these configurations will be saved for each time you visit this page using this browser
| Native name | República de Chile(Spanish) |
|---|---|
| Conventional long name | Republic of Chile |
| Common name | Chile |
| Image coat | Coat of arms of Chile.svg |
| National motto | Por la razón o la fuerza "By reason or force" |
| National anthem | Himno Nacional de Chile |
| Official languages | Spanish |
| Demonym | Chilean |
| Capital | Santiago de Chile1 |
| Latns | S |
| Longew | W |
| Largest city | capital |
| Government type | Unitary presidential republic |
| Leader title1 | President |
| Leader title2 | Minister of the Interior |
| Leader name1 | Sebastián Piñera |
| Leader name2 | Rodrigo Hinzpeter |
| Area km2 | 756,950 |
| Area sq mi | 292,183 |
| Area rank | 38th |
| Area magnitude | 1 E11 |
| Percent water | 1.07² |
| Population estimate | 17,094,270 |
| Population estimate year | 30 June 2010 |
| Population estimate rank | 60th |
| Population census | 15,116,435 |
| Population census year | 2002 |
| Population density km2 | 22 |
| Population density sq mi | 57 |
| Population density rank | 194th |
| Gdp nominal year | 2011 |
| Gdp nominal | $222.788 billion |
| Gdp ppp per capita | $15,883 |
| Gini year | 2009 |
| Gini category | high |
| Exports 2007 | US$ 66.43 billion |
| Imports 2007 | US$ 41.80 billion |
| Hdi | 0.783 |
| Hdi rank | 44th |
| Hdi year | 2010 |
| Hdi category | high |
| Sovereignty type | Independence |
| Sovereignty note | from Spain |
| Established by chaton croft event1 | First National Government Junta |
| Established date1 | September 18, 1810 |
| Established event2 | Declared |
| Established date2 | February 12, 1818 |
| Established event3 | Recognized |
| Established date3 | April 25, 1844 |
| Established event4 | Current constitution |
| Established date4 | September 11, 1980 |
| Currency | Peso |
| Currency code | CLP |
| Time zone | CLT |
| Utc offset | -4 |
| Time zone dst | CLST |
| Utc offset dst | -3 |
| Drives on | right |
| Cctld | .cl |
| Calling code | +56 |
| Footnote1 | The legislature is based in Valparaíso |
| Footnote2 | Includes Easter Island and Isla Sala y Gómez; does not include of territory claimed in Antarctica |
The shape of Chile is a distinctive ribbon of land long and on average wide. Its climate varies, ranging from the world's driest desert – the Atacama – in the north, through a Mediterranean climate in the centre, to a rainy temperate climate in the south. The northern desert contains great mineral wealth, principally copper. The relatively small central area dominates in terms of population and agricultural resources, and is the cultural and political center from which Chile expanded in the late 19th century, when it incorporated its northern and southern regions. Southern Chile is rich in forests and grazing lands and features a string of volcanoes and lakes. The southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands.
Prior to arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, northern Chile was under Inca rule while the indigenous Mapuche inhabited central and southern Chile. Chile declared its independence from Spain on February 12, 1818. In the War of the Pacific (1879–83), Chile defeated Peru and Bolivia and won its current northern territory. It was not until the 1880s that the Mapuche were completely subjugated. It leads Latin American nations in human development, competitiveness, income per capita, globalization, economic freedom, and low perception of corruption. It also ranks high regionally in freedom of the press and democratic development. However, it has a high economic inequality, as measured by the Gini index. In May 2010 Chile became the first South American country to join the OECD. Chile is a founding member of both the United Nations and the Union of South American Nations.
Cut off to the north by desert, to the south by the Mapuche, to the east by the Andes Mountains, and to the west by the ocean, Chile became one of the most centralized, homogeneous colonies in Spanish America. Serving as a sort of frontier garrison, the colony found itself with the mission of forestalling encroachment by both the Mapuche and Spain's European enemies, especially the British and the Dutch. In addition to the Mapuche, buccaneers and English adventurers menaced the colony, as was shown by Sir Francis Drake's 1578 raid on Valparaíso, the colony's principal port. Because Chile hosted one of the largest standing armies in the Americas, it was one of the most militarized of the Spanish possessions, as well as a drain on the treasury of the Viceroyalty of Peru.
