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

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: contiguous zone: 24 NM territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: 200/350 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 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: 3% permanent crops: 0% other: 97% (1998 est.)

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, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea,
Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban

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: 15,498,930 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 26.9% (male 2,127,696; female 2,033,201)
15-64 years: 65.6% (male 5,070,476; female 5,103,490) 65 years and over:
7.5% (male 482,846; female 681,221) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.09% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 16.46 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 5.59 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over:
0.71 male(s)/female total popu