Chile flag

Chile Overview

Chile is located in South America between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes. The country borders Peru, Bolivia and Argentina. Several archipelagos in the Pacific belong to Chile; Desventurada Islands, Juan Fernandez Islands, Sala y Gómezön and Easter Island. Chile also claims a part of Antarctica called the Territorio Chileno Antártico with an area of ​​1,250,000 km2.

Capital: Santiago de Chile
Biggest city: Santiago de Chile
State: republic
Language: Spanish
Religion: catholicism
Surface: 756 950 km²
Population: 17.6 million (2013)
Population density: 22 residents per km²
Life expectancy: 77 years
Illiteracy: 4%
Currency: Chilean peso (CLP)
1 peso = 0.01 kr
GDP per capita: $ 14,900 (2010)
Time difference: -5 hours
Electricity: 220 C AC, 50Hz
National Day: September 18
Country area code: 56
2-Letter country abbreviation: CL (See more abbreviations on Abbreviationfinder)
Business: service sector 63%, agriculture 19%, industry 18%
Climate: dry in the north, cold and rainy in the south, otherwise temperate

Chile flag

Chile was formerly a Spanish colony, but became an independent state in 1818. Easter Island became Chilean in 1888. The country is the world’s longest and narrowest country. In 1973, a military coup was carried out in the country. A military dictatorship led by Pinochet was banned and all organizations that could not be controlled by the junta, with the exception of the church, were banned. During the 80’s the situation was alleviated.

Chile’s constitution was adopted in a 1980 referendum with 80 percent of the vote and entered into force the following year. It stipulated that the transition to democracy would take place through a new referendum that would be held within eight years, when the junta’s man would run against the opposition in free elections. In this vote, held in 1988, Pinochet failed to be re-elected for a second term of eight years.

After the military coup, many artists and writers left Chile. One of them was Isabel Allende (niece of the former president) who in exile wrote the book Andarnas hus (1982) which was filmed by the Dane Bille August 1993.

Chile is the only country in Latin America with two Nobel laureates in literature, Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda. The latter died shortly after the military coup.

WORLD HERITAGE

The following objects in Chile are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The year in which the item was added to the list is indicated in parentheses.

  • Easter Island (1995)
  • The wooden churches on Chiloé (2000)
  • Valparaiso Historic Quarter (2003)
  • Humberstone and Santa Laura Nitrogen Farms (2005)
  • Gruvstaden Sewell (2006)
  • Inkaleden Qhapaq Nan (2014)

ELECTRICAL OUTLET

Electricity and electrical outlets in Chile

Voltage: 220 V

Frequency: 50 Hz

Type of plug: C, L

Need an adapter: No, you do not need an adapter.

CLIMATE AND WEATHER

Weather in Santiago de Chile

Climate Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Christmas Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Average temperature °C 16 16 14 11 9 8 8 8 9 11 12 15
Day °C 22 22 20 16 13 11 11 12 14 17 18 20
Night °C 11 10 9 7 6 5 5 4 5 6 7 10
Rain (mm) 60 70 130 230 360 440 390 320 200 120 120 100
Rainy days 5 6 7 9 19 18 16 15 14 11 7 6

Chile 2

Hanga Roa

Hanga Roa is the capital of the Chilean province of Easter Island in the South Pacific. In addition to the capital, the city is also the only community on Easter Island and is located on the southwestern part of the island. The city has about 3,300 residents (2002), which corresponds to about 87 percent of the entire island’s population.

The center consists of the area around the main street Avenida Atamu Tekena and Avenida Te Pito O Te Henua. In addition to administration buildings, there are also some historic buildings such as the Catholic Church Iglesia Santa Cruz and most hotels and restaurants.

The city is the starting point for all tourists who visit the island’s moais, the stone statues on Easter Island which in 1995 were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

San Pedro de Atacama

San Pedro de Atacama is a city in northern Chile with 4,969 residents (2002). The city, which is Chile’s oldest, is believed to have been founded by the Inca Indian Túpac Yupanqui around 1459. Diego de Almagro visited the city in 1536 when he came and “discovered” Chile. In 1540, Pedro de Valdivia came and stayed here, when he came from Peru and then conquered Chile.

Santiago de Chile

According to Countryaah, Santiago de Chile is the capital of Chile. The metropolitan area has a population of 5.7 million (2007). Santiago de Chile is considered the second most important financial center in Latin America after São Paulo, and the city is considered to have Latin America’s best standard of living after Buenos Aires and Montevideo.

Valparaíso

Valparaíso is one of Chile’s most important port cities located on the Pacific coast. Together with Viña del Mar, Quilpué, Villa Alemana and Concón, the city belongs to the so-called Gran Valaparaíso with a population of over 800,000 residents (2002). The Chilean National Congress is here after being moved from Santiago during the last years of General Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship.

In 2003, the city’s historic district was included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Viña del Mar

Viña del Mar is a coastal city in central Chile, located north of the neighboring city of Valparaíso and now merged with this city. Viña del Mar is part of Valparaíso’s metropolitan area (Gran Valparaíso) and has 287,000 residents (2002), which is more than the area’s capital Valparaíso.

The city, often referred to simply as Viña, is an important part of Chile’s tourism industry as it offers a casino, a very popular music festival “El Festival Internacional de la Canción de Viña del Mar”, a clockwork made of flowers also known as ” Ciudad Jardin “(City of the Farm) and has one of Chile’s longest beaches.

“Viña del Mar” means “sea vineyard” and both the sea and the wine are constantly present. Several of Chile’s top wines are grown in the region where Viña is located. The city is also known in the Catholic world as being the birthplace of Father Alberto Hurtado. He was canonized in October 2005.