The first general census was performed by the government of Agustín de Jáuregui between 1777 and 1778. The census indicated that the population consisted of 259,646 inhabitants: 73.5% of European descent, 7.9% mestizos, 8.6% Indians and 9.8% blacks. In 1784, Francisco Hurtado, Governor of the province of Chiloé, conducted a population census and found the population consisted of 26,703 inhabitants, 64.4% of which were whites and 33.5% of which were natives.
Finally, in 1812, the Diocese of Concepción conducted a census of areas south of the Maule river, but did not include the indigenous population (estimated at 8,000 people), or the inhabitants of the province of Chiloé, (and estimated population of 210,567, 86.1% of which were Spanish or of European descent, 10% of which were Indians and 3.7% of which were mestizos, blacks and mulattos.
Intermittent warfare continued until 1817. With Carrera in prison in Argentina, O'Higgins and anti-Carrera cohort José de San Martín, hero of the Argentine War of Independence, led an army that crossed the Andes into Chile and defeated the royalists. On February 12, 1818, Chile was proclaimed an independent republic. The political revolt brought little social change, however, and 19th century Chilean society preserved the essence of the stratified colonial social structure, which was greatly influenced by family politics and the Roman Catholic Church. A strong presidency eventually emerged, but wealthy landowners remained powerful. By relinquishing power to a democratically elected successor, Ibáñez del Campo retained the respect of a large enough segment of the population to remain a viable politician for more than thirty years, in spite of the vague and shifting nature of his ideology. When constitutional rule was restored in 1932, a strong middle-class party, the Radicals, emerged. It became the key force in coalition governments for the next 20 years. During the period of Radical Party dominance (1932–52), the state increased its role in the economy. In 1952, voters returned Ibáñez del Campo to office for another six years. Jorge Alessandri succeeded Ibáñez del Campo in 1958, bringing Chilean conservatism back into power democratically for another term.
The 1964 presidential election of Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei Montalva by an absolute majority initiated a period of major reform. Under the slogan "Revolution in Liberty", the Frei administration embarked on far-reaching social and economic programs, particularly in education, housing, and agrarian reform, including rural unionization of agricultural workers. By 1967, however, Frei encountered increasing opposition from leftists, who charged that his reforms were inadequate, and from conservatives, who found them excessive. At the end of his term, Frei had not fully achieved his party's ambitious goals. In the 1970 election, Senator Salvador Allende of the Socialist Party of Chile (part of the "Popular Unity" coalition which included the Communists, Radicals, Social-Democrats, dissident Christian Democrats, the Popular Unitary Action Movement, and the Independent Popular Action),
An economic depression that began in 1972 bottomed out in 1975, exacerbated by capital flight, plummeting private investment, and withdrawal of bank deposits in response to Allende's socialist program. Production fell and unemployment rose. Allende adopted measures including price freezes, wage increases, and tax reforms, to increase consumer spending and redistribute income downward. Joint public-private public works projects helped reduce unemployment. Much of the banking sector was nationalized. Many enterprises within the copper, coal, iron, nitrate, and steel industries were expropriated, nationalized, or subjected to state intervention. Industrial output increased sharply and unemployment fell during the Allende administration's first year. replacing the judicial system with "socialist legality", nationalization of banks and forcing others to bankruptcy, Started under former President Frei, the Popular Unity platform also called for nationalization of Chile's major copper mines in the form of a constitutional amendment. The measure was passed unanimously by Congress. As a result, the Richard Nixon administration organized and inserted secret operatives in Chile, in order to quickly destabilize Allende’s government. In addition, American financial pressure restricted international economic credit to Chile. The economic problems were also exacerbated by Allende's public spending which was financed mostly by printing money and poor credit ratings given by commercial banks. Simultaneously, opposition media, politicians, business guilds and other organizations, helped to accelerate a campaign of domestic political and economical destabilization, some of which was helped by the United States. By early 1973, inflation was out of control. The crippled economy was further battered by prolonged and sometimes simultaneous strikes by physicians, teachers, students, truck owners, copper workers, and the small business class. On 26 May 1973, Chile’s Supreme Court, which was opposed to Allende's government, unanimously denounced the Allende disruption of the legality of the nation. Although illegal under the Chilean constitution, the court supported and strengthened Pinochet's seizure of power.
Finally, a military coup overthrew Allende on September 11, 1973. As the armed forces bombarded the presidential palace of (Palacio de La Moneda), Allende reportedly had committed suicide. A military junta, led by General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte, took over control of the country. The first years of the regime were marked by human rights violations. On October 1973, at least 72 people were murdered by the Caravan of Death. According to the Rettig Report and Valech Commission, at least 2,115 were killed, and at least 27,265 were tortured (including 88 children younger than 12 years old).
In the late 1980s, the government gradually permitted greater freedom of assembly, speech, and association, to include trade union and political activity. The government launched market-oriented reforms with Hernán Büchi as Minister of Finance, but poverty levels continued growing. Chile moved toward a free market economy that saw an increase in domestic and foreign private investment, although the copper industry and other important mineral resources were not opened for competition. In a plebiscite on October 5, 1988, General Pinochet was denied a second 8-year term as president (56% against 44%). Chileans elected a new president and the majority of members of a two-chamber congress on December 14, 1989. Christian Democrat Patricio Aylwin, the candidate of a coalition of 17 political parties called the Concertación, received an absolute majority of votes (55%). President Aylwin served from 1990 to 1994, in what was considered a transition period.
In December 1993, Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, the son of previous president Eduardo Frei Montalva, led the Concertación coalition to victory with an absolute majority of votes (58%).
On February 27, 2010, Chile was struck by an 8.8 MW earthquake, one of the largest ever recorded in the world. As many as 500 people died; hundreds of thousands of buildings were damaged. The earthquake was also followed by multiple aftershocks. Initial damage estimates were in the range of US$15-30 billion, around 10% to 15% of Chile real gross domestic product. On March 11, 2010, a 6.9-magnitude earthquake occurred southwest of Pichilemu, O'Higgins Region. The earthquake was felt across much of Chile.
On August 5, 2010 an access tunnel caved in at Cía. Minera San Esteban Primera SA’s San José copper and gold mine. 33 miners were trapped half a mile underground. The miners were discovered alive on August 22; it took nearly two more months before an escape path could be created to rescue the miners. In a 24 hour period between October 12 and 13, more than 1 billion people watched the culmination of the two-month rescue live on television networks around the world. The survival of the San José miners surpasses a 25-day rescue of three coal miners from a flooded mine in Guizhou, China, in 2009.
Chilean President Piñera said that the San José mine would be converted into a national monument to reflect hope for future generations.
A long and narrow coastal Southern Cone country on the west side of the Andes Mountains, Chile stretches over 4,630 kilometres (2,880 mi) north to south, but only 430 kilometres (265 mi) at its widest point east to west. This encompasses a remarkable variety of landscapes. It contains of land area. It is situated within the Pacific Ring of Fire.
The northern Atacama Desert contains great mineral wealth, primarily copper and nitrates. The relatively small Central Valley, which includes Santiago, dominates the country in terms of population and agricultural resources. This area also is the historical center from which Chile expanded in the late 19th century, when it integrated the northern and southern regions. Southern Chile is rich in forests, grazing lands, and features a string of volcanoes and lakes. The southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands. The Andes Mountains are located on the eastern border. Chile is the longest north-south country in the world, and also claims of Antarctica as part of its territory. However, this latter claim is suspended under the terms of the Antarctic Treaty, of which Chile is a signatory.
Chile controls Easter Island and Sala y Gómez Island, the easternmost islands of Polynesia, which it incorporated to its territory in 1888, and Robinson Crusoe Island, more than from the mainland, in the Juan Fernández Islands. Easter Island is today a province of Chile. Also controlled but only temporally inhabited (by some local fishermen) are the small islands of Sala y Gómez, San Ambrosio and San Felix. These islands are notable because they extend Chile's claim to territorial waters out from its coast into the Pacific.
