ssumed regional and international leadership roles befitting its
status as a stable, democratic nation.

Geography Chile

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

Geographic coordinates:
30 00 S, 71 00 W

Map references:
South America

Area:
total: 756,950 sq km
land: 748,800 sq km
water: 8,150 sq km
note: includes Easter Island (Isla de Pascua) and Isla Sala y Gomez

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than twice the size of Montana

Land boundaries:
total: 6,171 km
border countries: Argentina 5,150 km, Bolivia 861 km, Peru 160 km

Coastline:
6,435 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200/350 nm

Climate:
temperate; desert in north; Mediterranean in central region; cool
and damp in south

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

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Nevado Ojos del Salado 6,880 m

Natural resources:
copper, timber, iron ore, nitrates, precious metals, molybdenum,
hydropower

Land use:
arable land: 2.65%
permanent crops: 0.42%
other: 96.93% (2001)

Irrigated land:
18,000 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
severe earthquakes; active volcanism; tsunamis

Environment - current issues:
widespread deforestation and mining threaten natural resources; air
pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution
from raw sewage

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living
Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
strategic location relative to sea lanes between Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage);
Atacama Desert is one of world's driest regions

People Chile

Population:
15,980,912 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 25.2% (male 2,062,735/female 1,970,913)
15-64 years: 66.7% (male 5,320,870/female 5,342,771)
65 years and over: 8% (m