Chile

• temperate;
• desert in north;
• Mediterranean in central region;
• cool and damp in south

• low coastal mountains;
• fertile central valley;
• rugged Andes in east

• severe earthquakes;
• active volcanism;
• tsunamis

• widespread deforestation and mining threaten natural resources;
• air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions;
• water pollution from raw sewage

• 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

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:

0.71 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

noun:

Chilean(s)

adjective:

Chilean

conventional long form:

Republic of Chile

conventional short form:

Chile

local long form:

Republica de Chile

local short form:

Chile

• 13 regions (regiones, singular - region);
• Aisen del General Carlos Ibanez del Campo, Antofagasta, Araucania, Atacama, Bio-Bio, Coquimbo, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, Los Lagos, Magallanes y de la Antartica Chilena, Maule, Region Metropolitana (Santiago), Tarapaca, Valparaiso

note: the US does not recognize claims to Antarctica

• 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: Chile is in the process of completely overhauling its criminal justice system; a new, US-style adversarial system is being gradually implemented throughout the country with the final stage of implementation in the Santiago metropolitan region expected in June 2005

chief of state:

President Ricardo LAGOS Escobar (since 11 March 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:

President Ricardo LAGOS Escobar (since 11 March 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the president

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a six-year term;
• election last held 12 December 1999, with runoff election held 16 January 2000 (next to be held December 2005)

election results:

Ricardo LAGOS Escobar elected president; percent of vote - Ricardo LAGOS Escobar 51.32%, Joaquin LAVIN 48.68%

• bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate or Senado (48 seats, 38 elected by popular vote, 9 designated members, and 1 former president who has served a full six-year term and is senator for life);
• elected members 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 16 December 2001 (next to be held December 2005); Chamber of Deputies - last held 16 December 2001 (next to be held December 2005)

election results:

• Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%;
• seats by party - CPD 20 (PDC 12, PS 5, PPD 3), APC 16 (UDI 9, RN 7), independents 2;
• Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%;
• seats by party - CPD 62 (PDC 24, PPD 21, PS 11, PRSD 6), UDI 35, RN 22, independent 1

• Alliance for Chile ("Alianza") or APC (including National Renewal or RN [Sebastian PINERA] and Independent Democratic Union or UDI [Pablo LONGUEIRA]);
• Coalition of Parties for Democracy ("Concertacion") or CPD (including Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Adolfo ZALDIVAR], Socialist Party or PS [Gonzalo MARTNER], Party for Democracy or PPD [Victor BARRUETO], Radical Social Democratic Party or PRSD [Orlando CANTUARIAS]);
• Communist Party or PC [Gladys MARIN]

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

chief of mission:

Ambassador Andres BIANCHI

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, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)

chief of mission:

Ambassador Craig A. KELLY

embassy:

Avenida Andres Bello 2800, Las Condes, Santiago

mailing address:

APO AA 34033

telephone:

[56] (2) 232-2600

FAX:

[56] (2) 330-3710

• 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;
• design was influenced by the US flag

lowest 10%:

1.2%

highest 10%:

47% (2000)

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

general assessment:

modern system based on extensive microwave radio relay facilities

domestic:

extensive microwave radio relay links; domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations

international:

country code - 56; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

total:

6,585 km

broad gauge:

2,831 km 1.676-m gauge (1,317 km electrified)

narrow gauge:

3,754 km 1.000-m gauge (2004)

total:

79,605 km

paved:

16,080 km (including 407 km of expressways)

unpaved:

63,525 km (2001)

• gas 2,583 km;
• gas/lpg 42 km;
• liquid petroleum gas 539 km;
• oil 1,003 km;
• refined products 757 km (2004)

total:

47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 725,216 GRT/954,519 DWT

by type:

bulk carrier 10, cargo 6, chemical tanker 9, container 1, liquefied gas 3, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 8, roll on/roll off 1, vehicle carrier 4

registered in other countries:

21 (2005)

• 18 years of age for compulsory military service;
• all citizens 18-45 are obligated to perform military service;
• conscript service obligation - 12 months for Army, 24 months for Navy and Air Force (2004)

• Chile rebuffs Bolivia's reactivated claim to restore the Atacama corridor, ceded to Chile in 1884, offering instead unrestricted but not sovereign maritime access through Chile to Bolivian gas and other commodities;
• Peru proposes changing its latitudinal maritime boundary with Chile to an equidistance line with a southwestern axis;
• territorial claim in Antarctica (Chilean Antarctic Territory) partially overlaps Argentine and British claims

• important transshipment country for cocaine destined for Europe and the US;
• economic prosperity and increasing trade have made Chile more attractive to traffickers seeking to launder drug profits, especially through the Iquique Free Trade Zone, but a new anti-money-laundering law improves controls;
• imported precursors passed on to Bolivia;
• domestic cocaine consumption is rising