After a decade of impressive growth rates, Chile began to experience a moderate economic downturn in 1999, brought on by unfavorable global economic conditions related to the Asian financial crisis, which began in 1997. The economy remained sluggish until 2003, when it began to show clear signs of recovery, achieving 4.0% real GDP growth. The Chilean economy finished 2004 with growth of 6.0%. Real GDP growth reached 5.7% in 2005 before falling back to 4.0% in 2006. GDP expanded by 5.1% in 2007.
Over the last several years, Chile has signed FTAs with the European Union, South Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei, China, and Japan. It reached a partial trade agreement with India in 2005 and began negotiations for a full-fledged FTA with India in 2006. Chile conducted trade negotiations in 2007 with Australia, Malaysia, and Thailand, as well as with China to expand an existing agreement beyond just trade in goods. Chile concluded FTA negotiations with Australia and an expanded agreement with China in 2008. The members of the P4 (Chile, Singapore, New Zealand, and Brunei) also plan to conclude a chapter on finance and investment in 2008.
Unemployment hovered at 8%-10% after the start of the economic slowdown in 1999, above the 7% average for the 1990s. Unemployment finally dipped to 7.8% in 2006, and continued to fall in 2007, averaging 6.8% monthly (up to August). Wages have risen faster than inflation as a result of higher productivity, boosting national living standards. The percentage of Chileans with household incomes below the poverty line – defined as twice the cost of satisfying a person's minimal nutritional needs – fell from 45.1% in 1987 to 13.7% in 2006, according to government polls. Critics in Chile, however, argue true that poverty figures are considerably higher than those officially published. (The government constructs the poverty line based on an outdated 1987 household consumption poll, instead of more recent polls from 1997 or 2007). According to these critics who use data from the 1997 poll, the poverty rate rises to 29%. Using the relative yardstick favoured in many European countries, 27% of Chileans would be poor, according to Juan Carlos Feres of the ECLAC.
Chile's independent Central Bank pursues an inflation target of between 2% and 4%. Inflation has not exceeded 5% since 1998. Chile registered an inflation rate of 3.2% in 2006. The Chilean peso's rapid appreciation against the U.S. dollar in recent years has helped dampen inflation. Most wage settlements and loans are indexed, reducing inflation's volatility. Under the compulsory private pension system, most formal sector employees pay 10% of their salaries into privately managed funds. According to the CIA World FactBook, the GDP contracted an estimated -1.7% in 2009.
Chile maintains one of the best credit ratings (S&P; A+) in Latin America. There are three main ways for Chilean firms to raise funds abroad: bank loans, issuance of bonds, and the selling of stocks on U.S. markets through American Depository Receipts (ADRs). Nearly all of the funds raised through these means go to finance domestic Chilean investment. The government is required by law to run a fiscal surplus of at least 1% of GDP. In 2006, the Government of Chile ran a surplus of $11.3 billion, equal to almost 8% of GDP. The Government of Chile continues to pay down its foreign debt, with public debt only 3.9% of GDP at the end of 2006. By 2050 the population is expected to reach approximately 20.2 million people. About 85% of the country's population lives in urban areas, with 40% living in Greater Santiago. The largest agglomerations according to the 2002 census are Greater Santiago with 5.6 million people, Greater Concepción with 861,000 and Greater Valparaíso with 824,000.
One study conducted by Francisco Lizcano from UNAM suggested that people of European origin made up 52.7% of the population and that Mestizos made up 44% of the population. A study conducted by the University of Chile found that within the Chilean population, 30% are of European descent and Mestizos with partly European ancestry are estimated to be 65% of the population. Other studies have found a white majority that would exceed 60% of the Chilean population.
The European portion of Chile's population consists mainly of people descended from Spanish settlers (predominantly Castilian, Andalusian and Basque), with minorities having German, Italian, Irish, French, British, Swiss, and Croatian ancestry, singly or combined. The Mestizo segment, in this respect, would derive its European component from colonial Spanish settlers (mainly Andalusians and Castilians), while its Amerindian component would be from various tribes or groups, mainly Picunches and Mapuches.
