Chile

In brief

Chile is a country in South America. Its capital is Santiago. With 19.9 million inhabitants in 2025, it ranks 65th in the world by population, out of the 195 countries recognised by the UN. Its area is 756,102 km². It shares land borders with Argentina, Bolivia and Peru.

GDP per capita stands at $17,995 (2025), 63rd in the world. Life expectancy at birth is 81.4 years (2024). 89% of the population lives in cities.

History of Chile

The Mapuche resisted the Incas and then the Spanish for centuries. Chile declared independence in 1818, led by Bernardo O’Higgins and José de San Martín. The War of the Pacific (1879-1884) gave it the nitrate-rich deserts of the north. Socialist president Salvador Allende, elected in 1970, was overthrown on 11 September 1973 by Augusto Pinochet’s coup, whose dictatorship lasted until 1990. The country has produced two Nobel laureates in literature, Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda. Easter Island has belonged to it since 1888.

Geography of Chile

Chile stretches for about 4,300 km from north to south, but averages less than 200 km wide, between the Andes and the Pacific. The Atacama Desert in the north is the driest place on Earth outside the poles; the centre has a Mediterranean climate; the south breaks into fjords down to Patagonia. Ojos del Salado (6,893 m) is the highest active volcano in the world.

Map of Chile

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Flag of Chile

The flag of Chile is red, white and blue. Its official proportions are 2:3 (height to width).

• Red50%
• White35%
• Blue16%

Share of the flag’s surface taken by each colour.

What the flag stands for

White over red, with a blue square bearing a white star. Blue evokes the sky and the Pacific, white the snow of the Andes, red the blood of heroes; the star, “la Estrella Solitaria”, guides the country towards progress.

Sources: Wikipedia, articles “Chile” and “Flag of Chile”.

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Fact file

Economy and society