Prior to the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, the Inca ruled northern Chile 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, the 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.With an area of 756,102 sq km, it is slightly smaller than twice the size of the U.S. state of Montana.
CIA World Factbook
Chile shares a border with Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru. It is mostly low coastal mountains with a fertile central valley. The rugged Andes lie in the east.
People who live in Chile are called Chileans, which is also an adjective used to describe something from this country. As of July 2012, there are 17,067,369 people in Chile. The ethnic groups that reside in Chile are mostly white and white-Amerindian (95.4%) with Mapuche (4%) and other indigenous groups (0.6%). Spanish is the official language, but Mapudungun, German, and English are also spoken there. Roman Catholics make up approximately 70% of the population, while Evangelical Christians (15.1%), Jehovah's Witnesses (1.1%), and other Christians (1%) make up most of the rest.
The country's official name is the Republic of Chile (or Republica de Chile in Spanish). The capital is Santiago, and the country is made up of 15 regions. Though Chile gained independence from Spain on September 18, 1810, a constitution was not drafted until September 11, 1980. The constitution can be found here through Constitution Finder. The current president is Sebastian Pinera Echenique. Information about the leaders of Chile's government can be found here. The currency is the Chilean pesos (abbreviated CLP), which stands at 483.67 CLP per USD as of 2011.
All of this information was gathered from the CIA World Factbook. For more information, check out these resources...
Chilean Government Site
Chile, CIA World Factbook
Background Notes: Chile, U.S. Department of State
2011 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Chile, U.S. Department of State.
You can also check out the Country Studies tab on our Fed Docs libguide here for more resources on all of the countries.
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