The Afro-Chilean population has always been tiny, reaching a high of 2,500 people during the colonial period; their current percentage of the population is less than one percent. According to the 2002 Census, 4.6% of the Chilean population considered themselves indigenous.
The 1907 census reported 101,118 Indians, or 3.1% of the total country population. Only those that practiced their native culture or spoke their native language were considered, irrespective of their "racial purity."
According to the 2002 census, only indigenous people that still practiced a native culture or spoke a native language were surveyed, and 4.6% of the population (692,192 people) fit that description. Of that 4.6%, 87.3% declared themselves Mapuche. Most of the indigenous population show varying degrees of mixed ancestry. It was adopted in 1989 as the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 169. Chile ratified the convention in 2008. In November 2009, a court decision in Chile, considered to be a landmark ruling in indigenous rights concerns, made use of the ILO convention 169. The Supreme Court decision on Aymara water rights upholds rulings by both the Pozo Almonte tribunal and the Iquique Court of Appeals, and marks the first judicial application of ILO Convention 169 in Chile.
Church]] An important number of non-Spanish immigrants have arrived in Chile from various countries and regions, including Italy, Ireland, France, Greece, Germany, England, the Netherlands, Scotland, Croatia, and the Middle East. The largest contingent of people to arrive in Chile came from Spain and the Basque country, beginning in the 16th century. Estimates of the number of people in Chile who can trace descent from Basques range from 10% (1,600,000) to as high as 27% (4,500,000). Louis Thayer Ojeda estimates that during the 17th and 18th centuries fully 45% of all immigrants in Chile were Basques.
In 1848 an important and substantial German immigration took place, laying the foundation for the German-Chilean community. Sponsored by the Chilean government for the colonization of the southern region, the Germans (including German-speaking Swiss, Silesians, Alsatians and Austrians), strongly influenced the ethnic composition of the southern provinces of Chile. German immigrants have made a cultural impact in many areas of southern Chile, which is a sparsely populated region. The Consulate of Chile in Germany estimates that 500,000 to 600,000 Chileans, or between 3% to 3.5% of the population today, are descended from German immigrants.
It is estimated that nearly five percent of the Chilean population, or about 800,000 people, are of Asian origin, chiefly from the Middle East (these include, most notably, Palestinians, Syrians, Lebanese and Middle Eastern Armenians). Note that Israelis, both Jewish and non-Jewish citizens of the nation of Israel, may be included. Chile is home to a large population of immigrants, mostly Christian, from the Levant.
in southern Chile.]] Other historically significant immigrant groups in Chile include Croatians, whose descendants today have been estimated to number some 380,000 people (or about 2.4% of the population). Other authorities estimate that close to 4.6% of the Chilean population may have some Croatian ancestry. Over 700,000 Chileans, or about 4.5% of the national population, may have some English, Scottish, or Welsh ancestry.
Chileans of Greek descent are estimated to number between 90,000 and 120,000 people, placing Chile among the five countries in the world with the most Greek descendants. Most live in or near either Santiago or Antofagasta. Swiss descendants add another 90,000 people to the population. Perhaps five percent of the Chilean population has some French ancestry. Between 600,000 and 800,000 Chileans are descended from Italian immigrants. Other groups of Europeans have followed but are found in smaller numbers, as the descendants of Austrians and Dutchmen it is currently estimated at about 50,000 people. Altogether, these immigrants with their descendants, they have transformed the country culturally, economically and politically.
European emigration to Chile (and to a lesser extent, the arrivals from the Middle East), during the second half of the 19th century and throughout the twentieth, was mostly to Latin America and then to areas like the Atlantic Coast of the Southern Cone.
Descendants of different European ethnic groups often intermarried in Chile, diluting the cultures and separate identities of the home countries and fusing them together with the descendants of the original Basque-Castilian aristocracy of the colonial period, while at the same time preserving some separate aspects. This intermarriage and mixture of cultures and races has help shape the present society and culture of the Chilean middle and upper classes, According to the 2002 national census, Chile's foreign-born population has increased by 75% since 1992. According to an estimate by the Migration and Foreign Residency Department, 317,057 foreigners were living in Chile as of December 2008.
