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 11,100 sq km (2012)
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 21.1% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: arable land arable land: 1.7% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent crops permanent crops: 0.6% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent pasture permanent pasture: 18.8% (2018 est.)
Forest 21.9% (2018 est.)
Other 57% (2018 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 9.8% of GDP (2020)
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

Chile is in the advanced stages of demographic transition and is becoming an aging society—with fertility below replacement level, low mortality rates, and life expectancy on par with developed countries. The share of older, those 65 and early, people may exceed 65% by 2065. Nevertheless, with its dependency ratio nearing its low point, Chile could benefit from its favorable age structure. It will need to keep its large working-age population productively employed, while preparing to provide for the needs of its growing proportion of elderly people, especially as women—the traditional caregivers—increasingly enter the workforce. Over the last two decades, Chile has made great strides in reducing its poverty rate, but income inequality remains persistent in large part because a lack of a lack of access to quality education.

Chile has been both a country of emigration and immigration. After becoming independent in 1810, Chile began seeking out immigrants from Europe to establish factories and to populate the southern part of the country.  Following the two World Wars, fears of an influx of refugees prompted Chile to stop encouraging European immigration. However, Arab immigration increased between 1907 and 1940.  During the Pinochet dictatorship that began in 1973, hundreds of thousands of Chileans emigrated, adding to the thousands who had left in the 1950s.  At the same time, the repressiveness of the Pinochet regime discouraged the arrival of new immigrants.  With the return of democracy and improving economic stability in 1990, some emigrants returned and new immigrants arrived from other South American countries experiencing deteriorating economic and political conditions. Immigration became more diverse starting in the 2010s, with the arrival of Haitians and Colombians of African descent.  However, the largest group of recent immigrants are Venezuelans fleeing their country’s socio-economic and political crisis.  As of 2020, almost one-third of Chile’s immigrant population are Venezuelan, while other top source countries continue to be Peru, Haiti, and Colombia.  Nearly 1.5 million immigrants account for almost 9% of Chile’s total population, as of 2020.

All Important Facts about Chile

Want to know more about Chile? Check all different factbooks for Chile below.

Chile is found in South America