has good fishing grounds along its long
coastline owing to the presence of the cold, nutrient-rich
Peru (Humboldt) Current. The total annual catch, almost
all marine, represents one of the world's largest. Chilean
pilchard (sardines) constitute about half of the total
catch.
Besides producing significant amounts of petroleum,
natural gas, coal, and iron ore, Chile is the world's
largest producer of copper and one of the world's largest
producers of both molybdenum and iodine. Gold, silver,
manganese, zinc, lead, selenium, limestone, hydraulic
lime, and natural crude nitrates are also extracted.
The principal manufactures are cement, cellulose, fish
meal, wheat flour, blister and refined copper, crude
steel, pig iron, tires, raw sugar, newsprint, beer, glass
sheets, and cigarettes. Woven cotton, pressed fibre panels,
fluorescent tubes, pens, bicycles, assembled automobiles
and trucks, television and radio receivers, refrigerators,
electrical meters, and electric accumulators are also
produced.
More than three-fourths of the country's electricity
is produced by hydroelectric power plants, while the
remaining share is generated by thermal plants.
Following the overthrow of the socialist government
of Salvador Allende in 1973, the military junta returned
most of the industries his government had nationalized
(except in the mining sector) to private ownership. Large
agricultural estates were also returned to their original
owners, a free market economy reinstituted, foreign investment
encouraged, and import tariffs reduced. These free market
policies revived Chile's faltering economy, although
the country was hampered by periodic recessions and rising
unemployment and by a burdensome foreign debt.
The railway system is about 90 percent state owned and
operated. Less than 15 percent of the total road network
is paved. Chile has some inland waterways and 10 major
Pacific ports. There are two international airports,
near Arica and near Santiago, and numerous domestic airports
with paved runways.
Chile's exports consist primarily of unrefined copper
ores and refined copper (two-fifths of total exports),
followed by industrial products, fruits and vegetables,
paper and paper products, and chemical and petroleum
products. The principal importers of Chilean products
are the United States, Japan, Germany, and Brazil. Chile's
imports, in value, are somewhat lower than exports, resulting
in a positive trade balance. The main imports include
mechanical and electrical equipment, mineral products,
chemicals, textiles, transport equipment, metal and metal
goods, and synthetic plastic rubber. The United States
is the principal exporter to Chile, followed by Japan,
Brazil, and Germany.
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Government
and social conditions
Chile is a South American republic governed
since 1990 by an elected president. The judiciary is headed
by a Supreme Court whose members are appointed by the president.
The bicameral National Congress consists of a lower house
of 120 members elected to four-year terms and an upper
house of 47 members, of which 38 are elected to eight-year
terms, 5 are appointed by the president and Supreme Court,
and 4 are commanders in chief of the branches of the armed
forces.
The social security system in Chile has been steadily
expanded by successive governments, and in 1981 the management
of social security was transferred to the private sector.
The program provides benefits for old age, maternity,
disability, and sickness. The government has increased
per capita spending on health and reorganized the National
Health Service to provide local, decentralized health
units. Improved health conditions have helped raise life
expectancy to the highest level in South America: 68
years for men and 75 years for women. Chile's infant
mortality rate, moreover, has declined sharply since
the 1960s to one of the lowest levels in all of Latin
America. There is an acute housing shortage, however,
in Chilean urban areas. Rural migrants unable to find
housing often squeeze into squatter villages (callampa)
located on the fringes of cities.
Chile is one of the most well-educated countries in
South America; its adult literacy rate is about 95 percent.
Primary education is free and compulsory for children
between 6 and 13 years. Chile has numerous universities,
some of which are renowned throughout Latin America.
Under the military government the news media in Chile
were monitored and regulated by the government, although
mild criticism of governmental actions by some publications
and private radio stations was permitted.
In the creative arts, Chile boasts such universally
known poets as Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda (both
winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature); concert musicians
such as Claudio Arrau; and painters such as Roberto Matta
Echaurren.
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History
Little is known of pre-Spanish Chile. The Araucano Indians,
when found by the Spanish in the 16th century, were nomads
residing primarily south of the Bío-Bío River
and dominating the other tribes there. The Spaniards were
unable to subdue them despite campaigns against them that
continued through the 19th century. Spanish penetration into
Chile began in 1536 under the leadership of Diego de Almagro
and, later, Pedro de Valdivia, who founded Santiago in 1541.
Agriculture, based on huge estates, was the major economic
activity and was instrumental in creating a class of wealthy
landowners.
The movement toward Chilean independence was spurred
by France's invasion of Spain in 1808. A provisional
government was set up in Santiago in 1810; Spain reasserted
its authority in 1814, but the patriot leader Bernardo
O'Higgins escaped to Argentina and with the military
leadership of José de San Martín returned
to defeat the Spaniards at Chacabuco in 1817. O'Higgins
was proclaimed head of state, and independence was formally
announced one year later on February 12.
Until 1861 Chile was ruled by a constitutionally supported
oligarchy of landholders. Subsequently, the government
passed into the hands of the Liberal Party; the authority
of the Roman Catholic church was curtailed, and the country
was opened to European political and intellectual currents.
A war with Bolivia and Peru (1879-83) expanded Chilean
territory by the conquest of former provinces from both
nations.
In the course of the 19th century, the old landed oligarchy
continued to exert a dominant influence on the nation's
political system. By the early 20th century, however,
urbanization and industrialization had begun to create
new, urban, middle-class constituencies in Chile. As
a result, new political parties such as the Radicals,
Socialists, and Christian Democrats were formed in the
ensuing decades. This continuing peaceful political evolution
resulted in a succession of democratically elected governments,
though there was some political turmoil and instability
in the 1920s and early '30s. Presidents belonging to
the Radical Party governed Chile throughout the period
from 1938 to 1952. A centrist Christian Democratic government
that came into power in 1964 instituted reforms that
introduced more of the country's poor into the political
process. In 1969 the Socialist and Communist parties,
along with some left-wing Radicals and Christian Democrats,
formed a coalition that won a plurality in the presidential
election of 1970. Their candidate, Salvador Allende,
became the first avowed Marxist to be elected chief of
state in a Latin-American country.
Allende expropriated the U.S.-owned copper mines in
Chile and pursued other socialist policies. Within two
years Chile's economy began experiencing serious problems
that were exacerbated by a U.S.-led boycott of investment
capital. Many middle-class Chileans turned against Allende's
government, and in 1973 a military coup led by the army
commander, Augusto Pinochet, overthrew Allende and established
a military junta. Pinochet instituted strict free market
policies and harshly suppressed all internal opposition
to the military government's rule. A new constitution
was approved in 1980, and Pinochet, as head of the junta,
was returned to the presidency. A national referendum
in October 1988 rejected a further eight years of Pinochet's
presidency, and elections held late in 1989 returned
the country to civilian rule.
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