In the most recent census (2002), 70 percent of the population over age 14 identified as Roman Catholic and 15.1 percent as evangelical. In the census, the term "evangelical" referred to all non-Catholic Christian churches with the exception of the Orthodox Church (Greek, Persian, Serbian, Ukrainian, and Armenian), the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Seventh-day Adventists, and Jehovah's Witnesses. Approximately 90 percent of evangelicals are Pentecostal. Wesleyan, Lutheran, Reformed Evangelical, Presbyterian, Anglican, Episcopalian, Baptist and Methodist churches are also present. Irreligious people, atheists and agnostics, account for around 8% of the population.
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and other laws and policies contribute to the generally free practice of religion. The law at all levels protects this right in full against abuse, either by governmental or private actors.
In 2010, all students from 3rd grade in "Enseñanza Media" (secondary school) will be tested on listening and reading comprehension. The evaluation is compulsory and the instrument is TOIEC Bridge, developed by Educational Testing Service.
Chileans voted in the first round of presidential elections on December 13, 2009. None of the four presidential candidates got more than 50% of the vote. As a result, the top two candidates, center-left Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia coalition's Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle and center-right Coalición por el Cambio coalition's Sebastián Piñera, competed in a run-off election on January 17, 2010, which Sebastián Piñera won. This was Chile's fifth presidential election since the end of the Pinochet era. All five have been judged free and fair. The president is constitutionally barred from serving consecutive terms.
The Congress of Chile has a 38-seat Senate and a 120-member Chamber of Deputies. Senators serve for 8 years with staggered terms, while deputies are elected every 4 years. The current Senate has a 20-18 split in favor of the opposition coalition. The last congressional elections were held on December 13, 2009, concurrently with the presidential election. The current lower house-the Chamber of Deputies-contains 58 members of the governing center-right coalition, 54 from the center-left opposition and 8 from small parties or independents. The Congress is located in the port city of Valparaíso, about 140 kilometres (84 mi) west of the capital, Santiago.
Chile's congressional elections are governed by a binomial system that rewards the two largest representations. Therefore, there are only two senate and two deputy seats apportioned to each electoral district, parties are forced to form wide coalitions and, historically, the two largest coalitions (Concertación and Alianza) split most of the seats in a district. Only if the leading coalition ticket out-polls the second place coalition by a margin of more than 2-to-1 does the winning coalition gain both seats.
In the 2001 congressional elections, the conservative Independent Democratic Union surpassed the Christian Democrats for the first time to become the largest party in the lower house. In the 2005 parliamentary election, both leading parties, the Christian Democrats and the UDI lost representation in favor of their respective allies Socialist Party (which became the biggest party in the Concertación block) and National Renewal in the right-wing alliance. In the last legislative elections in Chile, the Communist Party won 3 out of 120 seats in the Chamber of Deputies for the first time in 30 years (the Communisty Party was not allowed to exist as such during the dictatorship).
Chile's judiciary is independent and includes a court of appeal, a system of military courts, a constitutional tribunal, and the Supreme Court of Chile. In June 2005, Chile completed a nation-wide overhaul of its criminal justice system. The reform has replaced inquisitorial proceedings with an adversarial system more similar to that of the United States.
Chile is divided into 15 regions, each headed by an intendant appointed by the president. The regions are further divided into provinces, with provincial governors also appointed by the president. Finally each province is divided into communes which are administered by municipalities, each with its own mayor and council elected for four year terms. Each region is designated by a name and a Roman numeral, assigned from north to south. The only exception is the Santiago Metropolitan Region which is designated RM (Región Metropolitana). Two new regions were created in 2006 and became operative in October 2007; Los Ríos in the south (Region XIV), and Arica y Parinacota in the north (Region XV). The numbering scheme skipped Region XIII.
