Chile 2006
In 2006, Chile was a South American country located on the western coast of the continent with a population of approximately 16 million people. According to constructmaterials, it was a republic headed by President Ricardo Lagos and Prime Minister Michelle Bachelet. Since gaining independence from Spain in 1818, the country had made considerable progress in building its economy and infrastructure. The country’s primary sources of income were mining and agriculture, but services were growing steadily due to increased foreign investment from around the world. Poverty and inequality were still prevalent, with nearly 20% of the population living below the poverty line. Despite this, access to education had improved since 2000 with primary school attendance rate increasing from approximately 80% to over 90% by 2006. Additionally, economic growth had been steady since 2000 due to increased foreign investment from around the world. Tourism was also increasing as more people became aware of Chile’s unique culture and landscapes including Santiago City, Torres del Paine National Park and Easter Island National Park.
Yearbook 2006
Chile. As expected, the Government Coalition’s Concertación’s Michelle Bachelet won the second round of the presidential election on January 15. The victory margin was even greater than the opinion polls predicted – 53.5% of the vote compared to just 46.5% for her rival Sebastián Piñera. Bachelet thus became Chile’s first and Latin America’s fourth democratically elected female president. She is generally considered to be more of a socialist than her representative Ricardo Lagos Escobar, but she was not expected to change the conservative economic outlook that the government coalition has had so far during its long holding of power since 1990. The coalition’s legislative work is facilitated by its own majority in both chambers of Congress.
According to CountryAAH, major public holidays in Chile include Independence Day (September 18) and New Year (January 1). Chile’s teachers carried out extensive strikes and protest actions in the second half of the year. The dissatisfaction concerned the meager budget allocations to the education system and the low teacher salaries. Several other unions announced their support for the teachers, especially as the high prices of Chile’s traditional export copper were considered to give the state more budget space than usual. However, copper production did not go so well during the year due to a strike at the world’s largest copper mine La Escondida and a major accident at the Chuquicamata mine. The Bachelor’s first budget was otherwise characterized by investments in much-needed social projects, including education where the grant was increased by 10%.
Evo Morale’s entry as Bolivia’s president has raised the issue of the land exits Bolivia made to Chile after the 1879-83 nitric war and which cut the country off the Pacific coast. Morales proposed in March to reestablish diplomatic relations with Chile, which had been officially interrupted since 1978, on condition that the territorial issue was brought up for discussion, but Chile’s foreign minister was at first cold-tempered. In July, however, both countries announced that the issue was on their bilateral agenda. An old Bolivian proposal to regain territory in exchange for Bolivian natural gas was rejected by Chile.
On December 10, 91-year-old former dictator Augusto Pinochet died in the suites of a heart attack. His supporters demanded a state funeral worthy of a former president, but the government refused and he was instead buried with military honors at the Santiago Military College on December 12. Despite numerous attempts at prosecution against Pinochet since he was first arrested in London in 1998 for his role in the human rights crimes during the dictatorship years 1973-90, he was never brought to trial, which also caused Chile’s many torture victims and relatives to disappear, albeit for another reason.
Country data
Area: 756,102 km2 (world rank: 37)
Residents: 18,055,000
Population density: 24 per km2 (as of 2017, world rank: 64)
Capital: Santiago (Santiago de Chile)
Official languages: Spanish
Gross domestic product: 277.1 billion US $; Real growth: 1.5%
Gross national product (GNP, per resident and year): 13,610 US$
Currency: 1 Chilean peso (chil $) = 100 centavos
Embassy
Mohrenstr. 42, 10117 Berlin
Telephone 030 7262035,
Fax 030 726203603
www.echile.de
Government
Head of State and Government: Sebastián Pinera Echenique, Exterior: Roberto Ampuero Espinoza
National holiday: 18.9. (Independence Day)
Administrative structure
14 regions and capital region
State and form of government
Constitution of 1981
Presidential Republic
Parliament (Congreso Nacional): House of Representatives (Cámara de Diputados) with 155 members, election every 4 years; Senate (Senado) with 38 chosen for 8 J. Mitgl, Part choice every 4. J.
direct the head of state every 4 J. (no immediate redial)
right to vote from 18 J.
Population: Chilean
last count 2017: 17574003 residents 11% Indigenous (including 82% Mapuche, 6% Aimará, 2% Diaguita, etc.)
Cities (with population): Hanga Roa as of 2016: 5790 residents.
Religions: 67% Catholics, 17% Protestants; Minorities of Baha’i, Jews and followers of indigenous religions; 12% without religion (status: 2006)
Languages: Spanish; indigenous languages (Mapudungun)
Employed by economic sector: Agriculture. 10%, industry 23%, business 67% (2017)
Unemployment (in% of all labor force): 2017: 7.0%
Inflation rate (in%): 2017: 2.2%
Foreign trade: Import: 65.0 billion US $ (2017); Export: 68.3 billion US $ (2017)
Chile Overview
Chile is a narrow country as long as 4,300 km long; so long as to extend from Inari to Cairo. As the width is only 90–435 km, the area is only about two Finnish. Chile has many islands, e.g. mystical Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean 3,700 miles from the mainland. Northern Chile is home to the world’s least rainy desert, Atacama. Central Chile belongs to the same type of climate as California and the Mediterranean countries, so the vegetation is similar. In the westerly winds of southern Chile, it rains heavily and evergreen beech forests grow on the mountain slopes.
- According to abbreviationfinder, CI is the abbreviation code for Chile.
Area: 748,800 km²
Population: 18,186,770 (estimate 7/2020)
Capital: Santiago
Population: 95% of European descent and mestizos, 5% of Indians
Language: Spanish, Rapanui, Aymara
Main products: Copper, fish food, wine
Form of government: Republic
