66 Facts About Chile

Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America.

Chile covers an area of 756, 096 square kilometers, with a population of 17.

In 1818, after declaring independence from Spain, Chile emerged in the 1830s as a relatively stable authoritarian republic.

Chile is a developing country with a high-income economy and ranks 43rd in the Human Development Index.

The next Europeans to reach Chile were Diego de Almagro and his band of Spanish conquistadors, who came from Peru in 1535 seeking gold.

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Chile hosted one of the largest standing armies in the Americas, making it one of the most militarized of the Spanish possessions, as well as a drain on the treasury of the Viceroyalty of Peru.

The Government Junta of Chile proclaimed Chile an autonomous republic within the Spanish monarchy.

Chile slowly started to expand its influence and to establish its borders.

Chile had joined the stand as one of the high-income countries in South America by 1870.

In 2011, Chile recognized an additional 9, 800 victims, bringing the total number of killed, tortured or imprisoned for political reasons to 40, 018.

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 to competition.

Sebastian Pinera succeeded Bachelet again in 2018 as the President of Chile after winning the December 2017 presidential election.

Chile achieved global recognition for the successful rescue of 33 trapped miners in 2010.

Current Constitution of Chile was drafted by Jaime Guzman in 1980 and subsequently approved via a national plebiscite—regarded as "highly irregular" by some observers—in September of that year, under the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

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 nationwide overhaul of its criminal justice system.

Congress of Chile has a 50-seat Senate and a 155-member Chamber of Deputies.

Since the early decades after independence, Chile has always had an active involvement in foreign affairs.

On 26 June 1945, Chile participated as a founding member of the United Nations being among 50 countries that signed the United Nations Charter in San Francisco, California.

Since its return to democracy in 1990, Chile has been an active participant in the international political arena.

Chile completed a two-year non-permanent position on the UN Security Council in January 2005.

Chile hosted the Defense Ministerial of the Americas in 2002 and the APEC summit and related meetings in 2004.

An associate member of Mercosur and a full member of APEC, Chile has been a major player in international economic issues and hemispheric free trade.

Armed Forces of Chile are subject to civilian control exercised by the president through the Minister of Defense.

Chile 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.

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In 2017, Chile signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

In 1978 Chile was administratively divided into regions, and in 1979 subdivided into provinces and these into communes.

Chile is among the longest north-south countries in the world.

Southern Chile is rich in forests, grazing lands, and features a string of volcanoes and lakes.

Flora and fauna of Chile are characterized by a high degree of endemism, due to its particular geography.

Some of Chile's flora has an Antarctic origin due to land bridges which formed during the Cretaceous ice ages, allowing plants to migrate from Antarctica to South America.

Chile had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 7.

The true total number of fungal species occurring in Chile is likely to be far higher, given the generally accepted estimate that only about 7 percent of all fungi worldwide have so far been discovered.

Chile is located along a highly seismic and volcanic zone, part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, due to the subduction of the Nazca and Antarctic plates in the South American plate.

Chile is one of 22 countries to have signed and ratified the only binding international law concerning indigenous peoples, the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989.

The Amerindian population of central Chile was absorbed into the Spanish settler population in the beginning of the colonial period to form the large mestizo population that exists in Chile today; mestizos create modern middle and lower classes.

Postcolonial Chile was never a particularly attractive destination for migrants, owing to its remoteness and distance from Europe.

Also, roughly 500, 000 of Chile's population is of full or partial Palestinian origin, and 800, 000 Arab descents.

Chile has a Baha'i religious community, and is home to the Baha'i mother temple, or continental House of Worship, for Latin America.

Patron saints of Chile are Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Saint James the Greater.

Spanish spoken in Chile is distinctively accented and quite unlike that of neighboring South American countries because final syllables are often dropped, and some consonants have a soft pronunciation.

In Chile, education begins with preschool until the age of 5.

Hospitals in Chile are mainly located in the Santiago Metropolitan Region.

Chile is one of South America's most stable and prosperous nations, leading Latin American nations in human development, competitiveness, globalization, economic freedom, and low perception of corruption.

Since July 2013, Chile is considered by the World Bank as a "high-income economy".

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Chile has the highest degree of economic freedom in South America, owing to its independent and efficient judicial system and prudent public finance management.

In May 2010 Chile became the first South American country to join the OECD.

In 2006, Chile became the country with the highest nominal GDP per capita in Latin America.

Chile began to experience a moderate economic downturn in 1999.

Critics in Chile, however, argue that true poverty figures are considerably higher than those officially published.

Chile has signed free trade agreements with a whole network of countries, including an FTA with the United States that was signed in 2003 and implemented in January 2004.

The Government of Chile continues to pay down its foreign debt, with public debt only 3.

Chile is rich in mineral resources, especially copper and lithium.

Agriculture in Chile encompasses a wide range of different activities due to its particular geography, climate and geology and human factors.

Some other major agriculture products of Chile include pears, onions, wheat, maize, oats, garlic, asparagus, beans, beef, poultry, wool, fish, timber and hemp.

Chile is the world's second largest producer of salmon, after Norway.

In wine, Chile is usually among the 10 largest producers in the world.

Tourism in Chile has experienced sustained growth over the last few decades.

Chile is home to the world-renowned Patagonian Trail that resides on the border between Argentina and Chile.

Chile recently launched a massive scenic route for tourism in hopes of encouraging development based on conservation.

Privatization of the telephone system began in 1988; Chile has one of the most advanced telecommunications infrastructure in South America with a modern system based on extensive microwave radio relay facilities and a domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations.

Energy in Chile is dominated by fossil fuels, with coal, oil and gas accounting for 73.

In 2021, Chile had, in terms of installed renewable electricity, 6, 807 MW in hydropower, 3, 137 MW in wind power, 4, 468 MW in solar (22nd largest in the world), and 375 MW in biomass.

Chile has appeared in nine FIFA World Cups which includes hosting the 1962 FIFA World Cup where the national football team finished third.

Basketball is a popular sport in which Chile earned a bronze medal in the first men's FIBA World Championship held in 1950 and won a second bronze medal when Chile hosted the 1959 FIBA World Championship.

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Chile hosted the first FIBA World Championship for Women in 1953 finishing the tournament with the silver medal.