(Post of Chile) headquarters]]
{| |- | |width="10"| | {|class="wikitable sortable" |- style="background:#ececec;" !Key!!Name!!Spanish!!Capital |- |XV | Arica and Parinacota |Región de Arica y Parinacota |Arica |- |I | Tarapacá |Región de Tarapacá |Iquique |- |II | Antofagasta |Región de Antofagasta |Antofagasta |- |III | Atacama |Región de Atacama |Copiapó |- |IV | Coquimbo |Región de Coquimbo |La Serena |- |V | Valparaíso |Región de Valparaíso |Valparaiso |- |VI | O'Higgins |Región del Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins |Rancagua |- |VII | Maule |Región del Maule |Talca |- |VIII | Biobío |Región del Biobío |Concepción |- |IX | Araucanía |Región de la Araucanía |Temuco |- |XIV | Los Ríos |Región de Los Ríos |Valdivia |- |X | Los Lagos |Región de Los Lagos |Puerto Montt |- |XI | Aisén |Región Aisén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo |Coihaique |- |XII | Magallanes |Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena |Punta Arenas |- |RM | Santiago |Región Metropolitana de Santiago |Santiago |} |}
Gen. Ricardo Ortega Perrier heads 12,500 strong Chilean Air Force. Air assets are distributed among five air brigades headquartered in Iquique, Antofagasta, Santiago, Puerto Montt, and Punta Arenas. The Air Force also operates an airbase on King George Island, Antarctica. The Air Force took delivery of the final 2 of 10 F-16s, all purchased from the U.S., in March 2007 after several decades of U.S. debate and previous refusal to sell. Chile also took delivery in 2007 of a number of reconditioned Block 15 F-16s from the Netherlands, bringing to 18 the total of F-16s purchased from the Dutch. men and women who are responsible for law enforcement, traffic management, narcotics suppression, border control, and counter-terrorism throughout Chile. With the military coup of 1973, Chile became isolated politically as a result of widespread human rights abuses.
Between 1950 and 1970 appears a rebirth in folk music leading by groups such as Los de Ramon, Los Cuatro Cuartos and Los Huasos Quincheros, among others with composers such as Raul de Ramon, Violeta Parra and others. In the mid-1960s native musical forms were revitalized by the Parra family with the Nueva Canción Chilena, which was associated with political activists and reformers such as Victor Jara and Inti-Illimani. Other important folk singer and researcher on folklore and Chilean ethnography, is Margot Loyola. Also many Chilean Rock bands like Los Jaivas, Los Prisioneros, La Ley, and Los Tres have reached international success.
Among the list of other Chilean poets are Carlos Pezoa Véliz, Vicente Huidobro, Gonzalo Rojas, and Nicanor Parra. Isabel Allende is the best-selling Chilean novelist, with 51 millions of her novels sold worldwide. Novelist José Donoso's novel 'The Obscene Bird of the Night' is considered by critic Harold Bloom to be one of the canonical works of 20th century Western literature. Another internationally recognized Chilean novelist is Roberto Bolaño whose translations into English have had an excellent reception from the critics.
Chile's most popular sport is association football (fútbol or soccer). Chile has appeared in seven FIFA World Cups which includes hosting the 1962 FIFA World Cup where the national football team finished third. Other results achieved by the national football team include four finals at the Copa América, one silver and two bronze medals at the Pan American Games, a bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics and two third places finishes in the FIFA under-17 and under-20 youth tournaments. The main football clubs are Colo-Colo, Universidad de Chile and Universidad Católica. Colo-Colo is the country's most successful football club, having both the most national and international championships, including the coveted Copa Libertadores South American club tournament. Universidad Católica was the last international champion (Interamerican Cup 1994). is unique to Chile]]
Tennis is Chile's most successful sport. Its national team won the World Team Cup clay tournament twice (2003 & 2004), and played the Davis Cup final against Italy in 1976. At the 2004 Summer Olympics the country captured gold and bronze in men's singles and gold in men's doubles. Marcelo Ríos became the first Latin American man to reach the number one spot in the ATP singles rankings in 1998. Anita Lizana won the US Open in 1937, becoming the first woman from Latin America to win a grand slam tournament. Luis Ayala was twice a runner-up at the French Open and both Ríos and Fernando González reached the Australian Open men's singles finals.
