The 1992 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency

Army (includes Ground Forces, Air Force, and Gendarmerie), National Police,

       Republican Guard

       Manpower availability:

       males 15-49, 1,217,728; 632,833 fit for military service; 50,966 reach

       military age (20) annually

       Defense expenditures:

       exchange rate conversion - $39 million, 4.3% of GDP (1988)

      :Chile Geography

      Total area:

       756,950 km2

       Land area:

       748,800 km2; includes Isla de Pascua (Easter Island) and Isla Sala y Gomez

       Comparative area:

       slightly smaller than twice the size of Montana

       Land boundaries:

       6,171 km; Argentina 5,150 km, Bolivia 861 km, Peru 160 km

       Coastline:

       6,435 km

       Maritime claims:

       Contiguous zone:

       24 nm

       Continental shelf:

       200 nm

       Exclusive economic zone:

       200 nm

       Territorial sea:

       12 nm

       Disputes:

       short section of the southern boundary with Argentina is indefinite; Bolivia

       has wanted a sovereign corridor to the South Pacific Ocean since the Atacama

       area was lost to Chile in 1884; dispute with Bolivia over Rio Lauca water

       rights; territorial claim in Antarctica (Chilean Antarctic Territory)

       partially overlaps Argentine claim

       Climate:

       temperate; desert in north; cool and damp in south

       Terrain:

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

       Natural resources:

       copper, timber, iron ore, nitrates, precious metals, molybdenum

       Land use:

       arable land 7%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 16%; forest and

       woodland 21%; other 56%; includes irrigated 2%

       Environment:

       subject to severe earthquakes, active volcanism, tsunami; Atacama Desert one

       of world's driest regions; desertification

       Note:

       strategic location relative to sea lanes between Atlantic and Pacific Oceans

       (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage)

      :Chile People

      Population:

       13,528,945 (July 1992), growth rate 1.6% (1992)

       Birth rate:

       21 births/1,000 population (1992)

       Death rate:

       6 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

       Net migration rate:

       0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)

       Infant mortality rate:

       17 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

       Life expectancy at birth:

       71 years male, 77 years female (1992)

       Total fertility rate:

       2.5 children born/woman (1992)

       Nationality:

       noun - Chilean(s); adjective - Chilean

       Ethnic divisions:

       European and European-Indian 95%, Indian 3%, other 2%

       Religions:

       Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 11%, and small Jewish population

       Languages:

       Spanish

       Literacy:

       93% (male 94%, female 93%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

       Labor force:

       4,728,000; services 38.3% (includes government 12%); industry and commerce

       33.8%; agriculture, forestry, and fishing 19.2%; mining 2.3%; construction

       6.4% (1990)

       Organized labor:

       13% of labor force (1990)

      :Chile Government

      Long-form name:

       Republic of Chile

       Type:

       republic

       Capital:

       Santiago

       Administrative divisions:

       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, Tarapaca, Valparaiso; note - the US does not

       recognize claims to Antarctica

       Independence:

       18 September 1810 (from Spain)

       Constitution:

       11 September 1980, effective 11 March 1981; amended 30 July 1989

       Legal system:

       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

       National holiday:

       Independence Day, 18 September (1810)

       Executive branch:

       president, Cabinet

       Legislative branch:

       bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional) consisting of an upper house

       or Senate (Senado) and a lower house or Chamber of Deputies (Camara de

       Diputados)

       Judicial branch:

       Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)

       Leaders:

       Chief of State and Head of Government:

       President Patricio AYLWIN Azocar (since 11 March 1990)

       Political parties and leaders:

       Concertation of Parties for Democracy now consists mainly of five parties -

       Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Eduardo FREI Ruiz-Tagle; Party for

       Democracy (PPD), Erich SCHNAKE; Radical Party (PR), Carlos GONZALEZ Marquez;

       Social Democratic Party (PSP), Roberto MUNOZ Barros; Socialist Party (PS),

       Ricardo NUNEZ; National Renovation (RN), Andres ALLAMAND; Independent

       Democratic Union (UDI), Julio DITTBORN; Center-Center Union (UCC), Francisco

       Juner ERRAZURIZA; Communist Party of Chile (PCCh), Volodia TEITELBOIM;

       Movement of Revolutionary Left (MIR) is splintered, no single leader

       Suffrage:

       universal and compulsory at age 18

       Elections:

       Chamber of Deputies: