Chile - Geography
Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Chile.
note 1: the longest north-south trending country in the world, extending across 39 degrees of latitude; strategic location relative to sea lanes between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage)
note 2: Chile is one of the countries along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; up to 90% of the world's earthquakes and some 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire
note 3: the Atacama Desert -- the driest desert in the world -- spreads across the northern part of the country; Ojos del Salado (6,893 m) in the Atacama Desert is the highest active volcano in the world, Chile's tallest mountain, and the second highest in the Western Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere -- its small crater lake (at 6,390 m) is the world's highest lake
. Mother's mean age at first birth is (), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 15 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)Geographical data of 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 |
| Tarrain | low coastal mountains, fertile central valley, rugged Andes in east |
| Natural Resources | copper, timber, iron ore, nitrates, precious metals, molybdenum, hydropower |
| Natural Hazards | severe earthquakes; active volcanism; tsunamis volcanism: significant volcanic activity due to more than three-dozen active volcanoes along the Andes Mountains; Lascar (5,592 m), which last erupted in 2007, is the most active volcano in the northern Chilean Andes; Llaima (3,125 m) in central Chile, which last erupted in 2009, is another of the country's most active; Chaiten's 2008 eruption forced major evacuations; other notable historically active volcanoes include Cerro Hudson, Calbuco, Copahue, Guallatiri, Llullaillaco, Nevados de Chillan, Puyehue, San Pedro, and Villarrica; see note 2 under "Geography - note" |
| Irrigated Land | 9,094 sq km (2022) |
| Major rivers (by length in km) | |
| Major aquifers | |
| Land Boundaries | 7,801 km |
| Border Countries | Argentina 6,691 km; Bolivia 942 km; Peru 168 km |
| Coastline | 6,435 km |
| Climate | temperate; desert in north; Mediterranean in central region; cool and damp in south |
| Area | |
| Total Area | |
| Land Area | 743,812 sq km |
| Water Area | 12,290 sq km |
| comparative Area | slightly smaller than twice the size of Montana |
| Maritime Claims | |
| Territorial sea | 12 nm |
| Contiguous zone | 24 nm |
| Exclusive economic zone | 200 nm |
| Continental shelf | 200/350 nm |
| Elevations | |
| Highest point | Nevado Ojos del Salado 6,893 m (highest volcano in the world) |
| Lowest point | Pacific Ocean 0 m |
| Mean elevation | 1,871 m |
| Land Use | |
| Agricultural land | 14.3% (2022 est.) |
| Agricultural land: arable land | arable land: 1.7% (2022 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent crops | permanent crops: 0.7% (2022 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent pasture | permanent pasture: 11.8% (2022 est.) |
| Forest | 24.8% (2022 est.) |
| Other | 60.9% (2022 est.) |
Population Distribution
90% of the population is located in the middle third of the country around the capital of Santiago; the far north (anchored by the Atacama Desert) and the extreme south are relatively underpopulated
People and Society
In Chile, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: White and non-Indigenous 88.9%, Mapuche 9.1%, Aymara 0.7%, other Indigenous groups 1% (includes Rapa Nui, Likan Antai, Quechua, Colla, Diaguita, Kawesqar, Yagan or Yamana), unspecified 0.3% (2012 est.)
| Population | |
|---|---|
| Pop growth rate | 0.61% (2024 est.) |
| Birth rate | 12.4 births/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Death rate | 6.6 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Health expenditure | 9% of GDP (2022) |
| Physicians Density | |
| Hospital bed Density | 2.1 beds/1,000 population (2018) |
| Total fertility rate | 1.75 children born/woman (2024 est.) |
| Gross reproduction rate | 0.85 (2024 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | 76.3% (2015/16) |
| Est married women (ages 15-49) | 46.3% (2023 est.) |
| Literacy | age 15 and over can read and write |
| Education expenditures | 5.6% of GDP (2019 est.) |
| Net Migration rate | 0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Nationality | Chilean | Chilean(s) |
| Languages | |
| Religions | Roman Catholic 42%, Evangelical 14%, other 6%, none 37% (2021 est.) |
| Age Structure | |
| 0-14 years | 19.2% (male 1,822,908/female 1,751,528) |
| 15-64 years | 67.3% (male 6,274,620/female 6,278,467) |
| 65 years and over | 13.6% (2024 est.) (male 1,072,208/female 1,464,921) |
| Dependency Ratios | |
| Total dependency ratio | 45.2 |
| Youth dependency ratio | 26.8 |
| Elderly dependency ratio | 18.4 |
| Potential support ratio | 5.4 (2021 est.) |
| Median Age | |
| Total | 36.9 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 35.8 years |
| Female | 38.2 years |
| Urbanization | |
| Urban population | 88% of total population (2023) |
| Rate of urbanization | 0.78% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
| Major urban areas (Pop) | 6.903 million SANTIAGO (capital), 1.009 million Valparaiso, 912,000 Concepcion (2023). |
| Sex Ratio | |
| At birth | 1.04 male(s)/female |
| 0-14 years | 1.04 male(s)/female |
| 15-64 years | 1 male(s)/female |
| 65 years and over | 0.73 male(s)/female |
| Total population | 0.97 male(s)/female (2024 est.) |
| Infant Motality | |
| Total | 6.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.) |
| Male | 6.9 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Female | 5.7 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life Expectancy at birth | |
| Total population | 80.3 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 77.3 years |
| Female | 83.3 years |
| Drinking Water Sources | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 100% of population |
| Improved: rural | rural: 100% of population |
| Improved: total | total: 100% of population |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 0% of population |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 0% of population |
| Unimproved: total | total: 0% of population (2020 est.) |
| Sanitation facility acess | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 100% of population |
| Improved: rural | rural: 100% of population |
| Improved: total | total: 100% of population |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 0% of population |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 0% of population |
| Unimproved: total | total: 0% of population (2020 est.) |
| Alcohol consumption per capita | |
| Total | 7.8 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Beer | 2.76 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Wine | 2.61 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Spirits | 2.43 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Other alcohols | 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Tobacco use | |
| Total | 29.2% (2020 est.) |
| Male | 31.6% (2020 est.) |
| Female | 26.8% (2020 est.) |
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about Chile
Want to know more about Chile? Check all different factbooks for Chile below.