At the Olympic Games Chile boasts two gold medals (tennis), seven silver medals (athletics, Equestrian, boxing, shooting and tennis) and four bronze medals (tennis, boxing and football). Rodeo is the country's national sport and is practiced in the more rural areas of the country. A sport similar to hockey called chueca was played by the Mapuche people during the Spanish conquest. Skiing and snowboarding are practiced at ski centers located in the Central Andes, and in southern ski centers near to cities as Osorno, Puerto Varas, Temuco and Punta Arenas. While Surfing is popular at some coastal towns. Polo is professionally practiced within Chile and in 2008 Chile achieved top prize in the World Polo Championship a tournament where the country has earned both second and third places medals in previous editions. Basketball is a popular sport in which Chile has earned a bronze medal in the first men's FIBA World Championship held in 1950 and winning a second bronze medal when Chile hosted the 1959 FIBA World Championship. Chile hosted the first FIBA World Championship for Women in 1953 finishing the tournament with the silver medal. Other sports such as marathons and ultramarathons are also increasing in popularity. Chile's San Pedro de Atacama is host to the annual "Atacama Crossing," a six-stage, 250-kilometer footrace which annually attracts about 150 competitors from 35 countries.
Tourism in Chile has experienced sustained growth over the last few decades. In 2005, tourism grew by 13.6%, generating more than 4.5 billion dollars of which 1.5 billion is attributed to foreign tourists. According to the National Service of Tourism (Sernatur), 2 million people a year visit the country. Most of these visitors come from other countries in the American continent, mainly Argentina; followed by a growing number from the United States, Europe, and Brazil with a growing number of Asians from South Korea and PR China.
The main attractions for tourists are places of natural beauty situated in the extreme zones of the country: San Pedro de Atacama, in the north, is very popular with foreign tourists who arrive to admire the Incaic architecture, the altiplano lakes, and the Valley of the Moon. In Putre, also in the North, there is the Chungará Lake, as well as the Parinacota and the Pomerape volcanoes, with altitudes of 6,348 m and 6,282 m, respectively. Throughout the central Andes there are many ski resorts of international repute, like Portillo, Valle Nevado and Termas de Chillán . In the south, the main tourist sites are the coastal area around Tirúa and Cañete with the Isla Mocha and the Nahuelbuta National Park, Chiloé Archipelago and Patagonia, which includes Laguna San Rafael National Park, with its many glaciers, and the Torres del Paine National Park. The central port city of Valparaíso, with its unique architecture, is also popular. Finally, Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean is one of the main Chilean tourist destinations.
For locals, tourism is concentrated mostly in the summer (December to March), and mainly in the coastal beach towns. Arica, Iquique, Antofagasta, La Serena and Coquimbo are the main summer centres in the north, and Pucón on the shores of Lake Villarrica is the main one in the south. Because of its proximity to Santiago, the coast of the Valparaíso Region, with its many beach resorts, receives the largest number of tourists. Viña del Mar, Valparaíso's northern affluent neighbor, is popular because of its beaches, casino, and its annual song festival, the most important musical event in Latin America. The beaches of Pichilemu, in the O'Higgins Region, are recurrently visited by surfers. Pichilemu is widely known as South America's "best surfing spot," according to Fodor's.
In November 2005, the government launched a campaign under the brand "Chile: All Ways Surprising," intended to promote the country internationally for both business and tourism.
The coat of arms depicts the two national animals: the condor (Vultur gryphus, a very large bird that lives in the mountains) and the huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus, an endangered white tail deer). It also has the legend Por la razón o la fuerza (By Reason or by Force).
The flag of Chile consists of two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; there is 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 stands for the blood spilled to achieve independence. The flag of Chile is similar to the Flag of Texas, although the Chilean flag is 21 years older.
Category:South American countries Category:Countries bordering the Atlantic Ocean Category:Countries bordering the Pacific Ocean Category:Spanish-speaking countries Category:G15 nations Category:Former Spanish colonies Category:Liberal democracies Category:States and territories established in 1818
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
