| Country summary | |
|---|---|
|
Capital |
Santiago |
|
Borders |
|
|
Government type |
republic |
|
Population |
16,601,707 (July 2010 est.)[1] |
|
Population growth |
0.881% (2010 est.)[1] |
|
Life expectancy |
77.34 years[1] |
|
Unemployment |
9.6% (2009 est.)[1] |
|
10[2] | |
|
25[3] | |
|
49[4] | |
Prior to the coming of the Spanish in the 16th century, northern Chile was under Inca rule while the indigenous Mapuche inhabited central and southern Chile. Although Chile declared its independence in 1810, decisive victory over the Spanish was not achieved until 1818. In the War of the Pacific (1879-83), Chile defeated Peru and Bolivia and won its present northern regions. It was not until the 1880s that the Mapuche Indians were completely subjugated. After a series of elected governments, a three-year-old Marxist government of Salvador ALLENDE was overthrown in 1973 by a military coup led by Augusto PINOCHET, who ruled until a freely elected president was installed in 1990. Sound economic policies, maintained consistently since the 1980s, have contributed to steady growth, reduced poverty rates by over half, and have helped secure the country's commitment to democratic and representative government. Chile has increasingly assumed regional and international leadership roles befitting its status as a stable, democratic nation.[1]
Economical characteristics[]
- Currency: Peso (ISO code: CLP)
- Central bank discount rate: 8.25% (31 December 2008)[1]
- Commercial banks lending rate: 13.26% (31 December 2008)[1]
- Stock of money (M1): $14.72 billion (31 December 2008)[1]
- Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $73.66 billion (31 December 2008)[1]
Statistics[]
| Statistic / Year | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP (million USD)[5] | 72 995 | 75 211 | 68 568 | 67 265 | 73 990 | 95 653 | 118 250 | 146 773 | 163 878 | 169 458 |
| Govt. debt (% of GDP)[6] | ||||||||||
| Govt. revenue (% of GDP)[7] | 21.626 | 21.734 | 21.084 | 20.687 | 22.004 | 23.785 | 25.775 | 27.486 | 25.977 | |
| Govt. expenses (% of GDP)[8] | 20.953 | 20.920 | 20.998 | 19.995 | 18.861 | 18.149 | 16.997 | 17.285 | 19.677 | |
| Debt to revenue (years) |
References[]
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 CIA - The World Facebook. "Chile", from The World Facebook. Referenced 2010-09-28.
- ↑ Heritage Foundation. "Chile", Economic Freedom Score. A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-28.
- ↑ Transparency International. "Chile", Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. A lower ranking is better; but please note that the numbers cannot be compared between countries or years due to different methodology. Referenced 2010-09-28.
- ↑ Doing Business. "Chile", Doing Business 2010 (part of The World Bank Group). A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-28.
- ↑ World Bank. "Chile: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-28.
- ↑ World Bank. "Chile: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-28.
- ↑ World Bank. "Chile: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-28.
- ↑ World Bank. "Chile: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-28.
External links[]
- Chile on Wikipedia
- Central bank of Chile
- Country profile (pdf) from the Enterprise Studies page (part of the The World Bank Group)
- Studies from the Library of Congress (1986-1998)
- BBC country profile