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BASIC INFORMATION

Name: Republic of Chile

Capital: Santiago. Founded by Spanish conqueror Captain Pedro de Valdivia, on February 12, 1541.

Location: Southwest South America

Boundaries:
North: Perú.
South: South Pole
East: Bolivia and Argentina
West: Pacific Ocean.

Area: Continent: 291,930 square miles
Antarctica: 482,627 square miles.

Climate: North: dry and warm
Central Valley: mild
South: cold and rainy


Population: 15,116,000 inhabitants.
13,090,000 Chileans live in urban centers (86.5%)
2,026.000 Chileans live in rural areas (13,5%)
6,046,000 inhabitants live in Santiago


Population Growth: 1.2% per year


Life Expectancy: 76 years


Official Language: Spanish


Monetary Unit: Peso($)


Religions: Predominantly Roman Catholic (80%)


Ethnicities: Chile’s population is primarily of European and Mestizo descent. In 2002, 4.6% of the population considered themselves part of an ethnic group. Of them: 87% is Mapuche – Led 300 years of resistance against Spanish conquest in southern central Chile. 7% is Aymara, they live in the plateous of northern Chile, near the border with Perú and Bolivia.


Independence day: September, 18 (1810)


Father of the country: Bernardo O’Higgins (1778-1842).


Principal Export: Copper


Sports: The most popular sport is soccer (fútbol).


Holidays:

January 1: New Year
March or April: Easter
May 1: Labor Day
May 21: Naval Battle of Iquique
August 15: Assumption of the Virgin
September 18: Independence Day
September 19: Army Day
October 12: Columbus Day
November 1: All Saints Day
December 8: Day of the Immaculate Conception
December 25: Christmas.

 

Copyright © 2005, Embassy of Chile, Washington, DC and GlobeScope, Inc.