Geography
Chile is located in South America’s Southwest, stretching far south to Antarctica. Its westernmost point is Easter Island, located in the Pacific Ocean, 3,760 km from the Chilean coast. Chile stretches from parallel 17°30′ S to parallel 56°32′ S, at the southernmost tip of South America, Cape Horn. Chile’s claim over the Antarctic continent encompasses the territory between meridians 53° and 90° W, to the South Pole.
Total Area: 2.006.096 km² (continental territory, 755.915 km²; insular territory, 181 km²; and antarctic territory, 1.250.000 km²). Chile’s continental territory median wide is 177 km, and its most narrow part is about 90 km wide, at North of river Choapa’s estuary.
Boundaries: Chile limits in the north with Peru, divided by a border line known as the “Linea de la Concordia” (160 km). On the east, a line running through the highest summits of the Andes, separates Chile from Argentina and Bolivia. Chile’s southern boundary is the South Pole, and on the west the Pacific Ocean.
Climate: Chile experiences many different climates, as its territory stretches from the desert in the north to Antarctica in the south. Nonetheless, in general, the climate in the north is dry, in the central and center south regions mild and temperate, with rains in the winter, and cool and rainy in the far south. Average temperatures in Santiago are a minimum of 13°C and maximum of 32°C in summer, and a minimum of 2°C and a maximum of 15°C in the winter. Summer is from december to March, with an average temperature of 25°C. Winter last from June to August, with an average temperature of 12°C.
The People
Population: 16,454,143 (July 2008); 0,98 males per female.
Religion: Catholic: 70%, Protestant: 16%, Other: 14%.
Language: Spanish (official) and some indigenous languages, mainly mapudungún (mapuche), quechua, and rapa nui.
Government
Official Name: Republic of Chile
Type of Government: Representative Democracy, Presidential Regime
Capital: Santiago
Administrative Divisions 15 regions: Aisén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo, Antofagasta, Araucanía, Arica y Parinacota, Atacama, Biobío, Coquimbo, Libertador General Bernardo O’Higgins, Los Lagos, Los Ríos, Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena, Maule, Región Metropolitana (Santiago), Tarapacá, Valparaíso.
Independence: September 18, 1810 (National Holiday)
