Capital

Chile

name: Santiago; note - Valparaiso is the seat of the national legislature

geographic coordinates: 33 27 S, 70 40 W

time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in August; ends second Sunday in May; note - Punta Arenas observes DST throughout the year

time zone note: Chile has three time zones: the continental portion at UTC-3; the southern Magallanes region, which does not use daylight savings time and remains at UTC-3 for the summer months; and Easter Island at UTC-5


etymology: Santiago is named after the biblical figure Saint James (ca. A.D. 3-44), patron saint of Spain, but especially revered in Galicia; "Santiago" derives from the local Galician evolution of the Vulgar Latin "Sanctu Iacobu"; Valparaiso derives from the Spanish "Valle Paraiso" meaning "Paradise Valley"

Citizenship

Chile

citizenship by birth: yes

citizenship by descent only: yes

dual citizenship recognized: yes

residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Legal system

Chile

civil law system influenced by several West European civil legal systems; judicial review of legislative acts by the Constitutional Tribunal

Suffrage

Chile

18 years of age; universal

Area

Chile

total: 756,102 sq km

land: 743,812 sq km

water: 12,290 sq km

note: includes Easter Island (Isla de Pascua) and Isla Sala y Gomez

Land use

Chile

agricultural land: 21.1% (2018 est.)

arable land: 1.7% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.6% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 18.8% (2018 est.)

forest: 21.9% (2018 est.)

other: 57% (2018 est.)

Location

Chile

Southern South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Argentina and Peru

Age structure

Chile

0-14 years: 19.34% (male 1,829,801/female 1,758,137)

15-64 years: 67.56% (male 6,259,566/female 6,273,074)

65 years and over: 13.09% (2023 est.) (male 1,024,692/female 1,404,187)

Birth rate

Chile

12.6 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate

Chile

6.6 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Languages

Chile

Spanish 99.5% (official), English 10.2%, Indigenous 1% (includes Mapudungun, Aymara, Quechua, Rapa Nui), other 2.3%, unspecified 0.2%; note - shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census (2012 est.)

major-language sample(s):
La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Life expectancy at birth

Chile

total population: 80 years (2023 est.)

male: 77 years

female: 83.1 years

Major urban areas - population

Chile

6.903 million SANTIAGO (capital), 1.009 million Valparaiso, 912,000 Concepcion (2023)

Median age

Chile

total: 36.6 years (2023 est.)

male: 35.4 years

female: 37.8 years

Net migration rate

Chile

0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution

Chile

90% of the population is located in the middle third of the country around the capital of Santiago; the far north (anchored by the Atacama Desert) and the extreme south are relatively underpopulated

Population growth rate

Chile

0.63% (2023 est.)

Total fertility rate

Chile

1.75 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Urbanization

Chile

urban population: 88% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 0.78% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Education expenditures

Chile

5.6% of GDP (2019 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

Chile

total: 17 years

male: 16 years

female: 17 years (2020)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

Chile

-2.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Industrial production growth rate

Chile

5.06% (2021 est.)

Labor force

Chile

8.684 million (2021 est.)

Population below poverty line

Chile

8.6% (2017 est.)

Unemployment rate

Chile

9.13% (2021 est.)

11.18% (2020 est.)

7.29% (2019 est.)

Public debt

Chile

23.6% of GDP (2017 est.)

21% of GDP (2016 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

Chile

4.52% (2021 est.)

3.05% (2020 est.)

2.56% (2019 est.)

Exports

Chile

$100.634 billion (2021 est.)

$79.733 billion (2020 est.)

$77.255 billion (2019 est.)

note: Data are in current year dollars and do not include illicit exports or re-exports.

Exports - partners

Chile

China 32%, United States 14%, Japan 9%, South Korea 7% (2019)

Imports

Chile

$102.086 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$68.118 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$82.324 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

Imports - partners

Chile

China 24%, United States 20%, Brazil 8%, Germany 5%, Argentina 5% (2019)

Airports

Chile

481 (2021)

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

Chile

total: 3,763,826 (2020 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 20 (2020 est.)

Internet users

Chile

total: 17.1 million (2021 est.)

percent of population: 90% (2021 est.)

Railways

Chile

total: 7,281.5 km (2014)

narrow gauge: 3,853.5 km (2014) 1.000-m gauge

broad gauge: 3,428 km (2014) 1.676-m gauge (1,691 km electrified)

Roadways

Chile

total: 77,801 km (2016)

Telephones - fixed lines

Chile

total subscriptions: 2,510,972 (2021 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 13 (2021 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular

Chile

total subscriptions: 26,571,823 (2021 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 136 (2021 est.)

Disputes - international

Chile

Chile and Peru rebuff Bolivia's reactivated claim to restore the Atacama corridor, ceded to Chile in 1884, but Chile has offered instead unrestricted but not sovereign maritime access through Chile to Bolivian natural gas; Chile rejects Peru's unilateral legislation to change its latitudinal maritime boundary with Chile to an equidistance line with a southwestern axis favoring Peru; in October 2007, Peru took its maritime complaint with Chile to the ICJ; territorial claim in Antarctica (Chilean Antarctic Territory) partially overlaps Argentine and British claims; the joint boundary commission, established by Chile and Argentina in 2001, has yet to map and demarcate the delimited boundary in the inhospitable Southern Patagonian Ice Field (Campo de Hielo Sur)